Relentless: A Royal Secret Baby Romance (The Alabaster Club)

by Braveheart, Athena

  He turned and walked back over to the bed, punching the fluffed-up pillows as hard as he could. William said nothing, and Royce was silent for a moment as well. Then he shook his head and looked back at William.

  “Fine. Do it. If that’s what it’s going to take to make sure this doesn’t turn into something awful, then fine, that’s what we’re going to do. But I’m not going to let this come back to bite me. You know how I’d handle things in meetings and deals, and you’re going to do it my way,” Royce said, his eyes narrowed. William smiled the same sly smile he always had when he knew he had the upper hand in a situation. Usually this was targeted at others, not Royce.

  “Of course,” he replied. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, sir.”

  Chapter 19

  “Paige! I told you you’d find yourself a billionaire! Now you owe me big time!” Candy exclaimed with a grin. Paige laughed, though she couldn’t argue. Her friend had said so several times, but she couldn’t argue now. It really did seem like she and Royce could be together.

  “I’ll keep you in the loop of how things are going, but I’m not going to let myself get too excited yet,” Paige lied. She knew she was way more excited about this potential relationship than she wanted to admit, but it was too soon to tell Candy those details.

  “Well, I’m happy for you. Just don’t forget me when you’re rich and famous,” Candy said as she got up from the table. “I’ve got to get back to work now though.”

  “Text me to let me know how it goes,” Paige said. Candy agreed and left the restaurant. Paige was used to their lunch dates being brief, but she wished this one had been a little longer. She wanted to tell her friend so much more about Royce. Her friend understood her excitement, and she was encouraging. Everyone else she knew would warn her not to go too fast.

  It was a warning she knew she should listen to, but one she didn’t want to. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this way about a man, and she didn’t want to ruin it.

  Paige gathered her things and headed out of the restaurant, her heart leaping when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. Expecting it to be Royce, her heart immediately sank again when she saw it was an unfamiliar number.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Paige?” A male voice asked. Paige frowned. It sounded familiar but she couldn’t place it.

  “Yes, and who is this?” Paige asked.

  “This is William, Royce’s royal advisor,” William replied. Paige’s heart sank even more. What did he want?

  “Royce said that you were leaving the country,” Paige said coolly, hiding her anxiety.

  “I’m afraid that was a bit of a misunderstanding. Royce asked me to call you and tell you that he had a wonderful time last night, but he had to leave on urgent business. That’s how it tends to go with royalty, but he wanted to assure you he’d give you a call back if he makes it back to town,” William said.

  Paige didn’t want to believe him, but she bit her lip. Was he keeping something from her again or was this the truth? He didn’t sound very suspicious, and he was Royce’s advisor after all. It was his job to make things easier for the duke, and she was sure he made calls for him all the time. Perhaps Royce didn’t have the time to call her himself. He had her number, so he could have if he’d chosen to.

  “Thank you for letting me know,” Paige said. She didn’t know what else to say.

  “Have a great day,” William replied. He hung up before she had the chance to say anything else, and she put her phone back in her purse. Her entire world had just come crashing down, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Everything she had just told Candy was now gone, and she’d have to tell her friend that she’d made a mistake.

  There was a small chance that William could be pulling something, but why would he if he could get caught again? She was sure he wouldn’t try anything again so soon. Plus, if he was telling the truth and Paige accused William of lying and texted Royce asking why he didn’t say goodbye first, she’d sound like a clingy, crazy girl. Royce was royalty. He was a busy man, she told herself. No matter how great a time he had with her last night, he was a duke who had a country in his hands. Sending a simple text to a girl probably wasn’t high on his list of priorities. Paige sighed, deciding to leave it be, hoping he’d reach out to her soon.

  The afternoon dragged by at work, but Paige felt numb. She was too sad to be sad, and she knew she couldn’t shake herself out of it. Royce had been her prince charming, a dream come true, and though she’d known that it was too good to be real, she’d had the hope that it would last at least more than a few days.

  Against her better judgment, she pulled out her laptop after she’d finished dinner and searched for Royce’s name. There were hundreds of photos online, and she looked through each one, her heart aching with each new picture. He looked so elegant when he was dressed in his formal royal wear, and he looked so handsome when he was dressed down.

  There were photos of events he’d attended, and some that had been clearly shot by paparazzi. But it didn’t matter to Paige; each one was another reminder that she had lost the man of her dreams, and she must now go back to facing her life alone. She’d thought that she was happy before, but after tasting what it was like to be with Royce, she now knew she’d have to work hard to reach that happiness again.

  Suddenly, her heart pounded in her chest when she saw a photo of her with the duke. It was obviously a recent one, because she’d only known him for the past few days, but it was there nonetheless. It was clearly shot at one of the clubs they’d gone to, but she hadn’t noticed that there was a person there taking photos of them.

  She ignored the message the paparazzi said. She’d been accused of being a hired girl more than once, and it didn’t bother her anymore. After all, there were countless other women in the photos with Royce, and there were some that looked truly to be hired to be there with him.

