“Mr. Rosen,” the king of Lorria said tersely, nodding at David and patting his wife’s hand robotically. Then he turned to his daughter. “Katerina . . .”
“Do you really want to do this in public?” Katy spat.
* * *
With a fair amount of evidence that they could trust him, and with their usual car indisposed, the king and queen commissioned Edward to drive a hastily conjured luxury sedan that took them from the venue. David and Katy piled in with them. Katy seemed confident—though her quiet calm felt like the calm before a storm—but David was feeling anything but confident about how all this would play out.
It was a strange feeling to be in the presence of the king and queen again, after everything. These were people who had contributed to, and perhaps requested, his downfall. The details were still blurry to David.
And, even now that they were sitting together in what was probably supposed to be a confessional meeting, he still wasn’t sure they were going to get any clearer.
“Katerina, I just want to say . . .” the king tried to start. But Katy wasn’t having it.
“No. David and I are going to talk. We’re going to ask questions. And you can answer them honestly, or you can pull over and let us out of the car. But you need to know that if one of us goes,” Katy reached over and grabbed David’s hand, sending an electric shock through him, “then we both go.”
It was quiet for a while after Katy laid down the ground rules. But soon the king nodded his agreement. The queen was silent, but her eyes looked compassionate and pained. It was a rare show of emotion from a woman David had always known as stodgy, pretentious, and restrained.
“Did you offer Cassie a title in return for making sure I got engaged?” Katy asked. Her tone was steady and her eyes were hard.
“Yes,” the king replied quietly.
“And the person I got engaged to couldn’t be David, is that correct?” Katy pressed further.
The king looked to his wife and then looked back to Katy. He nodded.
“So you were willing to ruin David’s life to keep me from marrying him,” Katy said, shaking her head. It wasn’t really a question. More of a disgusted observation.
“No,” the queen said suddenly. “No, dear. That part isn’t true.”
But Katy didn’t sound convinced. “So you’re going to claim that Cassie fooled you, too? Look, the press might believe that, but if you think—”
“She’s telling the truth, Katerina. Please believe us,” the king interrupted, his voice heavy with regret. “Cassie told us that David sold those photos. She told us that David really was a criminal. When, in reality, it was probably Cassie’s way of tarnishing your reputation.”
“How could you believe that of David?” Katy demanded. “How could you think so poorly of him? You met him. You knew how I felt about him.”
“All we knew of David was what we saw during that short trip, dear,” the queen added. “We had no idea just how much you cared about him.”
“Because you don’t listen to me. Because you don’t care about my feelings or what I want. You only care about yourselves and your crown,” Katy replied, her voice hard, but trembling now. “None of you trusted me to make my own decisions. Not once.”
David shifted in his seat. It was an uncomfortable scenario that he didn’t really want to be present for. Truthfully, he didn’t care about closure with Lorria’s rulers. He had Katy, and that was all that mattered. The king and queen could be as dastardly or as foolish as they wanted, as long as they stayed out of his relationship moving forward.
But, squeezing Katy’s hand in his own, David reminded himself of how important this was for Katy. These were her parents—people she loved, and, perhaps until recently, had respected. And he wanted to be there for her while she worked through her emotions on the matter.
Whatever came of this confrontation, whatever Katy decided, he would support her. Whether she wanted her parents in her life or not. He didn’t care. His heart was too full of joy to process much else.
He had Katy again.
“You’re right,” the queen said, slowly, as though the words pained her. They probably did. “You’re right about everything, Katerina. We didn’t take your feelings into account. We didn’t listen to you. We didn’t even bother ourselves with trying to get to know David.”
The queen looked at David then, her eyes magnified by tears, and David realized that he harbored no ill will anymore. He just didn’t have the capacity to hold a grudge like that, not when it no longer mattered.
Though Katy’s feelings on the matter were probably even more complicated.
“We were wrong for that, Katerina. We let our pride fog our perception of morality. And you and David suffered for that,” the queen went on.
Beside him, David heard Katy sniffle, and her grip on his hand tightened. He wondered if this was the only time she’d heard her mother be sentimental in years—based on what he remembered of their relationship, it seemed likely.
“But we are so sorry. We were fooled by our own pride and by Cassandra. We allowed ourselves to think things of you and of David that were obviously not true. And, if you can ever find it in your heart,” the queen looked back at David, “both of your hearts, then we hope you can forgive us.”
It was quiet and tense in the car as Edward continued driving them aimlessly. David took a deep breath. He looked blankly at the queen.
“Life is too short to hold grudges. Besides, it all worked out for me in the end.”
David squeezed Katy’s hand again. Then he turned to her.
“Katy, do what’s right for you. I have already forgiven your parents. And I want you to be happy now, hopefully for the rest of our lives.”
Katy turned to face David with tears in her eyes. David went on.
“So don’t base your response off of me. You don’t need people to make your decisions for you. You’re smart enough and good enough to make them for yourself. Think about what you want here. And from now on.”
