Royal Disgrace (Cake Love Book 5)

by Elizabeth Lynx

  I nodded. “Yeah. That sounds about right.”

  She rubbed her neck and started to move about the room. It wasn’t a big bathroom, so Aria ended up walking in circles.

  “I’m not seeing why you’re so upset. I mean, yes, he should have told you he was a future prince before he proposed or even as he proposed, but it’s not something you end an engagement to a prince over, Grace!”

  My head shot back in surprise. “Not only did he lie to me, but he ran from his family. From his country. That’s someone who doesn’t know what he wants. He may be a prince, Aria, but I won’t be used up and then thrown away when he finally realizes what he really wants. And it isn’t me.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  Nico

  Terms of Endearment

  “Nicolas, will you please come away from that window and eat your food,” my mother said for the third time in ten minutes.

  “Yes, this will be the last meal together before the Christmas festivities. Let’s eat like we used to,” my father added.

  It had been over a month since I last saw Grace and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I looked up Totally Diner’s website every day and any social media sites I could find on the diner and her, just to see if there had been any updates. I saw the diner had a few holiday special menu options but that was it.

  Nothing about Grace.

  I wrote letters to her every day, only to get them back unopened. I felt pathetic and so utterly lonely. I missed her more than I thought possible. Not being able to see her warm smile or taste her on my tongue as I kissed her before bed or snuggle next to her as we watched another 80s movie she insisted I see, was more torturous than listening to one of my father’s speeches about royal duty.

  It was the little things I stumbled over, causing me to fall hard for Grace, and it’s the small things that I missed most. Like hairline cuts at my heart that built up each day, never to heal.

  What she told me hurt because it was true. I was a spoiled prince who didn’t realize how good he had it.

  “Of course. Sorry, I’m a little distracted.” I walked over and took my seat. One of the servers ladled out the soup into my bowl for the first course.

  “Now that we’re all here, there’s something I have been meaning to tell you since you arrived back from America,” my father said as he lowered his spoon.

  He turned his head to Mother, who sat next to him instead of her usual seat at the other end of the rectangular table. I thought it odd when she took that seat this evening, but figured it had something to do with Father’s speech.

  As much as I loathed my father’s speeches, I was too numb to care.

  My sister gave me a look that told me she knew I was in trouble. It was only a matter of time before this moment would come. My parents hadn’t said a word about my absence in the United States or about my engagement to Grace.

  They must have been letting things cool down before they spoke to me.

  “What I am about to say will not only affect us, but is the reason I am abdicating in two weeks,” my father said, staring ahead, unable to look at any of us.

  I was tired to fighting, tired of running from my duty. Whatever my father had to say, I would accept it, even if I didn’t wish to be prince so soon. But now that I had a taste of being free, I didn’t blame him for wanting to experience that freedom for himself.

  “This wasn’t an easy decision to make, stepping down as crowned Prince of Cambria. All my life I felt a pride that I was meant to lead the people. We may not have the power and sway we once had over how things are run, but that didn’t mean the people didn’t look to us for guidance and hope when things were bad.”

  He paused as his voice began to wobble. My mother leaned toward him and whispered something. He shook his head before he cleared his throat.

  “I spent many months deciding what to do and when I had heard that my son wished to start a foundation to help the needy of Cambria, I knew it was time.”

  I blinked a few times. He knew. I was surprised that my father had heard about my idea to help our people. He had always acted as if I only cared about partying. When did he find out?

  “Tiber informed me about your plans and a few other details about your trip to the States. I’m ashamed to admit that I made a mistake. I thought you were young and foolish when I was too blind to see that my son had grown into a wise young man.”

  “You, uh . . . you know about Chicago and you aren’t angry?”

  He chuckled and after a moment, he began to cough. My mother rubbed his back until the coughing subsided.

