“Your father beat you.”
She inhaled, held it there for a moment. “Well. Yes.”
“Did you think you deserved it?” he demanded, because the thought she might not know it was just wrong, simply wrong, and no amount ofamenitiesmade up for it, filled him with a rage he had no outlet for.
The king was already dead.
“Well, no. I mean…”
“Can you imagine laying a hand to…our child?” He tried to avoid discussing the baby too much, interacting with the idea of a child too much. Whatever securities he could implement to keep himself detached, surface level.
She met his gaze, searching for something. He turned away before she answered.
“No,” she said quietly.
“Then that is all you need to know.” He stared out the window, wished it was the Maine house with the terrace doors and cold whipping wind outside. He’d go stand there and watch the storm and be stilled.
He felt her come to stand next to him. He didn’t dare look at her.
“I suppose your parents never…”
“No. Not once. It never occurred to me that they might. My father’s disappointment held much more weight than any threat he might have given me.”
She tucked her arm into his, leaned her temple against his biceps. “I am excited to meet them. I’m so happy our child might have one decent set of grandparents.”
They would be that. Gabriel hadn’t spoken to them much. They were overjoyed—not so much at the royal side of things, but that he’d met a nice woman and settled down—their words.
They did not know about Gia, about what was inside him. They did not know obsession could turn to violence. That every step of loving Evelyne and their child was a chance he’d become his own version of King Enzo and his parade of destruction.
So they only saw the positive. Gabriel was glad for it, but it made him dread their arrival more than look forward to it as he might have otherwise.
Gabriel left her, but his words, his assurances didn’t. It was a comfort that he didn’t try to undermine the abuse. Alexandre didn’t do it on purpose, but sometimes she thought since he considered ithisdue, he considered it hers as well.
Which wasn’t fair. Alex had protected her and spared her as much as he could. She knew one of the weights on his shoulders was that he had not donemore, but sometimes it felt like he thought of her like…another country he had failed.
Rather than a sister he had done his level best to protect.
She sighed a little wistfully. Perhaps she could convince Gabriel to have the same talk with Alexandre that he’d just had with her. Perhaps Gabriel could get through to him and allow him to realize that no amount of abuse was theirdue.
She patted her stomach. “And that, my sweet baby, is just the kind of man your father is. For all his faults.”
She should start getting ready for dinner. She was eager to meet Gabriel’s parents, as he spoke so highly of them, but she was tired and achy and procrastinating.
When the room phone rang, she thought about ignoring it, but guilt and responsibility were too much to ignore it. “Hello.”
“Your Highness, Mrs. Marti has requested an audience before dinner. I have her in your sitting room, but I can tell her you are not ready for visitors if you prefer.”
Evelyne sat up in her bed. Gabriel’s mother wanted an audiencebeforedinner. Without Gabriel? Nerves danced around her chest. But she could hardly sayno. “I’ll…be there momentarily.”
She moved out of bed quickly. Luckily she’d already picked out the dress she’d wear for dinner. Since tomorrow would be full of formality, it was far simpler. And comfortable. She hurried through getting dressed and took enough time to brush out her hair and make up her face a bit.
Once ready, nerves battling around inside her, Evelyne forced herself to enter her sitting room. She was a princess. She was incredibly used to walking into meetings with people she didn’t know what to expect from.
But she had never wanted to impress someone so much as she wanted to impress Gabriel’s mother. She couldn’t help but think that would go a long way in…something.
When she entered, Mrs. Marti stood and curtseyed prettily, making Evelyne feel a bit awkward even though she’d been curtseyed to often in her life.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Evelyne offered, plastering a tight smile on her face and walking over to Gabriel’s mother. She was a small woman, trim, her dress a beautiful plum that surely made her look younger than she was.
