“So…” I took a sip of wine. “Everything okay?”
He set his glass on the table and studied my face like he was taking stock of my mood.
“Just spit it out. You’re freaking me out.”
“Marry me.”
A loud laugh erupted from my body.
“I’m serious, Adelaide. I want to propose to you tomorrow.”
I fell silent.What the fuck.He had to be joking. Out of all of the women in this competition, he wanted to propose tome? This couldn’t actually be real. I had to have been in a dream or something. There was no way I could marry Oliver. He had officially lost his marbles.
“You don’t want to marry me. I’m just a swotty commoner,” I snarked, harkening back to the taunts that Renata and the other bullies threw my way in primary school. “There are plenty of other women in the competition who are much better suited for you.”
He grabbed the glass of whiskey, took another long swig, and ran his hand through his ashy blond hair.
“Oliver?” I grabbed the top of his hand. “Is everything okay?”
He let out a long breath and flipped his hand over so that our fingers intertwined. It had been years since we had held hands and tiny little baby butterflies tried to take flight in my stomach. I pushed them down, caging them backin.
“I need to get engaged tomorrow for a lot of reasons. But mainly because I want to change this country and the way things are done. I’m tired of people just going along with things because it’s the way we’ve done them for decades. I’m going to abolish the marriage rule, but to do that, I have to take the crownnow.”
He took one more long drink of his whiskey, draining the glass.
“I—” he started. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he continued. “I came here tonight to ask you if you would stand by me while I do that. That’s all I’m asking, no funny business. I know you aren’t interested in being my bride. We likely won’t have to actuallygetmarried; I believe we can push the movement through the Council quickly and get it passed before the six-month engagement time limit is up.”
I did not often speak without thinking first, so I paused, mulling over Oliver’s words in search of a response. But I was coming up empty, unable to process what he was saying.
Shadow meowed from the floor and then jumped up onto the couch. He made a few circles before plopping down between the two of us. I pulled my hand from Oliver’s and ran my fingers through the cat’s long fur.
When I entered the competition, I hadn’t had any intention of coming out of it engaged. I had done it because my dad had asked me to, and it seemed like a good opportunity to get eyes on some of the programs at my school that were in danger of being shut down without more budgetary support from the Council of Lords. And, surprisingly, it had worked. The day after my fellow contestants and the royal family helped with our annual clothing and food drive, donations had skyrocketed and were now up sixty percent year over year. It was amazing.
But I couldn’t understand why he wanted to propose tome. If he just wanted to get engaged so that he could take the crown, why not choose someone like Sabine Thorne? She was from a noble family. Or Mel Schneider! At least as a journalist, she knew how to navigate the press. They could keep it platonic. I couldn’t wrap my mind around his choice.
“Why me, Oliver? You have other women to choose from.”
“I don’t trust anyone else. And right now, I need someone I can trust.” His silver eyes shone, holding a plea for me to just listen.
My eyebrows knit together. I had the sense he wasn’t telling me something. Something important. We sat in silence while my mind spun. The silence must have spurred him on because in the next moment he was speaking again.
“Xavier fathered a child with an American actress.” He looked down at his hands. “He came to me earlier tonight and told me about it. He left Wexstone to go to America to be with her. If I had to guess, that's why he abdicated. So not only did he abdicate and force us into this whole thing,” he waved his hand in the air, “he got someone pregnant and the news is about to break and once again we’ll be facing a series of bad press.”
He shook his head, turning to look at me. “I don’t care what the media says about my family. Most of the time, it isn’t true. I’ve grown a thick skin about it because at the end of the day, they don’t truly know us. But I am worried about what all of this continued bad press will do to our country. I’m afraid that this could affect trade and our economy and the people who just want to put food on their tables.
“I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks about me. But I do want to protect our people. And I can’t do that if I’m notcrowned and I can’t be crowned if I’m not engaged. It’s all so fucked up!”
He stood and started to pace around the living room. Shadow looked at Oliver and back at me. The cat wasn’t often fond of new people, so the fact that he was out at all, much less still sitting on the couch, was a surprise.
Some of my earliest school and playground experiences had cemented the idea that aristocrats were self-centered, caring only about their own interests. And, for the most part, that had proven true. But I had grown to learn that Oliver was different. He had always been different. From our very first tutoring session, he had shown that titles and money didn’t matter to him. He used his privilege to help others, and he always made sure those around him felt seen. My personal reservations and our history aside, I trusted that he meant what he was saying.
“You’re going to change the marriage law.” It was a statement, not a question.
He met my eyes, his gaze unflinching. “Yes.”
“And there won’t be any funny business?”
“I mean, there can be some funny business if you want,” he said slyly, winking at me.