  “At first, I was. Not about the foundation. It’s a wonderful idea that I know you can do great things with once you become prince. But when I found this . . .” He lifted an envelope that had been under his plate. I recognized it instantly. It was one of the returned envelopes I had sent Grace. Only this one was opened, and I knew it wasn’t Grace who had opened it.

  “I couldn’t stay mad at you. I understood why you stayed and was surprised you had returned.”

  I put my hand into my dinner jacket and lifted the ring, playing with it in my hand. “It wasn’t my idea to return.”

  “It was Ms. Jensen-Hawthorne’s, wasn’t it?” my mother asked.

  My mother gave me back the ring during the flight home last month. She told me I would place in on a woman’s hand one day, just not that day. I had no plan to get engaged to anyone or even date. Perhaps I would remain one of those bachelor princes. But it was the law that I marry by thirty, which was in three days.

  Ha, that wasn’t going to happen. Either I had to get married or the law had to change. I guess only time would tell who won that battle.

  “Yes. She gave back the ring when she found out who I was.”

  “No, that couldn’t be. What woman would turn you down? Turn down a future prince?” My father’s tone was filled with surprise.

  “A woman who couldn’t understand why I would run from you. Run away from a loving family and country. She may be a commoner, but she’s the wisest person I have ever met.” I stared at the ring and gave a hard laugh. “I guess that’s a problem with me becoming the crowned prince on January first. I need a wife to take the crown.”

  As much as I didn’t want to marry anyone but Grace, I wanted to perform my duty, to take the crown from my father.

  “Tiber has a sister. Cyrena.”

  I frowned as my sister offered a replacement for Grace.

  “Isn’t she in grade school?” I asked.

  “No, she’s nineteen and at Oxford. She’s pretty, sweet, and smart.”

  A shudder went down my spine. I was sure that Tiber’s sister was wonderful, but there’s something about marrying someone I last remembered wearing braces and going on about her crush on Justin Bieber that didn’t sit well in my stomach.

  I glanced at my parents. My mother nodded in agreement with my sister as my father played with one of the letters Grace sent back.

  “We shall discuss that another time,” my father said as his eyes stayed focused on me. “The reason I am abdicating is that I have been diagnosed with stage four terminal cancer of the lungs and liver. And—”

  He stopped speaking as if something was stuck in his throat. I was glad he had as I didn’t think I could hear another word.

  My sister, with tears rolling down her face, yelled, “No.”

  It sounded as if I was in an echo chamber. The words muffled as my sister’s chair hit the floor when she got up in a rush to run to my father’s side, but I only heard a soft thump.

  I didn’t move. What I was watching were people moving and talking but that numbness was back. I wanted to cry like my sister and mother, but I couldn’t.

  That’s when Grace’s words popped into my head. When she told me how rare it was to have the love of my family, of my father. And I ran when all he ever wanted was to love me the only way he knew how.

  That’s when the tears came. That’s when I stood, walked over to my father, and leaned over to em
brace him. I didn’t hear it, but I felt the vibration from my father as he silently sobbed.

  We all huddled together for several minutes as we came to terms with what lay ahead for my father, for our family.

  He had known since the summer but he waited until now to tell us. For a second, as I moved back to my chair, that thought angered me. But as I sat and glanced over at my father, as he held my mother’s hand, I noticed that he seemed tired. Why hadn’t I noticed the circles under his eyes or the weight he had lost?

  I knew why I hadn’t seen it. Because I was a selfish, spoiled duke. That’s why. Grace’s words had never been truer.

  It didn’t matter how long my father kept this news from us. Maybe he had a reason. What mattered was the part I needed to play to make his final days in the world as pain free as possible.

  “I don’t plan to travel. That was an excuse I used when I said I was stepping down as crowned prince. I’m sorry, but I wasn’t prepared to tell you both. I still felt good and every month the doctor tested me, he gave me good news. My hope was that I could beat it or, at least, postpone the inevitable for several years. But in November, the good news stopped and reality set in. It was time to prepare. So I had your mother come to get you.”

