Page 129 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

I slightly bow and take a deep breath. “Sorry, Prince Archie.”

“Don’t do it again,” he sneers at me.

We stare at each other for several seconds, and I don’t dare say anything.

“Would you accompany me to lunch?” he asks, but it’s more of a demand. “I have things I would like to discuss with you… about our soon-to-be marriage.”

CHAPTER 39

Iclench my jaw and stare at him. I don’t want to go to lunch with him, and I really don’t want to talk to him about marriage. I’m not going to get married to him.

“I have a picnic being set up in the forest right now. Let’s head there and we can eat and discuss it further.” He holds his hand out, but I look at it, stunned.

There is no way in hell I’m about to take his hand as we walk through the town. I don’t want everyone to think we are together.

“I need to talk to my mother about this. I need to make sure she is okay with me going. She could have the baby at any moment,” I tell him. “Just give me one second alone with her?”

Prince Archie looks visibly annoyed as I finish talking, but right now I can’t find it in myself to really care. My mother is important to me, and the fact that she could have her baby any day now makes me want to stay closer. But I have been spending time in the forest recently, which she has given me permission for because she hasn’t been having any contractions.

But that could have changed.

“Go.” He dismisses me with his hand.

I pick the bucket back up and bring it further into the house, placing it by the fire. Mother is finishing up the pair of pants she started yesterday.

“Mother?” I hesitantly call out her name.

When I came back after my lesson, she was caring and wanted to make sure I had everything I needed, but that has stopped. She has gone back to ignoring me unless she needs something or I need to tell her I’m going out. But I am taking that over her kicking me out and wanting nothing to do with me anymore.

“Yes?” She briefly looks at me before going back to sewing.

“Prince Archie is outside and wants to have lunch with me. Is it all right is I go with him?” I ask, hoping she tells me no.

“I’m not having any contractions. If I need you, I will have someone get you,” she replies, not even looking up from her work. “You will be eating in the forest?”

My mouth falls open as I look at her. She knows I don’t want to be with him, yet she is saying she doesn’t need me. Why couldn’t she have just lied and said she was nervous and wanted me close by?

“Adeline?” She stops sewing and looks up at me. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

I sober up and blink several times as I look at her. “I.”

“You what?” she impatiently asks. “You can go with him. It’ll be good for you to spend some time with him instead of being out in the woods alone or doing chores. There isn’t much to do, you’ve been on a roll this morning.”

“Right,” I mutter.

The one time I was trying to get ahead so I could relax, it backfires and bites me in the ass. I can never win in either situation and it’s exhausting.

“Go have some fun,” she gently says before getting back to the pair of pants. “But don’t be too long. An hour and no more. While you got ahead, there are still a lot of things to do around here and I have a feeling the baby is going to make an appearance very soon.”

“Thanks.” I turn and walk back to the door.

“Well?” Prince Archie doesn’t even wait for me to fully step outside before he is asking.

“I can be gone for an hour but she wants me back no later than that,” I tell him, hoping he doesn’t get mad at the restrictions.

“An hour is plenty of time.” He smiles.

Eyebrows raised, I stare at Prince Archie. When he smiles, he doesn’t look wicked. But I know that underneath all of that, there is someone who shouldn’t be trusted at all.