Royal Disgrace (Cake Love Book 5)

by Elizabeth Lynx

  “Oh, right.” She gently took the laptop off and placed it on the side. Then went back and slid her arm across the desk. Everything that was on her desk was now scattered on the floor.

  I lowered Grace with care and as I did, her eyes fluttered open.

  “Oh, Nico. I had the strangest dream.” She gave me a loopy smile. “You were a prince and your mother appeared. And the ring you gave me turned out to be real. Isn’t that crazy?”

  My mother, who never had good timing, chose that moment to walk over and stand next to Grace.

  “What the—” Grace said before my mother cut her off.

  “It was no dream. My son is the future Prince of Cambria. I am the current princess of that country. I am here to take my son home. He’s played at being a commoner long enough. His father needs him.”

  “Mother, could this wait until she’s feeling better?”

  My mother’s eyes narrowed and gazed down at Grace for a moment before returning to mine. “Fine. But I will be waiting out in front.”

  “Have anything you’d like, your majesty,” Grace said as she tried to sit up but thought better of it and lay back down.

  My mother nodded and left with her bodyguard.

  I turned to Morgana and Tiber. He had been standing just outside the room the whole time.

  “Could you two give us a few minutes alone?”

  “Right, yes, of course,” Morgana said and scurried to the door.

  Tiber closed it once she was out.

  “So, you’re a prince? Will that make me a princess?”

  I stared at the door and it took all my strength to glance down at Grace. She was beautiful and I felt like I stabbed a knife into her heart by keeping this from her.

  “Yes and no.”

  “Oh, I see.” She turned her head and I saw the tear roll down her nose.

  “No, you don’t. I’m sorry I kept this from you. But you have to understand, I just wanted a normal life.”

  She lifted herself up onto her elbows and I helped her get into a seated position on the edge of her desk.

  “And I was the key to that normal life? Marry the commoner as your mother so eloquently put it. And then you never have to be prince again.”

  “Sort of, yes.”

  She turned her head. Grace couldn’t look at me and I didn’t blame her. I had lied to her. I kept my entire life from her and expected her to marry me without knowing anything about me.

  “How I feel for you? That’s very real, Grace.” I lowered to my knees.

  It felt appropriate. Beg for her forgiveness.

  “Is it? Because I don’t know anymore. Nothing you told me about yourself is real. It was all a lie.” She hopped down from the desk and her legs wobbled. I reached out to help her, but she jerked away from me.

  “Please don’t. I don’t need your help. I’ve been taking care of myself for most of my life. The last thing I need is help from a man who plays at being a commoner.”

  I held up my hands. “I’m sorry.” I stood and knew no apology would suffice but I hoped it would help.

  “I never thought you needed my help. That’s not why I proposed.”

  She folded her arms and took her time looking me up and down. Something had changed. A thought perhaps or my pathetic attempt at an apology caused Grace to see me differently.

  The way she looked at me was how every person I met had—as if I was something unreal, like I wasn’t human.

  “Please—”

  “I know why you proposed. You thought you could fool me. Why? Because I was some simple diner owner? Or maybe I was just enough of a weirdo that you’d think I’d fall at your feet if you showed a little interest?”

  “No, that’s not it, Grace. None of that is true. I came here to take a break from being the duke. You have to understand what awaits me when I return to Cambria.”

  There was a tapping sound and I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. I gazed around and realized it was from Grace. She was tapping her foot on the ground, impatient. Tired of my explanation.

  I wondered if she believed anything I told her today. I rubbed my face, desperate to come up with an answer she wanted. Why should she believe me when all I had done was lie?

  “What awaits, Nico? Oh, I’m sorry. Duke. Tell me. I’d really like to know what horrors you will be returning to. The little I looked up about your country, which I now realize was my fault . . . I should have checked it out much more than I had. Then I would have known. But that’s in the past. From what I saw, your country is beautiful. And you told me yourself that the people are kind. Or was that a lie, too?”