  Though she knew it was a bad idea, Paige began comparing herself to the other women in the photos. It was impossible to say what the relation was with any one of them, but in her mind, Paige was convinced they all had to be lovers at some point. They were all so beautiful, and some of them were real princesses and heirs to the thrones of their own countries.

  “I never had a chance with him, not a real one anyway,” Paige muttered as she closed her laptop with finality. It hurt more than she could say, but she knew she had to face the facts. Those women were far prettier than herself, and they had something they could offer him. He wasn’t going to spend his life with someone like her when he could have any one of them. What could she do for him? She had no money, she was a nobody from a small city in the states. She was worthless to someone like him.

  Paige slipped out of her clothes and slid into bed, feeling a stinging emptiness in the bottom of her heart. How could she have been so foolish to think that there would have been any merit to their relationship? It had clearly been a fling from the beginning, and she’d been a fool to think otherwise.

  That was all there was to it.

  Chapter 20

  “I’m telling you that nothing scandalous happened,” Royce said for the hundredth time into the phone. “It was nothing more than just going out and having a good time, really, father.” His father sighed on the other end of the line.

  “Look, son, I know you’ve been feeling holed up lately. I’ve been working you quite hard and you haven’t been able to get out and have fun, but when you’re working, it is not the time for you to be running around with women—especially not in clubs where the paparazzi is just waiting to get a picture of you,” his father replied.

  “William was there,” Royce lied. “He was making sure nothing was going on that shouldn’t have been.”

  “And he took full responsibility for letting the paparazzi get that close to you. I dealt with William already, but I needed to talk to you about this, too. You aren’t a child anymore, Royce. I am not going to be around forever, and when the time comes for you to take the
throne, you aren’t going to be able to get out and do things like that anymore,” his father said.

  “That’s why you should understand that I want to get out and do it all now. I want to be a good leader, but I don’t feel like I can be if I don’t get to experience life when I have the chance,” Royce replied with a sigh.

  “Now, taking the throne isn’t going to be the same thing as dying. You’re going to have plenty of fun as a leader—I do. But I don’t go out to clubs with foreign women when I’m on business trips, either,” his father said with a chuckle.

  “But you also have Mom. I don’t have anyone in my life, and I don’t want anyone in my life, either. I met someone I thought was pretty amazing, and since I only had a few days to get to know her, I made the most of it,” Royce said with a flat tone in his voice.

  “I’m not saying I don’t get it. I wasn’t exactly the picture of perfection before I met your mother, you know. But you have to understand that even who you marry is going to have to be in line with this life. You can’t just find some girl on the street and make her your bride, it doesn’t work that way,” his father said. Royce winced. Though he had thought of them having a life together, it just hit him that that would mean they would be married.

  And that was a life he knew he could never have.

  “I’ll tell you what,” his father continued, “I feel bad for putting you through so much work lately without letting you have any time to yourself. Why don’t you head over to Las Vegas for a day or two? You can relax, unwind, and have all the women you want—discreetly, of course. It’ll do you some good to get out of that city and have some fun for a while before you have to come home.”

  “That’s actually a good idea,” Royce replied. He hadn’t thought about it before, but it would be nice to get out of this town. Paige was a distraction to him, and he knew it. He knew that he had other responsibilities in life, and he couldn’t spend his time with someone like her, as amazing as she was.

  “Great! I’ll have the plane sent immediately, and a cab will be at your door within the hour.” His father hung up before Royce had the chance to say anything, and he sighed. His father was right. He’d have some fun, and with a private jet, he could be gone almost immediately.

  He packed his things, refusing to let his mind think about Paige. That was something he had enjoyed, and it was time to let it go. She was a waitress, and he was a prince, that was the end of their fling.

  A limo was waiting for Royce when he stepped out of the jet, and when he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised to find two gorgeous blondes waiting for him inside. Neither was wearing much clothing, and they’d already had a bottle of champagne open and waiting for him.

  “Ladies,” he said with a smile as he slid into the seat. He was used to his father sending him treats like this from time to time, and it never got old. These were women who’d be discreet. Women he could fuck on the way to the hotel and wouldn’t say a word about it. Women he knew would be a scandal if the public found out about it.

  But that was the trick of his life. His family knew how to keep certain things under wraps while other things were blared on billboards, and he just had to get used to it. He’d have his fun in Vegas, and he’d go home to his real life. There was no point to going back to other cities. They’d accomplished what they came to accomplish, and it was time to put the States behind him.

  Royce successfully spent the day keeping busy with the blondes, then moved on to other women once he was settled in his penthouse suite at the hotel. He went to several high-end clubs and slept with more than a couple women, letting all his frustrations out, though his mind kept going back to Paige as all these women clung onto him.

  When he got back to his penthouse at the end of the night, he couldn’t help but let his mind fully wander back to Paige. He wondered what she was doing, and hoped she was happy with whatever it was. He sipped on his glass of whiskey, trying not to let himself miss her. He couldn’t miss her. It was time for him to move on with his life.

  Instead of staying at the hotel as planned, Royce pulled up his phone and called the pilot for his private jet. He’d had enough of the States.

