They don't know who I really am.
Until I see the man.
Cold dread washes over me.I go ice-cold and stagger backward, trying to escape the brilliantly lit dining hall of the mansion.
The host and hostess start to introduce us.
Oh God.This can't be happening.I have to get away.But I can't move, not with Layton, Garrison, and Jasper surrounding me, blocking my way, forcing me to face the man I ran away from.
Arthur Norvik.The man I ran away from because I didn't want to marry him—because if I did, my country, Skarlen, would belong to him.
"Allow me to introduce you to Prince Arthur Norvik," the host says, and it's then that he recognizes me.
Two years ago, I was very much a blonde.My grandmother insisted my dark hair—which I inherited from my mother, whom she didn't like either—was too loud, too stark for the future queen of Skarlen.
No one knew I had dark, almost black hair.Since my first public appearance in Skarlen, my hair had been dyed a shade of blonde.
Yes, I'm a whole-ass princess.That's my big secret.Only Clover ever knew that about me.And Arthur Norvik was the man I was supposed to marry.
I didn't love him.He was terrible, and if I married him, he would become king of Skarlen one day.So I ran away from home to avoid marrying him.Now I'm facing him.
But that's not all.The men I stupidly, stupidly fell in love with brought me here to a dinner where he was going to be.Why?
"You knew," I whisper so softly no one hears me.
"Well, this is most awkward," Arthur begins.And here we go."But I'm afraid your pet, gentlemen, is wanted for treason in my country.I demand custody of her immediately."
Treason because I didn't want to marry him.And my grandmother, who loves Arthur, endorsed it fully.
He reaches out to grab me, then stops midway at the sound of Layton's voice.
"Touch her, and I'll make you eat your hand."
Arthur pulls back, fear widening his eyes.
"I'm sorry...I apologize, but this woman—"
"Is our future bride.She belongs to us, which means she's under our protection, for now and always."
"Do we need to spell that out in a different manner for you, Your Highness?"Jasper says, but he's mocking the man, and Arthur knows it.
"Consider this your opportunity to correct a mistake," Garrison adds."Remove the charge, or we will remove your ability to enforce it.Understood."
The host—for the life of me, I can't remember his name—cuts Arthur off, warning him that he doesn't want to go against the three billionaires.They would eat him and his whole country and then spit them out.
Arthur is clearly a friend of the man.He hesitates, then nods.
"As you wish," he says.Then turns to me with a hard, hateful look.I guess I deserved that.Me running away made him look weak and he’d become the butt of a lot of jokes.
He opens his mouth: "Prin—"
"No," Jasper says, and he shuts his mouth awkwardly before he turns to leave.
"Please take me home," I say, this time a little louder so they hear me.I don't have a choice; they're my ride home, for goodness’ sake.
