Forbidden King (Princes of Avce Book 9)

by Victoria Pinder

  His voice was deep and it broke through the ice building around her soul. “I chose to marry you, even after she told me. I still chose to be with you.”

  And if he loved her, it would be different. Entirely. But he didn’t. He loved how she cleaned up his life, and that couldn’t be confused. The holes in her defenses were widening. He had chosen her. She widened her stance like that might stop her knees from knocking. “Why? Why do you pick me? Because I clean up your life and make everything easier for you.”

  His tongue clicked behind his teeth, and the sound startled her. She glanced at him and his gaze seemed laser-sharp as he said, “That would be why I don’t want to love you.”

  That stopped her in her tracks and she held her head high. “What?”

  He reached for her hands. “You’re sweet and kind and beautiful, but underneath the surface you’re strong, resilient and smarter than me. Can’t you open your heart to understand I made a mistake?”

  Of course. She wasn’t horrible, but Francesca’s face flashed in her mind as she took her hands out of his and said, “I don’t know how this all plays out.”

  “I don’t either.” Leo countered, “Are you saying Francesca won’t take the money and Lord Pascal’s hand?”

  Money. A title. Both of those seemed exactly what Francesca wanted though neither was a crown. She sighed and ignored the pang in her heart. “She probably will, but-”

  He interrupted, “And you’re not going to ensure that she can never utter the name Aussa without consequences from an air-tight contract you make her sign?”

  Right. Her job. She was always good at that and this was exactly what she was to him. He valued her as an employee. “That was the plan, Sire.”

  This time he flinched at her words and her mind went blank. This was all they had with each other… work. “Let’s go back to my question, Anna.”

  Good. Business. Coldness soaked into her, freezing her solid as she said, “I’m not the one making decisions here.”

  His fingers traced her arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps as he said, “Not yet, but you will be. Can you open your heart and forgive me?”

  “If we had a way to bring a baby into our family to raise as ours, without causing a royal scandal, I would.”

  “I can’t risk people losing faith in the crown. It’s all they have keeping our kingdom from coups… the loyalty of the people.”

  “I understand.”

  The way he kept saying that was like he dared her. But to her this wasn’t about the baby. It was about Francesca and Leo and what happened could not affect the kingdom. And what if Francesca didn’t give away her baby, demanding to make it public and wanting to raise her baby on her own? Anna wouldn’t seek the limelight but she’d keep her own child. No dollar sign would change her opinion on that. She’d have to talk to Francesca. She looked at the door. “I don’t want to think I’m stealing anyone’s baby.”

  He stood taller. “You’re protecting what’s mine, which is your duty as my wife.”

  Duty. Work. Loyalty. Dependability. All of this was who she was to Leo. The eternal employee-she’d been so stupid for simply agreeing to be his wife. She sighed. “I have always followed your orders, Leo.”

  He stopped and her hair stood on end as she waited for his words. Finally he said, “That’s the first time since you found that you said my name.”

  The position she was in wasn’t easy. He had to know that. “Leo…”

  He cupped her face and she stared at him as he asked, “What?”

  How she loved him and it was clear that he didn’t love her. She was still his secretary and she was a fool. “I don’t know what I want to do.”

  He pressed his forehead on hers as he said, “I want you beside me.”

  Her lips tingled, anticipating a kiss. She backed away. “Because you think I’ll make a good queen.”

  He shrugged. “There is no question that you are the best hope for Avce’s future.”

  Maybe if she was power hungry she’d be satisfied. But she’d never sought the crown. Maybe she could settle for helping others, but only when she was sure her heart wouldn’t break anymore. She had to put a border around it. She walked toward the window and glanced at the sunbeam on the ocean as she said, “But not because you love me. This is all about putting Avce first.”

  Leo followed her and his eyes reflected in the glass. “And watching out for my child.”

