The Bad Royals Box Set: The Complete Royally Unexpected Series, page 29
My phone buzzes.
Heath: Morning, beautiful.
Any other day, that text would send a thrill of excitement coursing through my veins. He’s not ignoring me. He heard me last night, and he’s showing me he wants to talk to me.
Now, though?
Terror. Cold, black fear.
I type back a quick good morning and stuff my phone in my pocket, slipping a baggy hoodie over my head and grabbing the biggest sunglasses I own. I slip down the back stairs and get in my car, driving to a pharmacy clear across town. I don’t want to be recognized.
I buy four pregnancy tests and enough chocolate to deal with the fallout of either result. If it’s negative… Wait—do I want it to be positive? My head is a mess. I want to cry and scream and call Heath and also never speak of this to anyone, ever.
When I get home, Maggie sees me enter with a bag clutched to my chest. She frowns. “What’s that? Where did you go this morning?”
“Nowhere.” I turn my back to her, hurrying up the stairs.
When I get to my room and go to my en-suite bathroom, I hear my sister struggling up the stairs with her big air cast on. “Ada!”
I crack my bathroom door a fraction of an inch, seeing her standing there with her arms crossed. Sighing, I open the door wider.
Her eyes flick from me to the pregnancy tests on the vanity, and a gasp falls through her lips. “You’re…?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t taken it yet.”
“Holy shit, Ada.”
I stare at my sister, biting my lip. If my prim and proper older sister is swearing, things are bad. I jerk my head to the test and she nods, understanding I’m going to take one.
I follow the instructions that come with the test, then set a timer and open the bathroom door.
Maggie sits on the edge of the bathtub with her hands propped under her chin. When my timer goes off, her eyes flick to mine.
Shaking my head, I inhale sharply. “I can’t look. You do it.”
Maggie gets up, putting all her weight on her good leg to lean over and grab the test. She flips it over, her eyes widening.
Shit. Fuck. Oh no, no, no.
Maggie’s eyebrows arch, and she nods. “Positive.”
“No.”
She lets out a sigh.
I shake my head. “No. I’ll take another one. It’s a false positive. Has to be.”
My sister places the test on the counter, nodding, and steps out of the bathroom. We do the whole thing all over again, with the same results. Then again. And again.
Positive, positive, positive.
I stare at the wall, not understanding.
I’m pregnant.
It’s not until Maggie wraps her arms around me and holds me close that I break down and cry. She shushes me, rocking back and forth as I fall apart.
But even through my tears, there’s something else. A feeling that grows stronger with every passing second. I’m going to be a mother. There’s a child growing inside me, and I’m responsible for it. Me.
Past my fear, behind my panic, there’s another feeling. Love that I’ve never felt before. Deeper than I’ve ever experienced. I run my hand over my stomach, already feeling attached to the tiny fetus inside me.
My phone dings again, and we both see the Duke’s name flash.
Maggie glances at me. “Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper, as if he’ll hear me through the phone. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I feel. I think… I think I’m happy about it.” My eyes widen as I stare at my sister. “But if he’s not…”
She squeezes my arms, nodding. “Take your time, Ada. You don’t have to tell him right away. Just think about your options. About everything.”
I nod, my heart racing—but even as I stand there, the feeling gets stronger. Love. Devotion. Absolute and total adoration. There’s a baby growing inside me. Holy shit. Oh my goodness. I don’t… I can’t…
Whoa.
I let out a long sigh, shaking my head. “He’s coming to the concert on Friday. I’ll tell him I need to talk to him then. I don’t want to text him about this.”
Maggie nods. “Good idea. It’ll give you a few days to think about how you want to tell him and what you want to do.”
“I already know what I want to do,” I say, straightening my shoulders. “I want to keep it.”
Maggie takes a deep breath. She nods. “Okay.”
By the set of her shoulders, I know I’m heaping another problem onto her back. Her wedding to Count Gregory was already important for Kiera. Now, I’ll be unmarried and pregnant, which will be another blow to the Belcourt name. There’s more riding on her marriage than ever before.
But my sister just gives me a hug, a smile, and tells me she’s here for me no matter what.
As my concert approaches, my nerves heighten. I’ll be seeing Heath for the first time since the Count’s dinner party. He’ll be watching me play. Afterward, I’m hoping to sit him down and tell him the truth.
My stomach is tied up in knots as I wait just offstage. But I close my eyes and think of the music, and it slows my heart enough for me to be able to walk out with my head held high. With the bright stage lights shining down on me, I can’t see any individual faces in the crowd, and I’m grateful for it.
I settle onto the piano bench and take a deep breath, and I play.
The crowd melts away. My fears about the future melt away. The thought of the Duke and the Count and my family—all gone.
For a few blissful moments, I’m at peace. I play for an hour, feeling lighter and happier than I have in weeks. In a way, I feel like this concert belongs to me and my baby. We’re united on this stage. My little secret. My child, growing inside my womb.
For now, at least, no one knows. There’s no controversy. No difficult conversations. Only love—and music.
