Even from a quick glance, my pulse shoots up. And when I see the photo, the comments below, and play the video, I feel sick.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Sarah and me, me and Sarah. And we are being called the new power couple.
Swallowing hard, I open the newspaper and close my eyes, defeated. The pressure in my skull increases to the intensity of a jackhammer.
Fuuuck!
Lady Amelia dumped. Prince Nicolas spotted with new old flame
,is the big headline above. Of course, it’s theHarlington Post, and I don’t even need to read on to know what story they’ve spun from the pictures of Sarah and me.
“Shit,” I mutter, shocked, and on the inside, I want to punch myself.
“Yes, ‘shit’ fits well, son. I want you to clear this up, fast. Apparently, I was wrong about my choice of wife, if these rumors and pieces of information are to be believed. We can no longer afford negative press, especially not with this marriage. Amelia doesn’t seem to be who we expected. So, sort it out, or I will,” my father tells me coldly, rips the phone and paper from my hands, and walks away.
Fuck.
“You know I don’t believe a single word that’s been said about Amelia, Nici, but your father doesn’t feel the same. You gave him the ammunition with those pictures. Fix this quickly, because with that stunt, you made her, your wife, an easy target. They are going to tear her apart. You have always had a big, sensitive heart, but it also makes you act impulsivelyand do stupid things.” My mother steps in front of me, gently places her hand on my cheek while looking at me lovingly but reproachfully, and I have to swallow. My heart tightens, and at the same time, my anger at myself grows.
Stupid. That was so stupid.
“I was stupid. It was never supposed to go down like this, and it’s not what it looks like,” I mumble weakly, and my mother smiles sympathetically.
“That, my son, you should not tell me. You have to tell your enchanting little wife, who is already having to endure more than her heart can bear. Set things right. Otherwise, Amelia, I fear, will get hurt far worse than we can imagine.”
She kisses my cheek and then leaves me standing too.
Shit.
I landed myself in deep trouble.
When Damien dropped that bombshell yesterday, something snapped in my mind. I was furious and wounded, but above all, my pride was hurt, and I acted impulsively. Impulsively and absolutely wrong.
I made Amelia bleed for my own failure and put a target on her forehead.
The comments under the picture and video are nasty. Really, really nasty. And judging by Amelia’s reaction, I assume she has seen both the comments and the video. And that after I promised her the night before that no one would hurt her anymore.
“Shit, I’m such a damn asshole,” I curse myself and tear at my hair. Just thinking about what could happen to her now, just thinking about how hurt she already is and what she has had to endure weighs on my chest like a ton of bricks.
Fuck, I have to get to her.
But it takes another ten minutes before I can finally leave this damn room, because the notary apparently feels like rambling today.
As soon as I’m outside, my phone rings, and I pull it out of my pocket.
“Nic, get your ass to the park exit quickly. Lizzy and Amelia are in trouble, and security is losing control,” Cedric shouts into my ear, and my heart skips a beat, only to immediately resume pounding hard and fast.
After I hang up, the alarm goes off in the castle. My stomach knots up, and icy cold fear crawls through my veins.
As fast as I can, I run through the castle with the phone pressed to my ear and order more men to the park exit.
Shit, I’m about to lose it.
Eric runs towards me swearing, and by now, I know the situation is serious.
“We need more men. They’re overrunning them, and security with them is not in control anymore. The police are notified, but Nic, it looks bad,” he tells me as he runs past, and I hurry on.