Katy smiled a little watery smile. She stared into David’s eyes for a few long, loving seconds, the look conveying such gratitude and adoration, and then finally sighed, took a breath, and composed herself. Then she turned back to the queen.
“David’s forgiveness was the one you really didn’t deserve,” she said. “And, if he was able to find it in his heart to forgive your many wrongs, then I want to be able to forgive you, too.”
The queen put her hand to her heart, and the king sighed deeply in relief. But Katy wasn’t done.
“But I’m not there yet. David’s right. I’m going to make decisions for myself moving forward. And what’s best for me—and for my relationship—isn’t what’s best for you.”
David listened intently as Katy steadied her voice. He had the feeling that she was about to deliver devastating news to her parents. News that, deep down, they must’ve always expected. News that had always been lying dormant in Katy, yearning to be released.
And after everything David and Katy had been through, maybe Katy was ready to let it out.
Katy took a deep breath, her voice serious, and continued. “Mama, Papa, I love my people and my country, but I’ve never wanted to rule. And you know that. After all this, I can’t go on trying to be the person everybody wants me to be. I’m done. I’m abdicating the crown.”
The queen clutched her skirts with her hand, and the king turned white. But they seemed to realize quickly that it was the best deal that they were going to get. So, slowly, in tandem, they nodded their reluctant acceptance.
“Edward, can you pull over?” Katy raised her voice and asked afterward.
“Yes, My Princess. Where?”
“Anywhere,” came Katy’s response. “Here is fine.”
David looked out the window to see that they were still in the fancy palace district of shops and restaurants. Tourists and moneyed Brits walked the sidewalks outside. Perhaps news of the disastrous wedding had already begun to ripple through the
masses. If so, he couldn’t see evidence of it . . . yet.
Katy moved to open her door without another word. David scooted across the seats to follow her. But the king stopped her.
“Katerina, wait.”
Katy paused and turned back to her father. He looked uncertain and afraid, and there was a bitter twist to his mouth, but his eyes were full of love for his only daughter. Even David could feel it.
“I haven’t forgotten what I promised you all those years ago, dear. About what I would do if we ever found out that David was innocent.” The king looked quickly over at David before turning back to his daughter, his face somber. “I’ll pay for the whole wedding, if you ever decide to marry. And I’ll even officiate it.”
David felt his heart swell with a strange mix of gratitude, love for Katy, and confusion. But Katy seemed to already have an answer prepared.
“Honestly,” she said, opening the door to exit, “you two will be lucky if you even get an invitation.”
Then she stepped out onto the sidewalk, a new woman full of resolve and independence. David followed in awe.
37
Katy
When Katy stepped out of the chauffeured car, onto the London sidewalk on a sunny spring afternoon, she stepped out as someone new.
For the first time in her life, the person Katy felt like on the inside was also the person she could be to the rest of the world. She might have been Katerina de Courtes, Princess of Lorria by name. But really, for all intents and purposes, now she was finally just Katy.
Just Katy and David. At last.
David followed her out of the car and shut the door, one hand still intertwined with hers. Soon, her parents’ reinstated driver, Edward, was rolling away, probably back to the palace to start packing. There was no longer any reason for them to be in London.
But Katy’s reason was standing beside her, in his formalwear, with his dark facial hair giving him an air of sex appeal that she could finally slow down and appreciate.
Briefly.
“Princess Katerina?”
“Is that the princess?”
“Wow! Look!”
Katy knew the sound immediately. She’d been hounded for photos, autographs, and meet-and-greets her whole life. Normally she would put on her most gracious smile, wave with a cupped hand like she’d been taught, and take as many pictures and sign as many autographs as time allowed.
But not today.
Katy grabbed David’s hand, waved a quick goodbye to the people around her, and then began to pull him up the sidewalk and away.
“Who’s that guy?”
“Where’s Duke Oliver?”
Katy didn’t care what people had to say. She didn’t care what the next scandal that hit the papers proclaimed. She was free—nobody to manage her reputation with teams of PR experts and charts and graphs. She could do what she wanted and be the person she had always hoped to be. And she had David. Really, that was all that mattered.
“Where are we going?” David asked in mild surprise as Katy led him away from the loud crowd, just as they’d begun to snap photos and take videos of her on their smartphones.
Some of those will definitely wind up online tomorrow.
She shook off the thought. What they said online didn’t matter to her. “Wherever we want,” she replied over her shoulder. Then she laughed.
She was still hurt by the revelations of betrayal against her. She was confused about what was going to happen to her parents and to the cousin whom she had loved so dearly. But overall, Katy was just . . . happy. She felt like she’d been living under a rock, under a great heavy stone, for these past five years, maybe even before that, far back into her childhood. And now that weight was lifted. She felt light.
And maybe a little hungry. They hadn’t gotten to eat any of Cassie’s expensive reception food, after all.
“What’s a good London food?” Katy asked when they were safely away from the crowds.
