“I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to worsen a situation that was already brewing and I…” She licks her lips. “I convinced myself there was no way it was possible.”
“Bellamy, what? Tell me.”
“That morning I was running upstairs from the gym, the morning I was anxious to change and cover my bruise,” she starts. “Samil saw me and chased after me. He cornered me. You knew about that. I told you he saw my bruise, which is true. But there’s more I didn’t tell you. He accused me of running from him, which I denied, and then he told me he’s not the one I should fear. That being with you is dangerous and that I should be with him instead.”
I growl and groan, my hands scrubbing up and down my face. “Is that all?”
“No. He continued on, telling me my father needs me and that he can help me with that. I became upset. I didn’t like him speaking to me like that and definitely not about my father. I told him I knew about the pictures, and he admitted he did that to try to upset you. Then he asked if I knew about Nora and him and I told him yes. He explained how he did love her and accused you of stealing her from him.”
I scoff sardonically at that, dropping my hands to my hips. “That’s a lie. She was never his.”
“Well, he became upset with me when I told him I didn’t believe in the curse and that I wasn’t leaving. He proceeded to say that Nora should never have been yours. That she was always supposed to be his. He said she wouldn’t leave you, nor would she betray you. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but it sounded weird to me. Then he said something along the lines of, ‘She wouldn’t listen to me. Then she got on that fucking helicopter when she wasn’t supposed to. He was supposed to go to her, not the other way around. I lost her twice when he never cared about her. Be careful, Bellamy, for you’re sure to be next.’”
My hand grasps her forearm as all the blood in my body plummets to my feet. I turn to ice as I stare at Bellamy, my mind twisting and turning, trying to work this out when there is no other explanation. Slowly I peer around the room, at the ball going on around us, a ball where my children are.
I turn back to Bellamy. “He said that? You’re positive?”
“Yes. It…scared me. Not the threat to myself necessarily. More for you. It struck me odd because the way he spoke…it…it sounded as if he was there with her that morning. Which I know can’t be true and I brushed it off, telling myself I was imagining things because he had me so shaken. I assumed that since he’s the prime minister, he must have known the details of that morning the way you told me.”
“No. He didn’t,” I manage, my voice not my own.
Her brows crease. “What do you mean?”
“No one knew that Nora wasn’t supposed to be on the helicopter. She rang me ten minutes before it was set to come pick us up and told me she was coming with it. That she missed me, and she missed the children. That’s why we were outside. Because the children missed her just as much and wanted to see her.”
Her eyes search mine, shifting back and forth in sharp, bewildered flicks. “He knows because hewasthere that morning with her?”
“So it seems.”
Her hand goes over her trembling lips, her face a vision of pure, abject horror. “Sebastian…he was…furious that morning with me. Manic, almost. He hates you and makes no secret of it. I worry he might try to hurt you.”
I worry he might already have tried. Would he have gone so far as to tamper with the helicopter to separate Nora from me? That’s what I don’t know.
“I have to go speak with Javier and Rowan.” I take her hand, dragging us from the corner of the room and through the throngs of people getting ready to sit down for dinner. A barrage of congratulations and well wishes brush us from each direction, but I don’t have time to slow to thank anyone. I find my children snacking on cheese and crackers while Althea, Rowan, and two attendants keep watch. Rowan catches my eye and immediately knows something is wrong.
“I need a word. Now. Find Javier and meet me in my office.”
He gives me a curt nod, not asking any questions, and leaves us instantly.
“Althea, can you stay with Bellamy and the children here in the ballroom?”
“Of course. Anything you need.”
“What is it, Papa?” Phaedra asks, concern in her eyes, and I force a smile, bending to kiss her cheek.
“It’s nothing, sweetheart. Just some royal business that cameup. Stay with your Tante Althea and Bellamy.” I kiss each of my children and then Bellamy before turning to the attendants. “I want one-to-one and none of them leave the room unattended.”
“Yes, sir.”
I leave them here, a heavy sense of dread filling my gut with every step I take away from them.
28
BELLAMY
Everyone is staring at me. And no, that’s not an exaggeration or any form of paranoia. Somehow we got shuffled over to sit for dinner, only I can’t focus on food or anything other than wondering about where Sebastian and Rowan are and what they’re up to. Althea is giving me a side-eye every few seconds. The girls are edgy and perceptive enough to know something isn’t right.
And the rest of the hundreds of people, yeah, they’re on me, too, whispering about me with their eyes glued to my every feature. Especially the massive rock on my hand. A rock I can hardly focus on with everything else.