  “No, of course not. I would have no reason to lie about my people.”

  She made a clucking noise or was it a hard laugh? Either way, I knew what came next wasn’t going to be good.

  “Your people. Of course, Your Highness,” she said with a bow.

  “Stop it, Grace. You’re my fiancée. You can call me by my given name.” It was one thing to be mad at me for lying, but now she was acting childish. “There’s no need to be petty.”

  “Then tell me, Nico, how should I act? You led me to believe that you were running from your oppressive government, which I am starting to realize isn’t so oppressive after all. You took advantage of my kindness and then pretended to care about me, all so you didn’t have to be a prince. And that’s not even the worst part.” Grace’s lips trembled and she turned her back to me.

  “Grace.”

  She held up a hand. “You have a family that loves you. I’ve seen your sister. She cares about you. Your mother, who I can only imagine is a very busy woman, traveled across an ocean to find you. And you ran from them. Did they beat you?”

  “No.”

  “Did they treat you badly in any way? Were they abusive?”

  I shook my head but realized she couldn’t see me. “No, they’ve never done anything to harm me. We may not have a normal life, but I know my family loves me.”

  That’s when she turned back to face me, and my heart cracked at what I saw. Tears streamed down her face as she sneered at me.

  “How could you? There are so many people in this world who would die to have what you have. And I’m not talking about the money or the title or the jewels. You have no idea how rare that sort of love is, Nico. And you ran and hid as if it was nothing to you.”

  With shaking hands, she pawed at her face, erasing her tears. Staring at her hand, I knew what she was about to do so I reached forward to stop her. “No, Grace, please. I love you.”

  She pulled at the ring I gave her and whimpered, “Love. You have no idea what love is. You know, Nico, when you first asked me to marry you, I wasn’t sure if I knew what love was, either. Growing up in foster care, love was a luxury nobody could afford to give. But it wasn’t until this moment that I realized I did understand love. Because I saw a man toss it away as if it was the wrapper to a bitter mint. I would never run from love. I found my brother and I couldn’t imagine my life without him. You say you love your people and your family . . . Well, you have a terrible way of showing it.”

  She finally pulled the ring off and held it out for me.

  “No,” I whispered.

  “Take it. I learned a lot of things growing up the way I have. When someone shows you that they’re incapable of love, you stay as far away from that person as possible. Why would I want someone who may run away from me someday?”

  I stared at the ring for a moment as every piercing edge of Grace’s words dug deeper into my heart. I loved her, that much I knew was true, but she was right. Why had I run from the people who loved me the most?

  Extending my hand, the ring felt heavy as she dropped it into my palm.

  “Now you must leave. And, in case what I said today wasn’t clear enough for you, I don’t ever want to see you again, Nico. You and I come from very different worlds. We aren’t meant to be. This isn’t a fairy tale. You can’t just kiss me and, poof, turn me into a princess.”

  I
moved to the door staring at the ring in my hand. I felt numb as if all this was some unreal dream. Something I desperately hoped to wake from.

  When I shut the door behind me, the sound of Grace sobbing caused the numbness to be replaced with pain.

  I walked out into the diner to find my mother sharing a cup of coffee with Tiber. They were discussing something intently but once they saw me, their conversation ended.

  “Here. I won’t be needing this anymore.” I placed the ring on the table in front of my mother.

  “How did she handle it when you broke it off with her?” my mother asked as she placed her hand on mine.

  She may adhere to duty, but she wasn’t heartless. My mother knew me enough to understand that I wouldn’t ask a woman I didn’t care about to marry me.

  “I didn’t break it off . . . She did.”

  Not much surprised my mother but the way she gazed up at me, I had caught her off guard.

  “What?”

  “She couldn’t be with a man who so easily ran from a family who loved him.” I sighed and looked up when the bell over the door rang. “Can we go home now? There’s nothing here for me anymore.”

  TWENTY-ONE

  Grace

  She’s Having a Baby

  “Grace. You’ve been in there a long time. I’m afraid we had to serve the turkey,” Aria said from the other side of the bathroom door.

