“You’re also not saying it won’t.” He raised an eyebrow. He leaned back in his chair and picked up his glass again. “What does Maman say?”
“Maman knows nothing.” My breath caught at the mere thought of my mother’s disappointment. She’d given up everything in Spain to marry my father out of obligation. If she caught wind that her own son couldn’t do the same, she’d have a lot to say and none of it would be good.
“So, where are you going with this?” Aramis asked after a moment. “Are you going to take a mistress? Is that what it’ll come down to?”
“She won’t accept that.”
His eyes widened. “You asked her?”
“I had to know.”
“You’re a real asshole.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t even ask that of someone.”
“I know.”
“And you love this woman?” He frowned. “I couldn’t imagine asking a woman I love to be my side piece.”
“You would if you had no other choice.” My voice was a roar in the otherwise silent room.
“I’m just making a statement.” He put his free hand up and took another sip of his scotch. The single ice in mine had all but disappeared into the amber liquid in my glass. I had barely touched it.
“Do you think I would ask that of her if I thought I could fix this?” I asked after a moment. “I don’t want to lose her.”
“Eli,” he said, and it was the seriousness in his tone that made me meet his gaze again. “You already lost her.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Your ascension already happened. Your coronation is currently underway. After that, it’s done. You might as well forget about her.”
I already knew that, of course, but his words still brought a sting with them. I picked up the scotch I’d been ignoring and drained the glass. What good was savoring something exquisite if you had no shot at keeping it?
Chapter 26
Adeline
“I told you that you’d be seeing him everywhere,” Joslyn said.
I set the tabloid down and glanced at her. She was giving me a look I hoped to avoid—full of compassion, kindness, and a little bit of I told you so. She had told me so and the reality was far worse than I’d anticipated. Seeing Elias with another woman was the most painful thing I’d had to endure. Forget being the subject of a sex scandal and having my video leaked everywhere. Forget my father’s dismissal of his disgraced daughter over it. This was, hands down, the most heart-wrenching thing. I guess you could say that the moment I realized that I was in love with Elias was the moment I saw him with another woman. Then suddenly everything became crystal clear. I wanted him to not go through with the coronation. I wanted him to say fuck tradition and run away with me instead. I wanted him to give up decades of history because he wanted me more than he wanted to rule. I focused on the items on the conveyer belt in front of me and paid the grocery bill when they were finished bagging them.
“At least you can move on now.” Joss grabbed the handle of the grocery cart and started pushing it outside.
“I know you mean well, but I need you to shut the fuck up,” I said as I put my wallet and receipt away, walking beside her. “I can’t just move on. That’s not how it works. I need to be mentally prepared for it and I’m not. I want him. End of story.”
“I wish you didn’t.”
“You think I don’t?”
“I think you’re still waiting for a miracle to happen.”
“Maybe I am.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Just because he’s out with Emily doesn’t mean . . . ” I stopped mid-sentence and frowned.
Was I really saying this? Did I really believe it? Joss waited as I struggled to finish my sentence, my thoughts. I pushed the button to open the trunk of the car and started loading the grocery bags. Joss took the cart and walked back as I was closing the trunk. When we both climbed into the car and snapped our seatbelts on, she turned to me.
“You know as well as anyone that once they choose to make something like this public, it’s over,” she said. “I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is.”
“I know. I just . . . ” I closed my eyes as I shook my head. “I hate all of this.”
“Hey, you fell for him.” She set her hand over mine. “It’s totally understandable.”
“I wish I could take it all back.” I opened my eyes and looked at her.
“In time, you will.” She smiled sadly as she pulled her hand back. “I feel bad leaving you for them. Especially now.”
“Don’t feel bad. We talked about this. It’s a cool opportunity for you. Personal Secretary to the Princess of France. Who else can say that?” I smiled. “You’ll have the cutest stationery.”
She laughed. “If I was going to work for anyone else, I’d tell you that no one uses stationery anymore, but they definitely do.”
“You’ll have to write me a letter.” My smile weakened and fully disappeared as the sadness of it all crept up on me. “I’m happy for you. I am. I’m just going to miss you so very much.”
Tears began trickling down my face mid-sentence and continued as Joss leaned over and threw her arms around me and held me tight.
“You’re going to be just fine, Addie. You’ve built an incredible company, you have all the contacts you need, and everyone wants to hire you. Besides, Seth isn’t bad on the eyes,” she said, referring to the man we’d hired to take on Joss’s role once she fully stepped out, which was last week. I laughed through my tears as I pulled away and wiped them.
“He is handsome.” I sniffled. And gay. And married. I didn’t feel the need to tack any of those on since Joss already knew that. “He’s bringing his husband by the office next week.”
“You’ll have to keep me posted on that.” She smiled, straightening in her seat and setting her hands on the steering wheel. “Let’s go put these groceries away and make some lunch.”