Then the concert ends, I take a bow, and I walk offstage. When I see the Duke of Blythe waiting in the wings for me, my heart flips. A smile tugs at my lips, and I know things between us are special.
He’s here, just like he said he’d be. Even though I’ve been distant since I took the test. Even though I told him I wanted to speak to him about something important. Even though my sister will be marrying Count Gregory.
This could work. Maybe he’ll see the glow on my face and know that this baby is special. Our connection, as short as it has been, means something.
I take a step toward him, but my mother blocks my path.
“Ada,” she says, putting a hand on my arm, “I need to speak to you.”
“One moment, Mother,” I say, trying to pull away.
Heath takes a step closer to us, his eyes shining. Does he know I played that concert for our child? I played it in honor of the feelings already in full bloom inside me.
“Ada,” my mother snaps.
I frown. “Is everything all right?”
“Count Gregory is here,” she hisses.
“Okay.” I shrug, but she still won’t let go. My mother’s eyes are dark. She gulps, and dread crawls up my spine. “What is it, Mother?”
“The Count spoke to me when you finished playing,” she says. “He doesn’t want to marry Maggie.”
I let out a sigh. “Thank God. I never liked him.”
Her brows draw together. “No, Ada…” Her grip on my arm tightens. I steal a glance at Heath, panic pushing in at the edges of my consciousness. My mother sucks in a breath. “Ada, Count Gregory wants you instead.”
My ears ring. Eyes widen. I’m dizzy.
“W-What?” I grip the wall, eyes searching for the Duke. Horror writes itself over his features as I try to gulp past a lump in my throat. I inhale, shaking my head. “No.”
“Ada,” my mother says. “Think of Kiera.”
“No, we can… Loans. Scholarships. We… I don’t…”
I inhale hard. Then again. Then again. I’m hyperventilating. I can’t get enough air. I can’t make words. The world is spinning. Why is my vision blurry?
I can’t marry the Count. I don’t want Maggie to marry him, but I definitely don’t want it to be me. I open my eyes again, trying to focus on the Duke. He’s still standing just at the edges of the shadows.
Then, his face comes into sharp focus.
Deep, dark rage.
He’s angry.
My brows draw together and I try to reach for him, but another hand slips into mine.
“Dearest Ada,” the Count croaks, blocking my view of the Duke. “I hope you’ll forgive me for my rudeness. I just couldn’t go on thinking of anyone else.” His beady black eyes rake over me, and it hurts. Physically. Mentally.
I can’t think. Can’t breathe. I pull my hand away. “Excuse me.”
I stumble away, searching frantically for the Duke, even though I already know he’s gone.
18
HEATH
Count Gregory wants to marry Ada.
This is an attack. It’s directed at me. I know it is. He saw me and Ada together at his Christmas party, and he decided to step in and take her from me, too. Just like he took everything else.
Whoever saw me exiting the bathroom must have whispered into his ear, and now his poisonous tentacles are reaching back into my life.
I feel sick.
I need to talk to her.
But what will I say?
I left the concert hall without saying a word to her, even though I could see the agony on her face. She doesn’t want to marry him—but I know what it means to her family.
The Count knows every dean at every major university on the continent. He can offer stability for their family and a good education for Ada’s little sister.
What can I offer? What do I have?
A knock sounds on my office door, and I call out for the visitor to enter.
My personal butler, Seville, steps in. “Lady Belcourt is here, Your Grace. She’s waiting in the formal living room.”
I hide my shock behind a stone façade. “Thank you. I’ll be right there.”
Seville bows and exits the office, closing the door softly as he goes.
I stare at the closed door, my heart banging against my chest.
She’s here. She came straight here. That’s good, right? That means she feels something for me? It means she wants to refuse the Count?
On trembling legs, I stand up. I take a deep breath and stare at the door, willing myself to take a step forward.
What if she’s here to break it to me gently? She wants me to hear of the betrothal from her own lips, and tell me she doesn’t want to see me anymore? What if this is the end?
It can’t be the end. It can’t. I can’t allow her to marry the Count when I’m so close to bringing charges against him. We almost have enough evidence to bring a case against him. I just need one more university to release their documents to the royal investigators, and we’ll have enough to put the Count away for good. He’ll rot in jail, exactly where he deserves to be.
But if she marries him…that will ruin her, too. It’ll bring shame on her whole family.
Can I do that to her?
Steeling myself against whatever Ada has to say, I take the first step. Then another. Soon I’m standing outside the formal living room, peering in.
God, she’s gorgeous. The weak winter sun streams in through the window and makes her black hair glow. Her skin looks like it’s made of porcelain, her soft features turned toward the window. All I want to do is run my hands over her waist and pull her close, burying my face in her hair once more.
I shouldn’t have run away from the concert hall. She’s still wearing her dress, a black slip that made her look like a goddess on stage.
When I clear my throat, she turns. Anguish is painted across her features, and my stomach knots.
She’s not here to tell me she’s refusing the Count. She’s not here to profess her undying love. Why would she? We’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks.
She’s here to break it to me in person. Pain lashes across my chest, leaving deep welts across my skin. I grind my teeth to stop from wincing.
