Page 110 of Scarred Crown

“You haven’t exactly made it easy to give a shit about you. Case in point—right now, you’re threatening to steal my wife. That’s fucked up, Alex. Even for you.”

“I imagine I see the same qualities in her that you do. She understands this”—he gestures around himself—“lifestyle. On top of that, she’s loyal, trustworthy, clever, gorgeous—”

“And also my wife.”

“I notice the emphasis is on a different word this time.”

“Yeah, because you’re not getting it. Any minute now I expect you to sputter ‘fake news’ every time I say ‘my wife’ as though this is some kind of political maneuver instead of our lives.”

“Our lives are a series of political maneuvers.” Alex lets out a frustrated huff. “You’ve just never been particularly good at political strategy. But this isn’t a strategy. With such a public declaration of your drunken marriage, I won’t be with Jules.”

My level of frustration with him keeps rising. Why can’t he understand she doesn’t want him?

“You’re going to hurt her,” Alex says. “She doesn’t deserve that.”

“I’m not going to hurt her,” I rail. “I love her. I would never hurt her.” The words are out before I can even consider whether I should have told Alex. I haven’t even had the guts to tell Jules.

“We’ll see.” Alex eyes me. “You’ve never been very good at forgiveness.”

My phone beeps with the reminder of the meeting to set the date for our wedding. I shake my head and stare at him. What I’m about to say has nothing to do with Jules, and I hope he hears me. He might be my brother, but he’ll never be my friend.

“Sometimes,” I say, “there’s just too much to forgive.”

Julia

While I make my way down the corridor to the king’s office, I pray that Nick and Alex can put to rest some of their animosity toward each other. If I understood all the consequences of being with Alex all those years ago, I never would have done it. The wedge between Nick and me wasn’t the only one that grew exponentially. Alex and Nick are very different, but I wonder if I’ve become the reason they don’t get along. The thought turns my stomach.

The king’s door is partially ajar when I arrive, and I run my knuckles along the wood lightly to signal my arrival. He glances up from the papers on his desk and smiles.

“Julia! Come in. Come in.”

All the awkwardness of ‘Surprise! I married your son’ faded once Nick and I confirmed we would stay married. The king is more forgiving when a massive royal scandal becomes a minor blip in the history books. Our Las Vegas wedding might even make for a funny story someday… not sure who’ll be telling it since neither of us has produced a clear memory. We do have lots of very poorly taken photos on camera phones though. Always a bright side.

Except right now.

Is there a bright side to trying to force the king to reveal his terminal illness to his kids? I can’t see one.

After I’ve closed the door tight behind me, I slide into the leather chair across from him, a seat I’ve grown familiar with over the last few years. While I was sometimes the bearer of bad news, I’ve never had to confront the king about anything. He’s always been logical and reasonable in his approach to governing and his role in the monarchy.

“What are we discussing today?” He draws out his calendar, expecting more notes on coronation business.

Already, I can sense he’s not going to take this well.

“I was hoping we could discuss your illness.”

“My illness?” He raises his eyebrows in surprise.

We haven’t said one word to each other about it since I returned. If he thought I forgot, he’s mistaken. Talking about it openly feels like a betrayal of Nick’s trust in me. So, I’ve been avoiding it, pretending it’s not true since we returned. Just like he has.

But I can’t keep doing that because my clandestine dalliance with Alex ruined us once, and I won’t let a second monstrous secret destroy what we’re rebuilding.

“Yes,” I say. Do I have the guts to push this as far and hard as I might need to?

“Do you have a question about the diagnosis?” He laces his fingers together on his desk.

“No.” I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. “Does Alex know?”

“Why?” His hazel eyes, so much like Nick’s narrow.