As we drove, my mind stayed on all of the changes happening in my life. Joss would be moving out this weekend and heading to Paris, where Princess Pilar lived, to move in with her. I’d have to make a choice between getting another roommate or trading in the flat for a smaller one. I had a wedding on Saturday that Seth would be working as we transitioned Joss out of the company entirely, though she did promise to help with the royal wedding. The thought alone made me want to cry, but I wouldn’t. I needed to let him go.
Chapter 27
The invitation in my hand felt heavy as I read it a third time. I set it down on the counter and looked at Joss.
“Maybe it was meant for you.”
“I have my own.” She lifted the ivory envelope in front of her. “They meant to invite you, which makes sense. You are planning the wedding, after all.”
“I don’t think I can stomach going to this.” I looked at the invitation again. “Emily will be there with him.”
“She was at Sunday dinner with him.”
“They weren’t this official yet then.” I gnawed my bottom lip.
“It was their engagement announcement. They were official enough.” Joss raised an eyebrow. “You’ve agreed to plan their wedding, Addie.”
“I hate all of this.” I sighed heavily and reached for my phone and began a text. “I wonder if Etienne will be there.”
“I’m sure he’s invited.”
“How upset do you think the queen will be if I back out of planning the wedding?” I glanced up at Joss, whose eyebrows had reached a new altitude.
“Very, but not as upset as your mother will be.”
“You’re right.” I shook my head. “I need to stop letting whatever this was dictate my professional career.”
“I agree.”
“And I’m going to the coronation. I’m going to prove to myself that I can do this.”
“Good.”
“And I will no longer be charmed by him. Especially not in public.”
“Very well.” Joss stood from the barstool across from me. “Let’s go shopping. We have a coronation to attend.”
Chapter 28
Elias
“It feels stuffy in here.” I pulled at the collar of my shirt.
“That’s because you’re in the room.” Aramis smirked as he walked over to me.
“Hilarious.”
“Are you nervous?”
“What do you think?” I shot him a look.
I would love to say I’d been preparing for this my entire life, but that would be a lie. While I’d been bred for this, my father always acted as if he never expected to die. As if all of us would be under his rule forever. And so, I was truly lost in this role. I knew what my responses would be during the coronation. I knew I’d have to finally face the members of the cabinet and had a speech prepared for that, but everything this entailed and everything that would be expected of me after today? No, I was not ready for it. I hadn’t met a monarch thus far who said they’d been truly prepared for it.
“This will be the first coronation to be televised since . . . ” Aramis whistled. “Well, since Queen Elizabeth II.” He chuckled. “No pressure.”
“You’re a real jerk, you know that?” I exhaled as I continued to tug on my collar and looked at Pierre. “How many will be in attendance?”
“Several billion will be watching.” He couldn’t even hide his laughter. I wanted to kill them both. Pierre cleared his throat and added, “Inside of the palace walls, there will be two-thousand-four-hundred and thirty. Outside of the palace walls, probably all of France if I had to guess.”
“Probably cheering for the demise of the throne,” I said under my breath.
“Well, at least you know what to expect,” Aramis quipped.
I shot him another glare. Everything about this was ridiculous. As I looked in the mirror, I saw my brother standing behind me and wondered how he’d fare as king. We looked so much alike, no one would bat an eye if he went up there today and accepted the crown. As if he sensed what I was thinking, he shook his head, a sad smile on his face.
“I would never want to be in that position. I’m sorry you have to be.”
“Me too.”
“Miss Adeline confirmed her attendance,” Pierre said.
My brother held my gaze in our reflection. “You invited her?”
“Maman did. She’s planning the wedding, you know.”
“Adeline is?” Aramis’s mouth unhinged. “This is so fucked.”
“Extremely,” Pierre agreed, clearing his throat when I looked over at him. “Addie is kind, but she has a strong spirit. She can do whatever she sets her mind to.”
“How very traditional of you to have the woman you’re in love with attend the event that will either push her away completely or push her to take a place as your mistress,” Aramis said.
“Fuck you. You know that’s not my intention.” I turned and faced him. “I don’t even want her planning the wedding. I’d rather her not be here at all.”
“Yet here she will be.”
“Not because I wanted it.”
“But you’re the king now. Can’t you say no to your own mother when she pushes your buttons?”
“Jesus. You’re being a child.” I shut my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair. “Do you like to see me upset on one of the most important days of my life?”
“I didn’t realize this was that important to you.”
“Billions will be watching.” I pointed at the window. “All of France will be here.”
“Something else you should know,” Pierre said.
“Yes?”
“There’s a women’s march happening in the courtyard. It’s contained and they’re being escorted outside.”
“A march? How did they get in here?” I blinked. “What are they complaining about?”
“A guard who got fired, and from what I gather, they’re complaining about the inflation in the price of food.”
“Fuck.” I sighed heavily as I walked over to the desk, where I had all of my papers scattered from my meeting with the cabinet.