  My sister swiped her hand across her cheek as she nodded.

  “I understand,” I said and did my best to keep the lump down in my throat. “And you don’t have to worry about me, Father. I will take the crown and do my duty. If that duty means I must marry before taking the crown, then I will make sure I am married to whoever you present to me before January first.”

  Grace had always been right. My family’s love was more important than anything.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Grace

  Christmas Vacation

  “Who wants eggnog? The good stuff. You know, the kind that will have you seeing all the reindeer while you deck those halls.” Aria came into the room from another entrance that led to the kitchen with a tray of mugs.

  She placed the tray on the glass coffee table and settled next to my brother. They were wearing matching red terrycloth robes with white fake fur lining.

  I sat on the floor by the multitude of presents my brother had splurged on under the white fake Christmas tree. I held up my hand and smiled for the first time in a month.

  Aria furrowed her brow. “I made a special non-alcoholic, egg-free, eggnog for you, Grace.”

  My grin fell. Being pregnant sucked. I was starting to get over my nausea and able to eat food again. But I only wanted terrible deep-fried stuff. Basically, all the stuff we served at the diner. I even came up with the holiday dish we’re serving there. It’s gingerbread French toast, sprinkled with chocolate chips and drizzled in maple frosting. It’s so bad, it’s amazing. And my belly agreed. I ate it every day. I may die of a heart attack before the end of this pregnancy, but they’d have to rip that gingerbread French toast out of my cold dead hands before I’d give it up.

  “So basically throw-up in a mug. Pass.” I waved my hands and poked at one of the bigger presents in red metallic wrapping under the tree.

  “It’s not that bad,” Aria said. “I’ll try it. You’ll see that . . .” She lifted the mug with a reindeer on it and took a sip.

  Her face froze. After a moment, she looked over at me in horror.

  “Aria, are you all right?” Alex sat up and placed his hand gently on her back.

  I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes. “Go on, Aria. Swallow it. Unless it tastes like puke.” I smirked at her.

  Her eyes bounced from me to Alex. After a moment longer, she spit the drink back into the mug. Pushing it to the side, she said, “You were right, Grace. Let us never speak of the non-alcoholic, egg-free eggnog again.”

  “We have cocoa if you want,” Alex said trying to help.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m not thirsty or feeling Christmassy anyway.” I got up from the floor, tired of opening presents I would end up donating to shelters anyway.

  My brother always went overboard on Christmas or birthdays. He was a kid at heart, loving to see people smile. But there wasn’t anything I felt like smiling about.

  Any thought about the baby that was due in the summer made me nervous. When I remembered Nico, all I felt was sad. And work, with the pregnancy, made me tired. More tired than I had ever felt in my life. Last week I fell asleep standing up and with my hand on the coffee pot handle at the diner.

  One of the customers mumbled that I was on drugs. Nope, just a baby zapping the life out of me.

  When Aria and I found out I was pregnant, I immediately told Alex. I thought he wouldn’t be happy because it was Nico’s baby, but he was excited. He told me he couldn’t wait to be the cool uncle. All the fun and none of the responsibility. His words, not mine.

  I told you he was a kid at heart.

  Both Aria and Alex begged me to tell Nico. My brother explained he didn’t like Nico at first but when I explained what happened and how he wanted to marry me, Alex felt better about him.

  I knew that I should tell him, but I wanted to wait until the first trimester was over, until there was less of a risk of miscarriage. I was still four weeks away from the second trimester.

  Until then, I would keep sending back his letters and hang up the calls I received from the Chillingham Royal Castle in Cambria.

  I worried when I did finally tell Nico he was going to be a father, he would tell me to leave. Do to me what I did to him.

  Perhaps I deserved it, but the baby didn’t.

  My brother’s phone vibrated. When he picked it up, his eyebrows rose. Then he turned and winked at Aria. Her mouth fell open, but she quickly shut it when she caught me staring at her.

