Page 38 of Tall, Royal Hater
“I did,” she said through an embarrassed laugh. “I was so excited I forgot to wait.”
A tear escaped as I chuckled. “What an ego boost for him though,” I said, wiping the happy dampness from under my eyes. “I bet TRG was grinning like a fool after.”
“He was.” She sighed down at the ring, an aching, adoring look melting her expression.
My heart turned squishy in delight too, but something about her expression reminded me of her earlier panic. “So, did you scare me shitless this morning because you were excited to tell me?”
“Partly, yes. But…” She sighed again, but this one wasn’t as happy sounding.
“Do you regret saying yes?”
“No,” Esmeralda said immediately and firmly. “No, not at all. I want to marry Kai, and only ever him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. But when he woke me up to tell me he was going to the gym, I was lying there after, staring at the ring, and I…”
“You felt overwhelmed?”
“Kind of. But it was more like the reality of life hit me hard.”
I tilted my head. “What do you mean?”
She looked me dead in the eyes. “I can’t marry him.”
I opened my mouth, pursed it again, and straightened my head. “Come again.”
Her lips rolled into a smile, not making her seem uncomfortable, but it wasn’t exactly a comforting smile either. “I can’t marry Kai.Yet.”
Okay. Yet. That’s slightly better.But my entire being still warred against the idea of her being unable to marry the guy she’d been in love with for over six years before finally making him hers.
“Oh, fuck no,” I said, sitting upright and angry. “Why not? Why the fuck can’t you marry him? Yes, you damn can. No one can stop you, Ez, and I’ll rip them to shreds if they—”
“Hold on, Mariyah,” Esmeralda said, giving my knees a squeeze and a shake. “Let me explain.”
“Yes, explain. Quickly. Because I’m about to lose my shit.”
She grinned. “I can’t marry Kai yet because we’re both crown prince and princess—”
“So what?”
“Mar! Listen first.”
“Sorry. Carry on.”
She started again with an exhale. “Kai and I can’t get married yet because under international law, written at the time of the Peace Treaty, a royal heir from one state cannot marry the royal heir of another state. It goes against what the treaty stood for because it compromises the independent rule of the states if two royal heirs are in power of two different states together. It’s not allowed for the sake of political stability.”
“So, then what? You can’t marry him at all?”
“Icanmarry him, but one of us has to give up being heir first. Essentially, we have to pick—does he leave his title and come to Jahandar, or do I give up mine to rule with him in Touma.”
“Oh. That…that’s not so bad.” I searched her expression. “Right?”
“It’s not bad, but it’s not doable right at this moment.” She shook her head. “I can’t ask Kai to give up his claim to the Touman throne when he’s the only one out of his brothers who genuinely wants it. But neither can I renounce my claim because there is no other Jahandari heir.
“Kareem isn’t married, and he doesn’t have any children, but we don’t have any immediate cousins of royal blood either. Our aunty—Father’s only sibling—didn’t have children. And when it took so long for the conservative politicians to accept Kareem as king because he was so young, despite having been raised for the role, I doubt they would ever accept someone several places down in the line to the throne as his heir, who hasn’t had any experience of ruling.” She scoffed lightly. “I understand now why they call it the ‘Royal Blood Curse.’ The last a hundred and fifty years or so have been tough for Jahandar’s line of succession.”
A heavy silence followed as I processed the frustrating truth of what Esmeralda told me.
“Damn,” I muttered, my brows knitting together. “I didn’t realise royal marriages were so heavily influenced by politics. I mean, no, I did, but I thought that was a thing of the past. Not something you would have to consider now.” My best friend nodded, fiddling with her engagement ring, and my attention dropped to it. “But you know he would, right? You wouldn’t even have to ask; Kai would give up his title in a split second to spend the rest of his life with you.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But it wouldn’t be fair on his brothers, and I’d hate myself if they ever grew bitter towards him because of it. I know what it’s like to have a bad relationship with your sibling, and I wouldn’t want to put Kai through that when he’s so close to them. It would destroy him.”
