"That is no way to speak of your future wife."
"She's no future wife of mine, I can promise you that."
Ardec stood, his face mottled in fury. "You will, and you are. I've had quite enough of your playboy ways, and you will do as I say."
"And if I don't?" Luke stiffened his shoulders. "If I renounce my right to the throne?"
"You won't."
Luke clenched his teeth. "What makes you so sure? You've known for a long time that I have no interest in ruling."
Ardec dismissed his words. "Because if you don't, I will hunt down whatever woman has you rebelling, and she will be put to death for treason." He stormed out the door.
Luke sank down on his bed. He had been wrong.Sarah is in real danger, and I can't protect her.
Chapter Three: Betrayal
Sarah Hale
Present Time…
Sarah Hale hurried back to her cabin with her heart in her throat. She hadn’t been so excited about something since the last time she met Luke, before his father had him followed. She tried to calm her breathing as she stood in her bedroom with her hands on her head. She finally had a way back to the man she loved.
What do I do first?
Her brother, Drake, had found the idol. The one that their father had been accused of stealing before he was murdered. The very thing that had gotten their entire family banished from their home in the Sacred Gardens.
And Drake’s mate, Joey, had proof that her father or grandfather had been the one involved somehow with the theft. Just as the Hale siblings had always known, their father was innocent.
And now we can go home.
King Ardec would have to exonerate their family of the horrible accusations that came before their exile. The idol would be returned, and life would go on as it should have right from the start. It would almost be like a new start for the whole family.
To be honest, Sarah didn’t really care what the rest of her family did at this point. She rubbed her blossoming belly and felt the tiny life inside stir. She could finally be with Luke, the Crown Prince who had risked everything to be with her.
Now she just needed to contact him, which wasn’t going to be an easy feat. The last time they had spoken, she hadn’t been very understanding.
They had met in their favorite place in the mountains of Pennsylvania. She had been excited to tell him about her pregnancy but had encouraged him to go first with his news.
“I can’t see you for a while.”
His unexpected words had blindsided her and shattered her heart.
“What do you mean?” She truly didn’t understand.
“My father will have you killed if he finds out who you are. We were lucky when they came to the hotel that they didn’t see you.”
“I’m not afraid of your father, Luke. He may be a king, but he’s not a God.”
“He’s powerful enough to do it.” He pulled her close. “I love you so much, Sarah, but I have to do what’s best for us. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”
She enjoyed his warmth for a moment before she pulled away. “Do you know how cliché that saying is?”
“Maybe so,” he admitted, “but I mean it. He banished your entire family, and there is protocol that we’re supposed to follow for people who have been exiled. Just the fact that we’re together would set him off.”
Understanding dawned on her. “Are you breaking up with me?” Fear ran through her. “Is that why you finally contacted me after weeks of radio silence?”
“It’s not like that, my love. You know it’s not like that.”
