I shut my eyes and try to pull myself together.
It feels like I’m teetering on the brink of a breakdown. A strong gust of wind would knock me into meltdown mode. I keep swinging between highs and lows every few minutes, and it’s making my head spin. So, I just stay huddled on the floor, with my hands balled into fists and my eyes squeezed shut.
I count to a hundred. The lights still haven’t miraculously come back on, and I’m still single and broke—but at least I don’t feel like I’m going to break down and cry anymore.
Picking myself up off the floor, I stand up and find my work uniform. I’ll work my shift tonight and scrape together enough money for the bill. The power will be back on in no time.
I repeat the words to myself over and over until I almost believe them. I take extra time to do my makeup and hair like I’m putting on war paint. I stare at myself in the mirror, fake-smiling at my reflection. I wonder if I look as miserable as I feel.
My phone rings, interrupting my pity-party. It’s my mother.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Jolie, don’t panic.”
You know when people say, ‘don’t panic’ and you immediately start panicking? And then instead of explaining themselves, they pause, as if the silence hanging between you will do anything to calm your racing mind?
My mother is an expert at that. She wrote the book on dramatic pauses—which, coincidentally, is more than I can say about my own book-writing career.
“Whatsgoingon?” I breathe the words out as one.
“It’s your father.” My mother sighs.
My heart takes off at breakneck speed, trying its best to make me faint. “What happened?”
Is this the gust of wind that will knock me over the edge into a full-on breakdown?
“The cancer’s back,” she says quietly.
“No. No, no, no. How, Mom? How?”
“The oncologist said it’s treatable, and we caught it very early this time. We’re going to have to move back to Farcliff City. We have to be near the hospital now. There aren’t enough medical facilities out here in Westhill.”
My parents have been living at the Westhill Palace, in the heart of the forests on the western edge of the Kingdom. My father has been in charge of the Westhill Royal Rose Gardens for about five years. The two of them moved to Westhill after I left for the United States. Being appointed to the Westhill Rose Garden was the greatest honor that has ever been bestowed upon my family.
For my parents to be moving away from the Westhill, it means my father’s illness is getting very, very serious.
“What about the garden?” My voice squeaks, and I clear my tightening throat.
My mother sighs. “We’re going to have to leave it behind. Harry Brooks will be in charge of it.”
“Harry Brooks? Last time you left him in charge of the roses, you practically had to start over. He killed nearly all of them—you were complaining about it for months.”
“Jolie…”
“Mom… How bad is it?”
Leaving Westhill on such short notice, and leaving the incompetent Brooks in charge of the Royal Rose Gardens means something is seriously wrong. My heart is racing and I’m finding it hard to see straight.
My mother sighs. “We just need to be closer to the hospital, that’s all. He needs to start another course of chemotherapy, so we’ll be in and out of the hospital every week. We can’t travel two hours each way from Westhill to Farcliff. It’s just not feasible.”
“Every week?”
Mental breakdown, here I come.
“The doctors had to up the frequency of his treatment this time.”
“I’m coming home.”
“Jo, stop. You don’t have to. Your father didn’t even want me to tell you that we were moving, but I wanted you to know. Everything will be fine. He’ll recover—we just need a bit more care for him this time. It’s precautionary.”
“Chemo isn’t precautionary, Mom. Aggressive chemo isn’t a precaution.”
My mind is reeling. I can’t stay here. I can’t be in a foreign country, struggling to keep my lights on, when my father is in an out of the hospital.
“I’m coming home,” I repeat.
“No, Jolie. You can’t put your life on hold for us. You’re doing so well in New York! It keeps your father and I going to know that you’ve been so successful.”
I almost start laughing.
Successful? Me?
I’m the very definition of failure. I’m so far from success that I might as well not even know the meaning of the word. I’ve never told them how much I’m struggling, of course. What would that accomplish?
But the truth is, I wouldn’t be giving anything up by coming home. I need to be close to my family. There’s nothing left for me here.