  Tears streamed down my face. Or was it sweat? What did it matter? I was alone. Not technically. I had Alex and Aria and my other friends, but when Nico left two weeks ago, it felt as if every hope at happiness went with him.

  A wave of nausea rose in my throat and I pressed my face against the cool wet cloth in my hands. I willed myself to stop throwing up, for now.

  “Please don’t mention food of any kind. Especially anything that had to be baked. I can’t seem to handle even thinking about it.”

  Aria and my brother came home last week, and all I told them was that I had to let Nico go. They knew nothing else. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them what a fool I was to fall for a prince in disguise. Or a duke. Whatever his title, it didn’t stop me from being an idiot.

  “Grace, can I come in to talk?”

  “Yes. It’s not locked.”

  The door opened. Aria looked beautiful. Sun-kissed skin from her trip to the island. Her hair, already platinum blond, was like a halo around her head.

  “Oh, honey. Did you drink too much last night?”

  My brother loved throwing get-togethers for all his friends. And Thanksgiving was everything to him. He celebrated with drinks the night before and everyone stayed over. The next morning, he had the chef make a big breakfast and then the Thanksgiving meal around three in the afternoon. He loved to feed people. It’s one of the quirky qualities that I loved about him.

  “No, I didn’t have anything to drink last night. Nor did I have much to eat or drink today. Just water and some crackers.”

  I closed my eyes for a few seconds as I leaned against the wall, taking a moment to enjoy the relief from my upset stomach. I heard Aria move around in the bathroom and unwrap something, but I felt too weak to care what she was doing. She could be unwrapping a tampon to stick up her vagina in front of me and I wouldn’t move.

  That’s how low I was now. With my heart ripped apart and my stomach trying to leap out of my body, self-respect wasn’t worth the effort anymore.

  “Here. Time to pee,” she said as she shoved a white stick in front of my face.

  “Is that a pregnancy test?”

  “Yes, of course, it’s a pregnancy test. You’re sick and talk of food makes you nauseous. And you look super tired. What else could it be?”

  A broken heart.

  I was pretty sure I just ate something bad, combined with Nico turning out to be the Prince of Hell, that was making me sick, but I didn’t want to say that to Aria.

  “Fine.” I grabbed the stick from her and lifted myself from the cool tiled floor.

  Placing the wet rag on the counter, I was thankful I didn’t have to put more effort than pulling down my undies since I was wearing a skirt.

  “I’m going to do this in front of you if you don’t leave,” I warned Aria.

  She chuckled. “Haven’t you ever gone to the bathroom with your girlfriends like at clubs or parties?”

  “What girlfriends? You and the ladies of SWIM are the first real girlfriends I’ve ever had.”

  Aria’s face fell. Normally, I kept that to myself, but I felt like such crap that I didn’t care. If she wanted to pity me, that was fine. Maybe I wanted some sympathy right now. A little extra love to help heal my scarred heart.

  “Oh, Grace, I had no idea. That’s it.” She held up her hands. “If you’re not pregnant, I’ll call a SWIM Meet so you can get trashed and we can all take turns holding your hair back in the bathroom while you puke.”

  “And if I am pregnant?”

  Because now that I held the stick between my legs and started to pee on it, I wondered if it wasn’t just a broken heart that had me both hungry and ready to puke at the same time. Somehow urinating on a piece of plastic made everything real.

  I lifted the pregnancy test and placed it on top of the box on the counter. After straightening my panties, I washed my hands.

  “If you’re pregnant, then we all have a girls’ night binge-fest watching eighties movies and eating lots of cake.”

  We both looked at the stick even though it hadn’t been enough time yet.

  “I assume Nico and you . . .” She made a gesture with her hands indicating sex.

  “Yes, we did. But it was a mistake . . . A horrible mistake.”