  The baby. She could never forget. Someone else had given him a family. She walked around him, circling him and keeping her distance as she headed toward the door. “I don’t know, Leo. I’ll need time to figure out what I want.”

  He didn’t follow her but asked, “How much time?”

  Good question. Once she was sure she wouldn’t cry in front of him, then she would be able to talk some more. “Maybe ten minutes. Maybe the rest of our lives. Are you sure you don’t want an annulment? Getting your son or daughter will be easier if you marry Francesca.”

  Leo’s strong voice followed her as she reached for the door handle. “I will never marry Francesca or set you aside, Anna.”

  “Give me a half an hour.” She lifted her chin and hoped it was enough time to put herself back together—she was cool outside but a mess where she could hide it. She spoke without one tear. “Let’s take that tour and wave at the locals as we planned this afternoon. We’ll wave at cameras and pretend nothing is wrong. Then we’ll talk about this after we do our duty.”

  “That’s my future queen,” he called out as she hurried from the room.

  If she didn’t get out soon, she’d break in half. And there was no way she’d ever let Leo see that she was crying.

  Anna never cried and she’d not start now.

  Chapter 15

  Anna’s face was red but still, she didn’t cry. The good thing about a castle was that there were plenty of places to disappear. The bad part was every corner of the blue bedroom she’d stormed inside and locked the door smelled like almond soap.

  Did the staff wash the rooms with his cologne?

  She couldn’t forget Leo anywhere.

  Anna stared at the ocean though this view had a lighthouse in the distance. But all she remembered when she looked outside was Leo and sailing beside him. She shut the blinds to calm down.

  In the dark her body craved his kiss. That she should never have tasted. Drat. She flipped on the lights, and stared at herself in her bedroom mirror of the room she’d chosen to go to.

  Leo could have the suite they’d been staying in and stay there as that was his room before he’d married her. Besides this door had a lock and big bed so she could stay all by herself until her mind stopped the drum parade that kept reminding her that Francesca was pregnant.

  Tonight she’d disappear under the royal blue duvet and never surface.

  For now, she fixed the pins in her hair.

  Soon she’d leave this room for a few hours. The tour of the village was supposed to be the easy way to get used to being photographed in royal life. She’d do it. She’d pretend to be happy and ready to be the future queen.

  She fixed the last pin so her hair was flawless when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and instead of Maria, Pierre or even Queen Anastasia, the name Francesca flashed. She picked up the phone and Francesca said fast, “Anna.”

  And what might she say to her husband’s pregnant ex-fling? “Francesca, I didn’t expect you to call me again.”

  The model’s lips smacked with indignation and Anna could imagine how she rolled her eyes. “Well your guards won’t let me inside your castle, Princess Anna Camila.”

  Her heart almost stopped and she pressed her hand to her chest. “You’re here?” The model must have hired someone to take her across the water from Avce.

  Her pulse pumped with adrenaline. There was so much she wanted to say! Francesca said, “Yes. I’ve been placed on the veranda overlooking the ocean.”

  Anna glanced out her window like she might see, but she had no view of
anything as the clouds outside began to roll in now. She pressed her head to the glass pane and prayed for what to do as she said, “I’ll be right down.”

  She left the phone on the nightstand. Now what?

  Francesca must have come to see Leo and plead her case for a family.

  Tonight, she’d lost her heart and her marriage had ended before the honeymoon was over.

  A marriage that never should have happened. Leo had known Francesca was pregnant—but he hadn’t believed her, for good cause.

  Anna dragged her head from the window and adjusted her dress. The emerald shift had been paired with ivory pearls, and the classic ensemble gave her strength. Her face in the reflection was completely white.

  Her stomach twisted, and she focused on her task. She was to get Francesca’s price.

  Then she’d talk to the queen and finish her part with a wall around her heart.

  Anna Camila practiced her smile she’d wear like she was going into public toward her execution. In the calm walk downstairs she somehow found her stride. Leo needed her to do this for him.