  It was time to go home.

  Chapter 21

  “Yeah, sounds good, I’ll be here when you get here.” Paige hung up the phone and placed it back in her purse. Candy was coming over later that night bringing pizza and wine, and Paige was looking forward to it. She hadn’t felt like drinking much in the past couple of weeks, but she did think pizza sounded better than ever.

  It had been a surprisingly normal day at work, but when she walked through her door and saw the ugly penguin stuffed animal Royce got her, a wave of emotion washed over her once more, and her heart sank. A buzz at the door caught her attention, however, and she opened it once more.

  “I didn’t order anything,” she said as the man handed her a package.

  “I just deliver,” he replied with a shrug, holding out a clipboard for her to sign. He bid her a good day and left, and Paige was confused as she tore the box open.

  Inside, within layers of wrapping paper, was a simple black box. Paige gasped when she opened it in both surprise and slight horror: it was a gaudy, downright ugly piece of penguin jewelry. It was a gold necklace with a large pendant, the penguin shining with different colored jewels in the center. It was one of the ugliest things she’d ever seen, but her heart fluttered when she realized it had to be from Royce.

  “What’s that?” Candy walked through the door holding a box of pizza in one hand and a bottle of red wine in the other. Paige hadn’t realized she’d left it open, but she held up the jewelry.

  “I-I think Royce sent it. What do you think that means?” she asked.

  “It means he has no taste in jewelry. That thing is hideous,” Candy replied with a snort. She set the pizza down on the table and popped open the bottle of wine. “Let’s eat!”

  “Just a second, I’ve been feeling a little queasy today, but I’m going to have some,” Paige said. She pulled open her laptop and began looking up the jewelry.

  “What’re you doing?” Candy asked.

  “I want to see where he got this thing. He knows I like penguins, but how on earth would you find something like this?” she replied. After typing and clicking for a moment, she gasped. “Oh, my God!”

  “What is it?” Candy asked, her eyes wide and a wine glass in her hand.

  “This thing is worth one hundred and thirty-six thousand dollars!” Paige said, her eyes wide as she looked up at Candy. “This article is calling it the ‘New Price of Tacky,’ and I guess billionaires all over the place are buying it up!”

  “Holy shit, Paige,” Candy said, “he actually got that for you?”

  “Yeah,” she said, dazed. “He did.”

  “Wow. I’ll never understand rich people,” Candy said with a laugh. “I would much rather have something silver, small, and simple than wear that thing. Plus, who knows, if you wear it out and someone sees you, they might rob you for it.”

  “Who would want to rob me for this?” Paige asked, holding up the piece.

  “To sell, obviously. I mean, come on, do you really think anyone is going to want to actually wear that thing?” Candy opened the pizza and pulled out a slice. Paige was still looking at the necklace in wonder, and on an impulse, she put it on.

  “It looks hideous,” Candy said flatly. Paige gave her friend a look.

  “I can always count on you for your brutal honesty,” she said as she rolled her eyes.

  “I mean, you said yourself that it’s ugly. I don’t know why you’re putting it on,” Candy retorted.

  “Because I’ve never worn a piece of jewelry that cost more than every single thing I own. Don’t you want to know what it’s like?” Paige asked. Candy laughed as she shook her head. Her mouth was full of pizza, but it didn’t stop her from replying.

  “I think I’m getting the full effect now. I wouldn’t be caught dead in that thing even if it was worth
millions of dollars,” she said as she chewed. She was silent for a moment, then she shook her head. “Are you sure that’s the reason you’re wearing it? I thought you wanted to move on from that guy. I mean, clearly, he’s not over you or something. Why the hell would he buy you that when he’s not trying to be with you?”

  Paige had risen from the table and was now looking at herself in the small mirror she had hung by the door. Candy was right, the necklace did look terrible on her, but there were billionaires all over the world who wanted it. Then, her friend’s second question stung.

  Was she wearing it because she wanted to fit in with the rich crowd? Or was she wearing it because Royce was the one who had sent it to her? If anyone else had, she would have sold it in a heartbeat. But since it was Royce who had given her such a gift, she not only wanted to keep it, but she wanted to wear it, and wear it proudly.

  “Of course that’s the reason,” she lied. “Don’t eat all the pizza before I have the chance to get a slice!”

  “Then you better get over here. I’m starving. I skipped lunch today and didn’t get the chance to snack either. We were slammed all afternoon, and I’ve been looking forward to this since we made the plans to do it,” Candy retorted. Paige turned from the mirror to grab a plate, but as she did, her stomach lurched once more and a wave of nausea washed over her.

  “Are you alright?” Candy asked, looking at her friend with concern in her eyes. “You look pale. Is wearing that thing cutting off the circulation to the rest of your body?”

  Paige opened her mouth to answer, but at the same moment she felt another wave of sickness wash over her, and she couldn’t speak. She held up her finger to show she was alright and turned on her heel, running to the bathroom as fast as she could. She barely had enough time to close the door and pull up the toilet seat before she violently vomited into the toilet.