A cabinet consisting of five people, all of whom hated me. To their dismay, they’d all been handpicked by my father, who believed in the keep-your-enemies-close theory. They weren’t allowed to do much, as everything was ultimately the sovereign’s decision, but their judgment rang through for sure. I located the economy folder and flipped through it. Everything was inflated because of our current deal with the Saudis. Unfortunately, petroleum was valued as gold and we had none of our own. I closed the folder with a thump. The people were right to riot, but my hands were tied. I’d have to get on a plane and go meet with the Crowned Prince myself in order to sort this out.
I glanced at my brother and Pierre. “I have to get on a carriage and parade around from here to the Basilica while the people riot? They already tried to kill me once. Who’s to say it won’t happen again?”
“We would never let that happen, Your Majesty.” That was Pierre.
“Stop it with the Your Majesty bullshit when it’s just the three of us.” I turned around and faced the mirror again, undoing my tie quickly and tossing it aside.
“Do you want a different tie?” Pierre asked.
“I don’t want a tie at all.”
“You’ll wear this to the coronation.” Pierre pointed at the extravagant costume set over the bed. “And the tuxedo to the party afterward, so maybe you should change into the first outfit first and I’ll get the collar taken care of.”
“I fucking hate parties.” I shrugged the tuxedo off, tossing it on the bed and walked over to the first costume.
It looked like something out of King Lear, but it would do. It was the same thing my father wore for his coronation, which was similar to what his father had worn, and the list went on. I couldn’t be the first person to say no to this. I was supposed to hold this palace together. I was supposed to solidify that the sovereign wasn’t going anywhere just because my father was no longer with us. Sure, I’d try to modernize things a bit, but today was not the time for that. Today, I’d fall in line like I was expected to. Tomorrow, during my meeting with the cabinet, I’d try to work with them more. Something my father was always criticized for not doing.
* * *
Riding in a chariot wasn’t all it was worked up to be. I’d only done it once before, when I was a child. It was one of the things I was glad our family didn’t do often. As traditional as we were, we opted for cars rather than horses and carriages when we had outings, but in this case, we held onto the tradition. We had to stop three times due to rambunctious crowds on our way from Versailles to the Basilica of Saint-Denis and all three times the horses took a massive dump that left the chariot smelling like shit. It was shit I was sure the crowds would have loved to pick up and throw at me. From what I could tell, my reception was cut in half. Fifty percent of them loved this and the other fifty percent were spitting on the ground as the gold-plated wheels passed them. There were people carrying signs that said “Je t’aime, King Elias!” “Vive le Roi Elias!” and those would have been fine, if they hadn’t been followed by “A bas la monarchie!”
It was something I knew was coming, but hadn’t expected it to be this blatant, this soon. They weren’t just rioting over the economy. They wanted the throne to suffer. It was as if they weren’t even giving me a chance to prove to them that I could be a better ruler than my father. They just assumed. Maybe they were right to. After all, I’d only met with the cabinet once and unlike my father, I did believe that the people were allowed to make demands when they felt things were unjust. The very last sign just before the carriage disappeared into the private, underground parking of the basilica read: “I hope you starve.” It wasn’t the words that hit me in the chest as much as it was the person holding it—a man with greasy long hair, tall and lanky, all bones. I couldn’t even fathom when his last meal had been. As if that wasn’t enough, there was a child standing beside him that mirrored him.
I turned to Pierre. “Find out who that man is and where his family lives.”
“I’m on it.”
Pierre pushed the button on his earpiece and relayed the remark to the rest of the security. After he spoke, he turned to me. “Maybe we should find out where a handful of them live. You can pay them a visit with Emily. Let them see things will be different.”
“That’s what we’ll do.” I gave a nod. It seemed like a solid plan.
“Won’t the people you so desperately want to impress see that as a publicity stunt?” Aramis slid his phone into his pocket and looked up at me from the other side of the chariot.
It was a valid question. One I didn’t have an answer for. I looked at Pierre beside him. I was so far removed from it all that I had no idea how people saw me at all. I thought of Adeline. Adeline, who was sweet and kind but also fiery. Adeline, who made me question things because she questioned me without judging my responses. She pushed me in a way nobody else dared. Even my brother, who said whatever was on his mind all the time had a limit. Adeline didn’t. She just was. Limitless.
“Earth to Eli.” Aramis snapped his fingers. I blinked. “What the hell was that?”
“Just thinking about something.”
“Someone,” Pierre provided, his mouth turning with disapproval.
“What?”
“You’re going to see her tonight and I’m afraid of what you’ll do,” Pierre provided. “Afraid of what I’ll have to clean up tomorrow, and she doesn’t deserve that—to be something I clean up. Don’t bring her into this mess, Eli.”
“I’m not.” My frown deepened. “I’m not a monster.”
“Monsters seldom think they are.”
The words came from my brother’s mouth and I found myself unable to contend them. The more time I spent around Adeline, the more I found myself wanting to twist things and do the wrong thing because in my head and heart she was the right one to do the wrong thing for.
Chapter 29
Adeline
The Sinful King: By New York Times Bestselling Author Page 15