  Aria frowned. “I hadn’t pegged him as a lousy lay, but if you say he was horrible—”

  “I didn’t mean the sex was bad. The opposite actually. It was really good.” I felt warmth creep up my neck. “It was him. He lied to me. He wasn’t trying to run from an oppressive country. He was trying to run from his family. From his responsibilities. And I was the perfect excuse. He was using me to flee because he’s just another spoiled man who didn’t appreciate what he had.”

  “Um, so I’m thinking there was a little more than just sex going on between you two.”

  I went back to the toilet, lowered the cover, and sat. “You could say that. A lot happened while you two were on vacation.”

  “Oh my God, tell me everything. Did he dump you?” Aria scrunched up her face.

  “No.” I laughed because if I didn’t, I’d cry. “For once, I wasn’t the one getting dumped. But I did add him to my breakup journal. Technically, we only dated for two weeks. The shortest time I’d gone out with a guy, yet it felt like he did the most damage,” I mumbled the last part. “I told him to leave. I may not pick the best guys to date, but I still had my self-respect. I wasn’t about to date a man who didn’t understand the meaning of love.”

  “He said he didn’t love you? People don’t fall in love at the same time, Grace. He may have needed more time. Two weeks isn’t a long time.”

  I stared blankly at the floor, remembering the look on his face as I told him to leave. Dropping the engagement ring into his hand was the worst thing I ever had to do. When he closed the door to my office and left my world forever, I crumpled onto the floor and sobbed.

  Total ugly cry. I didn’t leave my office for the rest of the day, not even when Morgana came back to comfort me.

  “No. He told me he loved me when he asked me to marry him.”

  “Holy shit. He proposed? When did this happen and why didn’t you tell me? I told Alex we should have waited until after Christmas to go to the island, but he insisted on November. I knew I would miss something. Like something in my bones told me there’d be gossip when I got back, and it would involve sex somehow. I sort of have a sixth sense when it comes to orgasms. And I can tell, you got all the orgasms.”

  “Okay, but that doesn’t make up for the lies.”

  “It’s time, Grace. Do you want me to look for you?” Ari
a asked, distracting me with the test.

  “Yes. No. I mean . . . I’ll do it. I’m probably not pregnant anyway,” I said as I got up, took a step, and looked down at the stick. “What does a plus sign mean?”

  I knew what a plus sign meant. It meant it wasn’t my broken heart or bad food that was making me throw up, but a tiny little life growing inside me.

  “Oh, Grace,” Aria said as she came beside me and gave me a side hug.

  What seemed like a fairy tale has turned into a total nightmare. Prince Charming. More like Prince Fuck Up.

  “Damn him and his royal super sperm,” I said with a growl.

  My fist pounded against the counter causing the stick to fall to the floor.

  “That’s right, Grace. You let it out. You . . . Wait, did you say royal sperm?”

  Shit. I didn’t want to tell anyone. It was bad enough Morgana knew because she wasn’t good at keeping secrets, but I made her swear not to say anything. I was surprised she hadn’t told Aria because they’re so close. I was glad Morgana kept her word.

  “Yes, that’s why I broke it off with him. He turned out to be a prince in disguise. Pretending to be a commoner.”

  She stepped back and stared at me. Opening her mouth a few times, she finally came up with something to say. “What you’re saying is, a member of a royal family—”

  “He’s the future Prince of Cambria.”

  “Okay, the future Prince of Cambria proposed to you and you turned him down?”

  “Not exactly. He gave me a huge ruby ring but at the time I thought it was fake because I thought he was some average guy running from an oppressive country. But once I found out that it was real and that he was to be prince, that’s when I gave him the ring back and told him to leave.”

  Aria stared at me again. Then she closed her eyes and stayed like that for a minute. Once she opened them again, she said, “Correct me if I’m wrong here, but what I’m hearing is a super-hot prince who gave you the best sex of your life and a huge ruby ring that’s probably worth the GDP of a small country, wanted to marry you. And you found out he wanted you instead of ruling his country or something like that, and that made you mad.”