“Lady Belcourt,” I say through a clenched jaw.
“Heath,” she sighs, taking a step toward me. She stops, her brows drawing together. A hand goes to her stomach as her chest heaves, and she watches me. Reads my features. Tries to understand.
“I heard the Count’s proposal,” I say after a long silence.
Ada doesn’t answer. She stares at me, a thousand emotions flitting across her face.
So I stand rooted to the ground, letting the familiar sting of agony course through my veins. My lips turn down. “Are you here to break it to me gently? To tell me that you can’t see me anymore?”
“No, I—” She stops, sucking in a breath. A flash of pain crosses her eyes.
I shrug. “He’s not a good man, Ada. You should refuse.”
Her breath trembles as her shoulders round. “Heath, it’s for my sister. We can’t afford to send her to university, and the Count, he—”
“Has connections at every major university you can think of,” I finish, chuckling bitterly. I want to cross the distance between us and wrap my arms around her. I want to drop to my knees and tell her to marry me instead.
But I don’t.
If I do that, what can I offer her? I don’t have the connections the Count has. I can’t offer her sister entrance to any university she chooses. I can’t elevate her family’s standing in society. If anything, being with me would drag her down.
Of course the Count has something I can’t give. Of course a betrothal to him is more attractive than I could ever be. He took everything from me, why would Ada be any different?
As soon as my brother died, I knew my life would change forever. I just didn’t expect to feel this kind of pain all over again. This time, I’m losing someone I never even had in the first place.
I lift my eyes to hers. “Is this what you want?”
Ada’s eyes scream. Lips drop open. She shakes her head, then lets out a heavy sigh. “No. But…” When my black-haired beauty lifts her eyes to mine again, my heart clenches. Cracks split across its surface, sending pain radiating through my chest.
This hurts more than anything. My feelings for her are stronger than I realized, but she’s being snatched away from me before I had a chance to admit it.
But what can I do? I can’t give her what her family needs. As I stand there, realizing the true depths of my feelings for Ada, I almost want to laugh.
If she marries the Count, I have to stop my investigations. I can’t bring any charges against him. I can’t avenge my brother. I can’t clear my family’s name. I can’t fulfill my last promise to my parents by showing the world what a monster Count Gregory really is.
I can’t do any of that, because if I go after the Count, I’ll hurt Ada.
Is this why he’s marrying her? Because he knows how close the police are to being able to charge him with a litany of crimes? He knows I’m dying to stand before him in the witness box, gloating?
Now, I can’t. Clever monster. He’s using the only protection I can’t break through.
Ada.
I give her a curt nod. “I understand.”
“Heath—”
“Do you need someone to drive you home?”
Her lips snap shut, an unreadable expression in her eyes. Ada’s throat clenches, as if she struggles to swallow. She shakes her head. “That won’t be necessary,” she answers in a tight voice.
“Good. Well, congratulations.” I give her my back and walk out, catching one final glimpse of her crumpling face.
I’ve lost everything.
My brother, my parents, the family business, the honor of our name. All I have is a big, empty castle and a loyal staff, but no one to share it with. No little dukes and duchesses to fill these halls with laughter. No future. No wife.
No love.
The Count took everything from me, and now he’s taking the last hope I ever had at love.
19
ADA
Why did I come here? What did I expect? For the Duke of Blythe to fall to his knees and beg me to marry him instead? To tell him about the baby and expect him to be filled with joy?
Ha.
Ridiculous.
It takes every ounce of power and pride within me to hold myself together as I’m led back out of the expansive castle and to my vehicle. A footman holds the door open for me, the ignition already started and heat turned up to a comfortable temperature. I slip into the driver’s seat and nod to the footman before backing out of the garage.
I make it down the long driveway and through the gate before I have to pull over to sob.
He wouldn’t even listen. Wouldn’t even let me speak. How was I supposed to tell him about the baby? The Duke’s face was shuttered. Closed off. Unreachable.
He thought I wanted the Count. Thought I had already accepted the proposal.
And now?
I can’t go back there. I can’t tell him about the baby now that he’s tossed me aside like a used tissue.
I’m on my own.
Even if I march back there and tell him about the baby, can I handle a rejection? Can I withstand the assault of his cold, hostile eyes?
I swear he thinks less of me for considering a marriage to the Count, but what choice do I have? Unless some other eligible bachelor begs one of us to marry them, I have to accept the Count’s proposal.
Eligible bachelors aren’t exactly in great supply.
A dagger embeds itself in my chest as my heart breaks. It was naive of me to come here and think the Duke would save me. He wanted me when I was pliable and available. When I could distract him at boring parties. When I could be the one to sneak off with him for a bit of fun.
But now, when the reality of our lives comes into sharp focus?
He turns his back on me and walks out.
We’ve known each other for three weeks. How could that possibly lead to anything real? How could I think it would end well?
Stupid, silly girl.
I cry, my forehead resting on my steering wheel. Then a wave of nausea makes me open the car door and throw up all over the ground. Lovely. How very regal of me. I let out a dry laugh, staring up at the dark sky and wishing it would fall down on top of me.