  “I do hope Santa pays us a visit,” she said.

  “What? You mean you want more presents?” I waved my hand at the cornucopia of holiday offerings under our tree.

  “You know me,” she chuckled in a weird, phony way, “can’t get enough of . . .” she pushed some wrapping aside and reached for a gift she had opened earlier, “an emoji poop pillow.”

  Aria tried to hold her smile but it was fading.

  “Ho. Ho. Ho. Happy Christmas,” a deep and very feminine voice called from out in my brother’s hallway.

  Alex’s eyes lit up. He jumped to his feet and said, “Is that Santa?”

  I stared at him and wondered if he had lost it. All that money finally took a toll on his sanity. It was obviously affecting Aria as well.

  “Maybe if Santa was a woman and doing a very bad job at disguising her voice,” I said as I stood from the couch.

  My brother cupped his hand by his ear and leaned toward the hallway. “Shh, Grace. You might scare off Old Saint Nick.”

  “Oh, I hope I get more, uh . . . pillows.”

  “Aria, not now. Santa is here.” Alex gave her an exaggerated wink.

  What the hell was going on here? They both were acting kooky. I expected that sort of ridiculousness from Alex, but not Aria.

  Right as I was about to ask if they had smoked something before we started opening presents, my brother opened the door. A person I never thought I would see again walked inside.

  “Cali?”

  I had only spoken to Cali a few times before I slept with Nico when I thought he was running from his government. It wasn’t as if I knew her other than what Nico had told me about her.

  That meant she was only here for one thing—her brother had sent her.

  “Ho, ho, ho . . . happy Christmas.” She waved a hand in the air, still trying to sound like Santa Claus, and pushed out her belly.

  She looked like the opposite of Saint Nick. With her lush auburn hair cascading over her pale blue wool coat and brown fur hat. And that stomach she was trying to push out was nonexistent.

  “You can stop now. I know you aren’t Santa. Not that I ever believed in the guy anyway.”

  My brother gazed at me with hurt in his eyes. I had forgotten. When he was young, believing in Santa was the only thing that gave h
im hope. As for me, I must have been three when my foster mom told me that Santa didn’t exist. Once that fairy tale was broken, there’s no repairing. From that point on, I knew there was nothing real that was full of so much joy.

  Until I met my brother.

  “I’m sorry, Alex. Santa does exist. But he’s not a princess from Cambria.”

  “I know Santa doesn’t exist. But this was just supposed to be a fun surprise. Something to make you smile. I got all this to make you feel better, Grace,” my brother said, waving his hand around. “I hate seeing you sad. That your heart is broken. I saw that same look in our mother’s eyes when I was little, and it destroyed her. I can’t let that happen to you.”

  Why did my brother have to be so sweet? He was going to make me cry. Oh, too late. I wiped the single tear that meandered down my cheek.

  “Alex, thank you.” He walked over to me and I threw my arms around his torso. My head barely reached his chest, the guy was huge. No one would have ever guessed we were twins.

  “I love you, Grace. And I want to make sure this baby has the happiest and healthiest mama ever.”

  “Why do you have to be so nice? I want to sulk right now, and you keep being sweet.”

  We hugged for a moment longer before he pulled back.

  “I also want the father to have a chance to be the best dad for this baby. It’s time you told him.”

  I gazed past my brother to see Cali standing there trying to cover the shock on her face, but she was doing a poor job of it.

  “He’s not here.”

  “No, but his sister is and the way you’ve been sending back his mail—”

  “How did you know about that?”

  It’s not as if I lived with my brother. The letters were addressed to my house, not his.

  “He wrote me. That’s how much he wants to speak with you. He knew I didn’t like him, yet he reached out to me anyway.”

  “You still don’t like him much, do you?”

  His head flipped side to side as he mulled over my question.

  “That depends on how he takes the news of you being pregnant. Now talk to the princess. You’re going to have to tell them sooner or later. It might as well be now.”