by Ember Casey
“You’ll do nothing of the sort, Leopold. Don’t be a fool.” He walks around to stand in front of his desk. “You are already aware of my feelings regarding…her.” He doesn’t even glance in my direction when he says the word. And it really seems like it was rather difficult for him to refer to me with that term, anyway—he almost seemed like he wanted to say that or it. As though I’m not human.
But I know it has nothing to do with my humanity. It has everything to do with my lack of royalty. With my lack of a proper title or whatever.
Leo’s hand never leaves mine and his gaze never leaves his father’s. He just stands there—stiff and still and trying to cover what is very clearly his fear of his father’s wrath.
And for what? For me? I have to shake my head—I can hardly believe what I’m seeing. That everything Leo has said to me is the truth. That he does love me—that he is willing to stand up for my honor, even though I’m not sure anything he’ll ever do will be good enough for his father based on what I see.
“You have responsibilities, Leopold. And this family’s reputation has already been stained by your antics—I’ll not have it destroyed because you’ve decided to defy me like this. When you were younger, your actions were forgivable because of your age. But you’re no longer a young man. Whether you like it or not, you are second in line for the throne. If anything were to happen to Andrew—”
“Nothing is going to happen to your precious Andrew, Father. We all see to that, don’t we?” Leo’s lip curls into something of a sneer. “And if you’re so concerned about the stain I’m leaving on our family’s reputation, I’ll abdicate my position in line as I told you I was willing to do when we first discussed my feelings for Elle.”
I’m pretty sure my eyes widen as much as King Edmund’s do at his words.
“Leopold, we’ve already discussed what would happen if you were to do that—”
He shrugs. “You’ll cut me off? Take away my plane—my credit cards? Yes, you’ve been quite clear. So be it, Father. I choose Elle.”
My mouth falls open for a moment when I hear his words. And I wish I could keep my mouth shut—I really do. But I can’t let him give up his life like this. Not for me. And it has nothing to do with me not being worthy of him—it has only to do with his worth. There’s something in his tone that mirrors the way I feel—that he isn’t as valuable a member of his family as Andrew because he was born second. In any other family, that wouldn’t matter at all. But here… It somehow devalues him. And I know all too well what it feels like to be devalued. And I can’t believe I didn’t recognize the similarities between us before.
My voice is quiet—not the brash voice I have when I’m cussing Leo out, anyway. “I don’t think you know your son very well, King Edmund.”
“Elle.” Leo doesn’t look at me—he’s still staring at his father, but his tone has a definite warning in it. And his hand is almost painfully squeezing mine.
King Edmund also doesn’t look at me, but he tilts his head slightly at the sound of my voice, and I’ll take any sort of encouragement I can get at this point.
“Leo is a good man. A kind man. He’s promised to see that the clinic in Rio de Campo will be funded the way it should have been in the first place—the way you should have funded it.” I pause, looking up at Leo, but he still won’t turn his gaze to mine, so I continue. “And he’s treated me better than any man I’ve ever known. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this—not because of me. I take full responsibility for what happened when we were together in California. It was impulsive, I know. But it was all my doing—”
“This is nonsense.” Leo interrupts. His eyes are still fixed on his father. “Everything that happened in California was my doing. Every last bit of it. As I’ve already told you, Father, Elle is an upstanding physician. An upstanding woman. And I’ll not have her taking the blame for a single thing I’ve done. I was impulsive when I followed her to Los Angeles—I’ll fully admit that. But I’ve changed. And she’s helped me to do that. I’ve tried to show you, Father. I’ve tried repeatedly to tell you that.”
His father glares at him for a moment. “I’ll have you both barred from this country. I’ve already told you this, Leopold. If you follow through on your threats, you’ll never be allowed to return here for as long as I’m living.”
Leo’s jaw tightens. “Fine.”
My eyes widen again, darting between the two men. “Not fine. You can’t do that to him, Your…” I gulp—I can’t even finish King Edmund’s title. “Your Majesty. Leo doesn’t deserve that kind of treatment… Not because of me—”
Leo shakes his head to interrupt, but his gaze is still only on his father. “It doesn’t matter, Elle. He won’t listen to reason. He never has. And besides, if he refuses to accept you being a part of my life, I’ll never want to return here again.”
And that’s when it hits me—why he’s done everything he’s done in the past twenty-four hours. Why he took me on a private jet to his favorite restaurant. Why he brought me here at all. It’s because it might be the last time he ever gets to see his home. It was his last meal—the one he would have before he’s sent to his death. And it is like a death—the end of everything he’s ever known.
“I can’t let you do this, Leo.” I look up at him, but he still refuses to meet my gaze.
“It’s not your choice to make, Elle. It is only mine. And as I’ve told you both, I’ve made up my mind.” He finally turns to me, looking deeply into my eyes. “I choose you.”
King Edmund’s gaze narrows and his voice lowers to almost a growl. “Then consider yourself no longer a member of this family or a citizen of this country, Leopold. You’ll relinquish your title and your claim to the throne. And both of you will leave Montovia immediately.”
Leopold - Part Five will be available on September 27, 2016. Sign up for the Royal Heartbreakers Newsletter now for a reminder on release day.
The Royal Heartbreakers Series
Leopold unfolds over the course of six novels, released every three weeks. Each follows the continuing story of Prince Leopold of Montovia and Dr. Eleanor Parker. Leopold is the first of the Royal Heartbreakers Series.
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Leopold
Part One (July 5, 2016)
Part Two (July 26, 2016)
Part Three (August 16, 2016)
Part Four (September 6, 2016)
Part Five (September 27, 2016)
Part Six (October 18, 2016) ~ Full-length novel
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All Parts are available for pre-order now
ANDREW - Part One will be available November 1, 2016
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