We’re lying on the bed, watching some cheesy romance movie that honestly isn’tthatbad.
The things you do for your wife.
It’s our last night; we have to head back tomorrow morning. Staying any longer wouldn’t be wise, given the current situation, and I’m especially eager to find out what my investigators have uncovered about my brother’s death. For that, though, I need my secure laptop to make sure the information reaches only me.
“I know. But we have to sort out all this crap, or we’ll never have any peace. Okay, fine, maybe we’ll never really have peace, but at least things will be more controlled and less dangerous,” I say quietly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and feeling her frown against my chest.
“Does it make me a bad person if I say I don’t give a damn about any of them? I haven’t done anything wrong. It’s not my fault they twist everything against me.”
I feel an ache in my chest because I know she’s trying to be brave, but she sounds so defeated and sad. That only fuels my anger and hatred toward the press and everyone who’s hurting her.
I want to protect her. And I will. No matter the cost. She’s my wife now, and the future queen of this country. Not everyone seems to have understood that yet.
“We’ll get through this. I won’t let them attack you like that again. Once we’re back home, we’ll deal with it. I promise you.”
Amelia lifts her head and looks at me, her eyes glistening with frustration.
“It won’t be easy. Richardson is clever. How am I supposed to prove he was the one who ran us off the road? Especially now that he’s launched this witch hunt against me.” She rests her chin on my chest and studies me closely as I snort.
“He’s clever, but he overestimates himself and is losing himself in his obsession with attacking the royal family. The security firm I hired is on the case. They’re digging through Richardson’s life from top to bottom, uncovering everything there is to find, believe me. We’re bound to find something.”My expression hardens as I say it, and I won’t stop until I’ve unearthed every skeleton that bastard has hidden in his closet.
“He has to be punished for what he’s done.” Amelia’s voice is sharp, and I understand why. Because I couldn’t bear it either if he didn’t pay for Phil’s death.
For a moment, I feel a weight on my chest as I lie here with Amelia, relaxed and somehow even happy, knowing he would have genuinely wanted this for us.
Shit, I miss him so much.
“He would’ve loved this. Us. I’m sure of it. He always wanted me to be happy. As happy as he was with Damien.” I hear the melancholy in her voice, and damn it, I feel the same way. But this feels right.
I run my hand through her hair, and a sad smile crosses her lips, because she misses him just as much as I do. Still, it hurts to know he didn’t trust me enough.
“He could’ve told me, you know. I would’ve been happy for both of them. Finding out like this, after everything, that sucked, and I didn’t take it well.”
My face twists into a grimace and I feel a tight knot in my stomach thinking about how I acted that day.
“Yeeeah, I can confirm that,” she replies slowly, giving me a sharp look that makes the corners of my mouth twitch.
“Phil always wanted you to know. Damien had a hard time with it. But Nicolas, the Robins thing was just the tip of the iceberg. He was constantly under attack, and you know his parents. You know Harlington. When it comes to being gay, this country is stuck in the past.”
Her eyes flash angrily as she says it, and damn it, I know it too. I just didn’t realize how bad things had gotten for my best friend.
It pains me deeply to think about what he and my brother endured, having to conceal both who they are and the love they share.
My anger at my father flares up again, because he is a narrow-minded idiot in many ways, and Phil had planned to change that once he became king. Now I understand why he always reacted so strongly. And my dear father never even realized he was discriminating against his own son.
“My father is a stubborn fool. That’s the problem. But I’m going to change that.We’regoing to change that.” I look at Amelia intently, and her eyes widen.
“Somehow I keep forgetting that you’ll be king one day,” she says dryly, and I laugh again.
“Well, the old man has no plans to step down any time soon. But one day, you’ll be queen, Goldilocks.” I grin broadly at her, and she raises both eyebrows, giving me a skeptical look.
“Not sure if that’s comforting,” she replies, even more skeptically. Chuckling, I pull her fully onto me.
“You mean because we’ll probably spend most of our time butting heads? That only makes things more interesting.” I kiss her quickly and then press her head into the crook of my neck.
“Now sleep. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.“
Amelia giggles, and fuck, I really love that sound.