  Business was feeling-less and worked better without emotion.

  She marched with her shoulders straight and the second she stepped out to the veranda the wind off the ocean brushed against her skin—and she faced Francesca. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  Francesca glanced up and down her emerald dress with envy as she said, “You look lovely, Anna.”

  “L…” No. She would not say his name. Not to Francesca. Names implied things that Francesca didn’t need to think about—like intimacy. She lifted her chin. “The prince and I have an appearance soon.”

  Francesca glared at the pearls around her neck that she’d worn for the outing. “Not a date.”

  A date wouldn’t be so formal. At least not for her. She only wished she’d worn white gloves and a hat to truly look royal and untouchable right now. “I’ve been his employee for a long time. Why are you here?”

  Francesca pressed her hand to her still-flat belly. “I told you on the phone I was pregnant.”

  Right. If she showed weakness, the price went up. Her stomach was in knots but she couldn’t show how tight she was inside as she said, “Yes, and His Highness confirmed it with the hospital.”

  Francesca placed her hand on her hip and her painted red lips almost glistened in the sun as her makeup melted though she said, “Interesting that you don’t call him by his name.”

  Francesca was pregnant. Anna walked to the side corner and poured two glasses from the pitcher of ice water that the staff must have set up. She handed Francesca one and said, “He’s still very much my boss and I’m the one to speak to if there is a monetary concern.”

  Francesca gulped the water like she’d been parched. Once she was done, she set the glass down on the table that Anna had sat at with Leo just this morning. “That’s very sad really. Didn’t you want to marry for love?”

  Score one for the model. Not flinching or reacting was stamped out of her in her job with paying off his affairs, but inside it was a direct hit. Anna sipped her water to show that she was unaffected. “What I want doesn’t matter.”

  Francesca reached out and squeezed her arm. “Well it should. I was hoping our wants matched.”

  No touching. Anna circled away from her and poured another glass for the woman who was pregnant. Leo would want a healthy baby. She handed her a second glass and asked, “What do you mean?”

  Francesca held the glass in her hands and lowered her lashes. “I want my child to have his father, and for Leo to leave you and marry me.”

  Boom. There it was, her worst fear. Francesca had no idea how close she was to getting exactly that. If the woman truly loved Leo, and wanted to raise a family with him, then Anna would step aside. Leo’s words, that he’d chosen to marry her, wouldn’t remain true then. For now she did as she was ordered and dug for the truth.

  Anna picked up her glass and twirled it in her hand so she could study every reaction from Francesca as she said, “I asked His Highness before you came if he wished an annulment to marry you, and he said I was to negotiate your silence. I also have the backing of the queen. So you have twenty-four hours to name the price of your silence as the Aussas will never accept you as one of their own.”

  Francesca tossed her blonde hair. “And the child?”

  Weights piled on her shoulders as she imagined walking into the hospital and walking out with someone’s baby. She’d never want anyone to be so cold with her if their situations were reversed, but this was the plan and so she didn’t blink. “That will depend entirely on your price and we’ll negotiate from there. But I have the full backing of the royal palace to haggle the cost of your silence.”

  Francesca let out a sigh like she was hurt, which seemed pretty low key. If Anna was in the other woman’s shoes, she’d have been a disaster, demanding to see the man she loved. But Francesca just nodded and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

  Business. No words of desperation or love. Anna left her glass on the table for the staff to clean up and did her best impression of being royal when she said, “Yes, at the palace in Avce. His Highness and I will be returning home shortly.”

  Anna turned to enter the castle, emulating the years of decorum she’d witnessed, but Francesca called out the moment she turned, “The honeymoon ending so soon?”

  The ice in her spine was the only thing keeping her from losing her cool. Anna turned to answer over her shoulder, “It’s time to get back to our lives.”

  She took a step toward the door, but then Leo appeared like the saving prince here to rescue his princess.

