I opened the news app on my phone. “Well, fuck,” I muttered as I scrolled through the headlines:
Prince Xavier to Become a Father: What will this mean for the royal family?
Baby Out of Wedlock: Prince Xavier fathers child with American actress
Oh, Baby! News of pregnancy raises questions about future of Wexstone’s royal family
Still spouting curses under my breath, I resisted the urge to hide in bed and instead threw back the covers and trudged to the ensuite to ready myself for one of the biggest days of my life.
After a televised proposal, Adelaide and I were scheduled to sit down with one of Wexstone’s most famous reporters for a live interview. My mother had selected a new navy suit for me to wear, complete with a pair of my father’s cufflinks.
As I splashed icy water on my face, attempting to bring myself back to the land of the living, a knock sounded at the door. “Come in.”
The door opened and several palace staff came in with trays of breakfast and tea. I averted my glance from the stack of morning papers with their scandalized headlines.
My mother followed the staff in, fire in her gaze. “Oliver Remington Courtwright! You knew?”
Fuck.
“Good morning to you too, Mother,” I said as I lifted a cup of tea to my lips.
She held up her hand. “Don’t.”
My mother was, most of the time, the pinnacle of grace and decorum. She rarely let the mask slip, and the fact that she was letting it slip in front of the staff was a true sign of how upset she was.
“In my defense, I did just recently find out about this. Actually”—I walked over to my closet and retrieved the envelope from my coat pocket—“here. Xavier left this for you and Dad.”
“This would have been nice to have before the papers and media were calling all night.”
“Actually, it would have been nice to know several months ago,” I responded dryly.
Mum let out a long slow breath. It hit me at that moment what she must be experiencing. This was her first grandchild and she was missing it. She hadn’t even known. I couldn’t imagine what that must feel like.
“Mum?”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Come here.” I opened my arms and wrapped her in a tight hug.
I could feel her body shake a little with her sobs. I loathed this for her. I didn’t hate my brother, but I did have to push down the very un-kingly desire to punch him in the jaw. Mum pulled back and gently dabbed the tears from under her eyes.
“Okay. Well,” she said, setting her hands on either side of my face, “you have a very big day today. Let’s get you ready to get engaged.”
After showering, shaving, and getting dressed, I walked out of my bathroom and was greeted by Knox.
“Looking good, brother.” He nodded appreciatively to the sharp suit jacket.
“Yeah, I guess I can pull off a monkey suit pretty well,” I said as I pulled the sleeves of the jacket down and brushed a little lint off my cuff.
“How are you feeling?”
“Honestly? Pretty chill,” I lied.
“Good. Birdie is beside herself hoping that you’ll choose Adelaide. She wouldn’t stop talking last night about all the hypothetical family trips and holidays together.” He laughed.
A knot of guilt settled in my stomach. While Adelaide and I had agreed on this fake relationship, I hadn’t taken into account that my friends and family would be planning forour future together. A future that was very much not going to happen.
I smiled at Knox as I attempted to brush the guilt aside. I was doing what was best for Wexstone, as was my job now.
