Page 43 of Tall, Royal Hater
I’d deny it if asked, but I hadn’t been able to get the feel of her plump flesh yielding to my palm out of my head. And in the darkness of what should’ve been a peaceful night, my imagination painted Mariyah’s arse bouncing against my pelvis, marked with finger-shaped bruises that belonged to me.
I woke up sour and fucking vexed after losing hours of sleep because of a persistent hard-on.
So, after all the engagement excitement, I stayed away—who gave a shit what I’d said yesterday? I relaxed. I read. Iforced myself to ignore and disappeared from reality knowing Esmeralda was safe.
It calmed me immensely, to the point I wasn’t even pissed off that I ended up sitting opposite Mariyah at the dining table when lunch was served.
“How’s she gonna know what to wear though if she doesn’t know where you’re going?” Mariyah questioned, leaning forward to look past Esmeralda towards Prince Kai.
At the head of the table sat Queen Leila and King Rami next to each other. On the queen’s side were Prince Kai, Esmeralda, Mariyah, and Prince Adam, and on the king’s side were Gigi, Prince Arsh, Mum, me, and Prince Fay in that exact order.
I was still incredibly uncomfortable sitting amongst royalty, especially ahead of Prince Fay. It felt wrong, but for Mum’s sake, I’d suffocated the urge to insist on sitting elsewhere.
“Exactly,” Esmeralda said in agreement. “Thank you, Mar.”
Esmeralda was trying to convince Prince Kai to tell her where he was taking her for their outing, but he was being surprisingly secretive about it.
“Welcome.” Prince Arsh and Prince Fay chuckled at Mariyah’s reply, Mum, Prince Adam, and the king and queen grinned, Gigi smirked proudly, but I rolled my eyes down at my plate.
Prince Kai couldn’t seem to decide if he wanted to smile or frown. “You can wear whatever you choose to, Esmeralda. You always look beautiful.”
A dumbfounded blush licked across Esmeralda’s face as everyone else chuckled or beamed.
“That was smooth,” Mariyah said, nudging Esmeralda.
“Excellent answer, Kai,” Prince Arsh said, nodding in approval.
“I don’t think that was what she meant,” Prince Fay added, his hazel eyes glinting with amusement just like his father’s and uncle’s.
The crown prince set his fork down to tug at his left ear and cleared his throat. “As long as you wear comfortable shoes.”
His mother, the queen, gave a bright, elegant smile, but it was my mum who nodded her head at Esmeralda and said, “I think that should answer your question, dear.”
Still pink in the cheeks, a reluctantly placated smile tugged at Esmeralda’s lips. “I suppose it does.”
Laughter was exchanged again before Prince Arsh set his knife and fork down in his almost empty plate and laid his arm over the back of Mum’s chair. A soft glaze coated his hazel eyes as he looked from Mum to his nephew and Esmeralda.
“Well,” he started. “While we’re on the topic of surprises, may we?”
A wary prickle coasted up the back of my neck, and my hands settled on either side of my plate. I swallowed the food in my mouth and sat upright, watching Esmeralda and Prince Kai smile at each other. Then they turned their attention back to Prince Arsh and Mum.
“Yes. Please,” Esmeralda said with a delighted note to her tone.
What’s going on?Whatever it was, I didn’t like it already.
A buzz rushed across the table as everyone set their cutlery and glasses down.
Prince Arsh cleared his throat as he straightened the lapels of his suit blazer. “We have some news to share with everyone.” He gave a slight nod to Mum. “Would you like to do the honours, my love?”
With the back of her head to me, I couldn’t see Mum’s face, but I could hear the serene happiness in her voice. “The final draft of the new Legitimacy and Marriage Act has been approved by all seven royal families and their governments, and the act will pass into law all over the world this coming February before the Peace Celebrations.”
I stiffened. A blur of rapt chatter filled the following minute.
It was good news, technically. But it didn’t weigh well with me.
“We hadn’t planned so,” Prince Arsh continued, “but only because we assumed Kai would wait until the end of your trip to propose.” Prince Kai flushed red, and everyone else chuckled. “But in any case, we’re glad of it, as with everyone already here, it seemed like an opportune moment.”
The older prince grinned across the table. “Of course, we asked for Kai and Esmeralda’s permission as to not take away from their moment of celebration, and thankfully, they were happy to give it. So…” He gently enveloped Mum’s hand in his own on the table. “Seeing as the enactment of the law is now guaranteed, Katiya and I would like to hold a small wedding ceremony here in the palace and marry before you all. In private. Before our public ceremony next year May or early June.”