  Which of them was he here for? Anna’s eyes threatened to tear up. So much for being unemotional and a good business asset, never mind a proper queen. Leo’s hand ran up her arm as he stared at Francesca and said, “Anna. Francesca. I came as soon as I heard we had an uninvited guest.”

  She ignored the goosebumps that grew where he touched and turned around to bid them both goodbye. “I’ve told Francesca what you told me… that you wish to negotiate her silence. I told her to give me a price tomorrow. You are welcome to stay here and tell her yourself.”

  “Anna,” he said, but she lifted her head and went inside without either of them noticing the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks.

  Once she was inside, she closed the door and she knew that the tears would ruin her airbrushed face. Everyone in the palace would see her, and gossip this soon in a royal marriage was bad form.

  She ducked into the side sitting room and closed the door.

  At least if she was alone, no one would see how un-queen like she actually was. She collapsed on a chaise lounge near the window.

  A few tears spilled over and she reminded herself that real princesses didn’t snort.

  Her ears burned when she heard Leo say, “Francesca…”

  She sat up and realized that the window was partially open to catch the ocean breeze.

  Anna pressed her lips together to stifle her cries. Francesca said, “Your bride still acts like your secretary.”

  Her skin burned. This wasn’t good. No one needed to ever see how she cried now when she hadn’t cried for anything or anyone since her parents died. The salty tears washed her face reminding her that Leo had just broken her heart and she wasn’t tough, at all. She wished she could settle down as Leo said, “Anna’s my wife and will be the queen.”

  No. She wasn’t cut out for either position.

  Her tears dried. She wasn’t a baby stealer and she wasn’t a basket case. Either way she wasn’t cut out to be a queen. Not if she wasn’t all put together. “Leo, I want you. You’re the father of my child and I want us to have a chance. Leave Anna and swear you’ll be with us.”

  Anna imagined Francesca holding Leo tight. Her throat constricted at the vision, so she glanced outside. Leo stood two feet from her and his face seemed… pinched.

  Anna breathed with relief but then Leo said, “I’d never… Anna makes m
e a better prince for Avce and she will be an excellent queen.”

  So this was because he thought her qualified for the job and not because he cared.

  Eventually a work relationship would sour and both of them would be lonely. She’d also suffer from unrequited love and nausea grew in her belly while Francesca confirmed Anna’s thoughts. “She can be the queen in name only if you just stay with us.”

  Anna wanted to duck away, but then Leo put his hands in his pockets, his habit when making a deal, and stayed away from Francesca. “And you’d be happy as my mistress?”

  Even as he asked the question, he kept his distance and honored his vows.

  How long would that last? Maybe he was just done with Francesca.

  Francesca patted her belly as she said, “I’d have you… it’s all I want.”

  Leo asked, “And what about Lord Pascal and his title?”

  Wait. Was the distance because he was… jealous of Lord Pascal?

  Her heart constricted. This wasn’t what she wanted. She couldn’t be here anymore. She sighed as Francesca let out a small scream. “You heard about that?”

  Leo shrugged. “It’s a small country.”

  Jealousy could also explain why he kept back. Neither of them mentioned love or affection. Anna’s head pounded. She massaged her temples and wished that would somehow make today go away as Francesca said, “David wants to marry me, but he doesn’t know I’m pregnant and I can’t tell him… then he’d never want me.”

  Leo walked closer to Francesca. Anna couldn’t look away, even though she wanted to. It was like she watched a bad drama unfold as he said, “And I only want your silence, Francesca. What will you do?”

  Francesca had tears coming out of her eyes and her sobs were in her words as she said, “I don’t know. I’ll see you at the appointed hour tomorrow then.”

  “Goodbye.” Leo snapped his fingers and like magic guards appeared.

  They led Francesca in a different direction as Leo entered the castle.

  Her heart pounded but she needed to see Leo. She couldn’t live like this anymore. This was too much. She threw open the side door as he passed.