It still felt weird to stare down at my left hand and see a ring there, especially one that had so many diamonds dotting through it, along with bright sapphires to represent the Swena family jewels.
Back in Asach, Thomas had given me a coronet to wear once. I had only worn it for his wedding and a few other official events that he insisted I go to. His father had drawn the line at it having the Asach royal family colors represented in any way. The expensive adornment is somewhere still packed away in a safe, but now I had this ring, and already Erich and I were looking at what our wedding bands would look like and an official coronet for each of us.
It didn’t seem so daunting and heavy when I was picking out jewels with him. True to their word, we kept the announcement of the engagement light, just a short announcement from the official royal PR department, and some portraits were taken within the comfort of our own rooms. I was scheduled to do interviews with a few different reporters, with Erich or Thomas at my side at all times. Thomas had his PR person making sure the conversation stayed on task and that only approved questions were asked. We were on just the edge of the limelight, and that didn’t bother me at all.
With Erich at my side, it felt like I could do anything. I was no longer looking for jobs or apartments anywhere else. The palace was my home. Now, though Erich and I had talked briefly about getting our own place, I almost liked just staying within the palace, though, where our children could grow up with their cousins close by. I could continue my role as the kids’ nanny.
I was working with Julien and Markus on their letters when one of the butlers came into the family room.
“Viscount, you have a visitor?”
“A visitor?” Being addressed with my title and not just Mr. Jaq took some getting used to.
He nodded.
“Go ahead, Jaq. I’ll keep an eye on those two,” Wendell said. His own son was sitting at the desk with a book, reading about narwhals. As far as I could tell, the kid was obsessed with them.
“I won’t be long, or if I am, I will—”
Wendell waved a hand in the air. “Don’t worry about it. No one’s clocking your time.”
I followed the butler to the sitting room, where I was surprised to find my biological father standing there, two of his bodyguards at his side. I looked around, expecting to see the rest of his entourage. He only ever traveled with a billion different people. Immediately, my heart constricted, my stomach twisting itself in knots. No good ever came when I met with my biological father. I hadn’t seen him in five years up close, and I was surprised by just how much he’d aged since then. He was retired now, he should be living stress-free, but instead, he had circles under his eyes.
“What are you doing here?” I said.
He scoffed. “That is how you address your king, your father?”
“You are neither of those things. You are a former king, and since you didn’t come here in any official capacity, or else we would have been alerted to your presence, I have a feeling you’re not here on any official duties. And we both know that while you contributed to fifty percent of my genetic makeup, you are not a father to me.”
“You’re right about that. You need to quit this sham of a marriage. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you are not going to be—” He stepped closer to me, getting into my space.
Bodyguards that I didn’t even realize had followed me stepped between us. I was so used to them being around for the children that I hadn’t realized they followed me even when the children weren’t with me. My father’s face took on an incredulous look.
“You dare come between me and my son. Leave us. This is a discussion to be had in private.”
Neither one of them moved.
I took a deep breath. “Please give us some space. You don’t need to leave the room. He won’t hurt me. He’s not that stupid.”
My father’s eyes narrowed, and the level of hatred in them had me frozen. “I never should have let you stay here. You should have been shipped off to some foreign country and forgotten about long ago.”
“That is enough,” a voice called from the other side of the room. I almost expected to find Erich there, but instead, it was his omega father, Neale. “You dare come into my home and insult my son in such a way.”
My father had the decency to bow, dipping his head. “Your Majesty, my apologies for coming without being announced. I simply wanted to have a discussion with my son in private.”
“Absolutely not.” Neale never wavered as he faced down my father. He held his head high and came to my side, gripping my hand firmly. “You’ve made it clear throughout Jacques’s life that he is not considered your son. You have no responsibility to him, and as such, we don’t want you in his life. You have arrived here without invitation.”
“I didn’t mean to come here and insult His Highness Prince Erich.”
Neale held up a hand. “That is not who I was referring to when I said my son. This is my son, my chosen son, and you will not speak to him that way.” Neale turned to me. “Are you all right, dear?”
I nodded. My throat was closed too tight to make a sound. If I opened my mouth, I was likely to sob and fall into this man’s arms.
“Now, since we do not want any sort of international incident, we will continue this conversation in an official capacity, where my son, His Royal Highness, is present, as well as the king’sconsort. But for now, please see yourself out. You may stay here because we are gracious and will not kick you out on your ass, but if you come near Jacques again without his consent and without having others present, there will be hell to pay. Do understand me?”
A muscle ticked in my father’s jaw, but he finally nodded. He turned up his nose as he walked out the door, flanked by two of the guards who would escort him far away from me.
It shouldn’t feel good. Perhaps a better person would allow him a little more dignity.