David smiled. “I’ve told you once before, but I’ll tell you again: curry is where it’s at.”
Katy grinned in return, her stomach rumbling. She was here with David in his hometown, and she was going to enjoy every sensation and every bite of paneer masala.
Lunch with David was one of the strangest experiences of Katy’s life. In a way, it felt like a flirty first date. They joked and blushed and re-learned some of the things they had forgotten about each other. Katy realized that they both looked up at each other, quickly, hoping to be unseen, as they ate, studying each other’s faces and features and expressions. Anytime they made eye contact, they’d blush and smile.
But in another way, it felt like no time had passed at all between Cambridge and London. Katy and David were able to carry on conversations, remember inside jokes, and finish each other’s sentences like the oldest and dearest of friends.
It was strange, moving forward as if they had always been together, as if nothing had come between them before. As if the trial, the scandals, all the doubt and grief were just . . . erased.
But, though Katy had already apologized before, she felt compelled to stop pretending that things were as they had always been.
“You should’ve been able to do this four years ago. Three years ago. Two years ago,” she said when the tea came at the end of the meal. She spooned a cube of sugar into her cup and began to stir, looking down.
“I can’t really complain. In prison, they call it ‘three squares.’ Three square meals a day. It’s never very good, but you don’t go hungry.”
Katy looked up, horrified, only to see that David was grinning at her over his own cup of tea, his blue eyes flashing playfully.
Katy shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re a big enough person to joke about something like that. I would’ve been destroyed as a person if I’d been sent away from my family and friends for a crime I didn’t even commit.”
David shrugged. “Yeah, well . . .”
“And then to have your name slandered when you can’t argue or defend yourself. All the while knowing that the guilty parties were still out there, still enjoying their freedoms,” Katy went on. She’d never really said it out loud in such plain terms before, and she found that her face was growing hot with righteous indignation on David’s behalf.
“Katy, it’s really okay now. Don’t worry,” David said in a comforting voice.
But Katy still wasn’t sure. She felt like she owed David those years of his life back, like she herself had sentenced him when she chose him over all of the other suitors her parents presented.
And that guilt must’ve showed on her face.
“Katy,” David said firmly. “Look at me.”
Katy looked up again, to stare into David’s gentle but passionate eyes.
“Everything that happened back in Cambridge, everything that we went through when we were apart, all of the pain and heartbreak and confusion . . . it led us back here, Katy. It led us to each other again.”
Katy wiped away a tear and reached across the table to hold David’s hand. “I know. I know you’re right,” she said softly. “I just wish it didn’t have to be that way. I wish you hadn’t lost so many people and so many years.”
“Now that this is behind us, I’m going to get those people back. I never should’ve stopped communicating with Joseph, Cerise, Mary, and Zeke. I owe it to them to apologize for the dark places my mind went and let them know that I’m back. I’m better now. I feel like myself again.”
Katy smiled. She loved the thought of Zeke’s excited face when David called for the first time in so many years. She was so happy to know that Joseph and Cerise and, hopefully, their mother would soon feel that same joy.
But she realized with a start that she had forgotten about someone else in David’s family. It made sense, in a way—he’d never been a real presence in David’s life when they’d been together before.
“Wait. You never told me about your dad,” Katy said, her eyes going wide. “Your biological dad. He’s here, ri
ght? In London?”
David smiled and nodded. “He’s here, all right. We’ve been slowly getting to know each other. Took a little while for that trust to build up, but now . . . I just can’t imagine life without him. Feels like we’ve always known each other. It’s hard to explain.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Katy replied. But she still had so many questions. She had only gotten the main points of the story from David during their stolen moments of planning, including what had happened in Bahia originally. “But tell me, how did he find you? And where was he when you were in Brazil? What did your dad say about your uncle? What does—”
David held up a hand and chuckled. “Tell you what. Why don’t you finish your tea? I want you to ask him yourself.”
* * *
Seeing Marcos Moreno for the first time in David’s room at the Wayland, most of Katy’s questions simply melted away. It was shocking how much he and David resembled each other. Katy didn’t think she had ever noticed just how exotic some of David’s features really were. In the context of Harvard, they’d blended in easily. But now, his Brazilian heritage—and his excited pride and desire to learn more about it—were obvious.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Princess Katerina,” Marcos said, his English impeccable, almost aristocratic, but still accented.
“You as well, Marcos. And please, call me Katy,” she replied, extending a hand to shake, curious about the protocol as a newly non-royal meeting a potential family member for the first time. She had barely gotten the words out before Marcos took a step forward and grabbed her in a tight hug, kissing her on both cheeks.
“Oh, yeah. He’s kind of . . . affectionate,” David warned a moment too late, rubbing the back of his neck beside them in mild embarrassment.
But Katy was more than okay with it. She hugged David’s father back until he pulled away.
“David has said so much about you,” Marcos said warmly. “I was really looking forward to getting to meet you. I knew everything would work out. It had to. David is too good of a person to not get a happy ending.”
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