Taking a deep breath, I try to think of an angle that my parents will agree to. “Well, what if I tended the rose gardens?” The words slip out of my mouth before I even know what I’m saying.
My mother pauses, and the words hang between us. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m better at gardening that Harry fucking Brooks—”
“Language, Jolie.”
“Sorry. All I’m saying is, I’ll be closer to you. At least I’ll be in the Kingdom. That way, Dad won’t have to worry about the gardens going to shit—sorry, I mean he’ll know the gardens are being taken care of. I can write from there, too. A bit of solitude in the country will do me good. I’ve been wanting to get away from the city, anyway.”
I can hear my mother breathing on the other side of the line. She’s thinking about it.
“Darling, the Prince…”
“I can handle the Prince.”
“He’s not well. Ever since he had his daughter…”
“Who cares? I probably won’t even see him. You’ve lived in the Westhill for years, and you’ve only seen him a handful of times.”
“Jo…”
“Mom, I want to be closer. If you won’t let me stay with you in Farcliff, at least let me help out with the gardens. Dad will want to show some flowers at the Annual Rose Festival, no? How would he feel if he wasn’t able to show any flowers at all?”
Mom sighs, and I can hear her starting to give in. “I’ll talk to your father.”
The tightness in my chest eases, and I nod. “Okay. I’ll start packing.”
I’ve always been decisive, but this is quick—even for me. The power isn’t coming on in my apartment, though, and the refrigerator isn’t going to magically fill itself with food. I can’t be struggling here when I should be closer to my family in Farcliff.
Taking my father’s place at Westhill is my only choice—even if I won’t admit that to my parents.
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ALSO BY LILIAN MONROE
For all books, visit:
www.lilianmonroe.com
Brother’s Best Friend Romance
Shouldn’t Want You
Can’t Have You
Don’t Need You
Won’t Miss You
Military Romance
His Vow
His Oath
His Word
The Complete Protector Series
Enemies to Lovers Romance
Hate at First Sight
Loathe at First Sight
Despise at First Sight
The Complete Love/Hate Series
Secret Baby/Accidental Pregnancy Romance:
Knocked Up by the CEO
Knocked Up by the Single Dad
Knocked Up Again
Knocked Up by the Billi
onaire’s Son
The Complete Unexpected Series
Bad Prince
Heartless Prince
Cruel Prince
Broken Prince
Wicked Prince
Wrong Prince
Fake Engagement/ Fake Marriage Romance:
Engaged to Mr. Right
Engaged to Mr. Wrong
Engaged to Mr. Perfect
Mr Right: The Complete Fake Engagement Series
Mountain Man Romance:
Lie to Me
Swear to Me
Run to Me
The Complete Clarke Brothers Series
Extra-Steamy Rock Star Romance:
Garrett
Maddox
Carter
The Complete Rock Hard Series
Sexy Doctors:
Doctor O
Doctor D
Doctor L
The Complete Doctor’s Orders Series
Time Travel Romance:
The Cause
A little something different:
Second Chance: A Rockstar Romance in North Korea
Table of Contents
Title Page
Contents
Copyright
Foreword
Epigraph
1. Dahlia
2. Damon
3. Dahlia
4. Damon
5. Dahlia
6. Damon
7. Dahlia
8. Damon
9. Dahlia
10. Damon
11. Dahlia
12. Lady Malerie
13. Damon
14. Dahlia
15. Damon
16. Dahlia
17. Damon
18. Dahlia
19. Damon
20. Lady Malerie
21. Dahlia
22. Damon
23. Dahlia
24. Damon
25. Dahlia
26. Damon
27. Dahlia
28. Damon
29. Dahlia
30. Damon
31. Damon
32. Damon
33. Dahlia
34. Damon
35. Damon
36. Dahlia
37. Dahlia
38. Lady Malerie
39. Damon
Epilogue
Cruel Prince
1. Jo
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Heartless Prince: An Accidental Pregnancy Romance (Royally Unexpected Book 2) Page 20