Page 73 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

Can we talk after you eat breakfast? x

Esmeralda

Sorry Mr Perfect Prince

Esmeralda

Shehryar has claimed most of my day to talk about my work after the peace celebration so no free time for me yet

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KAI

The moment Esmeralda sat down next to me at the dining table for the first private lunch in several days, I knew something was wrong.

There was no shine in her big, greyish-brown eyes. No colour on her cheeks, not from make-up and not from her natural glow. Neither was there any truth to the tight smile she gave everyone.

She sat too stiff and straight as she ate. She answered too simply as she conversed, and her laugh didn’t sound right to my ears. She didn’t react when I pressed my thigh against hers under the long oak table, trying to get her to look at me so I could see what was wrong. She didn’t even look at me.

It troubled me so much I couldn’t remember if I ate anything of the three courses.

After lunch was over, she left the dining hall lagging behind everyone else. I followed her to where Shehryar appeared to be waiting for her further down the corridor.

“Esmeralda,” I called out just as she reached her hulking private secretary.

Her back visibly stiffened, and my heart plummeted. No, don’t react like that, Esmeralda, please. The tight look Shehryar gave me as he pulled his huge shoulders wide only made my mind whirl harder.

“Prince Kai.” Shehryar’s pale green gaze briefly darted past my shoulder. “Now is not a good time.”

My gaze fell to the back of Esmeralda’s head anyway. I wasn’t going anywhere until I had spoken to her. I needed to know she was okay. I needed to know it wasn’t because of me.

“Esmeralda, look at me. Please,” I said softly, taking in the small, unusually delicate sight of her.

“Prince Kai,” Shehryar warned firmly in a way that might’ve been considered rude, but I didn’t care what he said. Neither could I fault him for being so protective of Esmeralda. “That’s enough.”

“Sher,” Esmeralda said quietly. “It’s okay.”

She slowly, rigidly turned. A painful web of cracks tore through my chest as I saw the sad dampness coating her eyes she was trying to keep at bay. Fierce protectiveness exploded inside me with so much intensity, it was agony.

Someone hurt her. Someone hurt her. Someone hurt her.

Was it me? Was it something I did?

I was shaking from the effort not to snatch her up into my arms and take her away where I could talk to her alone, and hold her, rock her, soothe her, anything she needed from me. To sit her down somewhere and get on my knees and apologise for whatever I might have done to upset her.

The longer her eyes flicked timidly between my shoulders and gaze, the stronger the feeling got.

I couldn’t stop my hand from reaching for her smaller one, gripping the fitted, dark green jumper dress she wore with black leggings. I gently nudged at the side of her palm until her fingers hesitantly opened, letting me slip mine tightly around hers. I gave her hand a squeeze.

“Come with me for a minute. Please. Then you can go back to your meeting with Shehryar,” I said.

“What meet—” Shehryar started then suddenly stopped. He avoided my gaze as he scrubbed a hand over his mouth, wincing all the while.

I glanced immediately down at Esmeralda, and the way she grimaced and dropped her head was a solid blow with an iron fist to my stomach.

She’d lied about the meeting. There had never been a meeting.

My head spun as hurt and fear burned through my chest. It was because of me. She was hurt because of me. That’s why she’d lied. So she didn’t have to see me. Because I hurt her.

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