Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
I walk towards the door. No. I’m not going empty-handed. I turn back, grab the box of pastries Mum brought in earlier, and resume my mission to return to our apartment and comfort her.
“Finn.”
I stop and look over my shoulder at the sound of Mum’s voice.
“Alec is right. We will find them.” Her tone never wavers, and her gaze is so intense it would make a glacier melt. “We will find whoever is responsible for these lies about my daughter, and they will pay for it.”
My daughter.
“You already know who’s behind it,” is all I say before I walk out of the room and let the door slam behind me.
And I do.
I know. I fucking know. Which means Harriet does, too.
The maids are gone when I reach our apartment. My heart thunders against my ribs, and my pulse once again beats a cacophonic rhythm in my ears.
She’s alone.
She shouldn’t be alone.
I throw the box on the table. “Hattie?”
Nothing.
“Harriet!” I tear through the living room to our kitchen. It’s empty, just like the dining room. “Harriet!”
I rush towards the bedrooms, and the sound of rushing water hits my ears. The shower.
She’s in the shower.
I shove my way into the bathroom and stop. She’s sitting in the shower, fully clothed, with her knees hugged to her chest and her chin against her chest as the water beats down on her. It’s not cold in here, nor is it foggy with steam, so at least the water is a reasonable temperature.
I remove my shoes and walk over to the shower, stopping just in front of her. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she says, her voice muffled by the way she’s got her face buried.
“You don’t sound surprised that I’m here.”
“Nobody else would find me here.”
Weirdly, that makes me smile. “Can I turn off the water?”
She shakes her head.
“All right. We can sit here for a bit.”
“You’ll get cold,” she murmurs.
“So will you, but you don’t want to turn it off yet, so I can deal with a little cold.” I lean against the tiled wall, wincing at the chill of it, and keep my gaze on her. “It’s a lot for you to deal with, huh?”
Hattie nods. “I didn’t… I didn’t do those things, Finn. I—”
“I know.”
She freezes.
“I know, baby.” I touch my fingertip to the top of foot. “You don’t need to explain yourself.”
“But everyone else—”
“There isn’t a single person in this palace who believes those lies. And, if they do, they won’t be in the palace by bedtime.”
Slowly, oh so fucking slowly, she raises her head. Her usually vibrant green eyes hold a dullness that cuts my heart in two, and she presses her lips against her knee. “I can leave,” she whispers. “This is too much for you all.”
“No.” I roll onto my knees in front of her and lower my face until my eyes are level with hers. “Absolutely not, so get that idea out of your pretty little head. You aren’t going anywhere. I’m not letting you go anywhere.”
“Why?” Her voice breaks. “I’ve caused nothing but trouble.”
“Because,” I say softly, pushing some wet hair away from her forehead with my fingertip. “I love you far too much to let you go. Trouble and all.”
A hint of the light I love so much flickers back to life in her eyes. “You love me?”
“So much so that if you leave this palace, so do I. Everything here is worthless to me if you aren’t with me. If I had to make a choice right now, it would be you. Every single time.”
And I mean it.
If she wants to jack this all in and run away, then fuck, I’ll drive the getaway car.
“But I’ve caused so much trouble.” Her voice is the smallest I’ve ever heard it. “From the very beginning. And I don’t… You don’t deserve this. None of you do.”
“Oh, come on. I knew I was signing up for trouble from the very beginning.” I grin, but she doesn’t return it. “And everyone else around us generally encourages your antics.”
That gets her the tiniest bit.
“So, really, the best thing you could do right now is turn off that water, let me dry you off, and just accept that you’re stuck with me forever. Because if you want to leave here, then it means I follow you, and then we have a whole constitutional crisis on our hands. Believe me, that’s a lot more trouble than someone making up lies about the woman I love.”
She hugs her knees a little tighter, but nods.
“What’s the nod for? The water? Or the running away together?”
“The water.” There’s the hint of a smile in her voice. “And the drying off.”
“Okay, good.” I kiss the top of her head as I stand and turn it off. There are fresh towels on the towel rack, and I hope to God the heater has been turned on.