Page 3 of Fallen Crown

When Enzo and I got married right out of college, I never thought we’d be here at twenty-five. Maybe I should have. There was no one in the world more fun to be around than Enzo when times were good. He dominated any room he walked into. The epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. When he approached me at the campus bar, I became a puddle at his feet. My husband was built for fair weather—sunny skies and warm air.

Rain isn’t his thing. Any time life got rough, he was never quite there. Missed a train, got sidetracked by something else, or showed up but was just a touch closed off. Nothing was ever so dire that I wondered if I could really depend on him. Turns out I should have taken all those tiny rain clouds as a sign he wouldn’t be able to hack the big storms either.

I loved him so much I overlooked his shortcomings, but the moment the door clicked shut on our house and silence surrounded me, they all came rushing to the forefront. What kind of man leaves their wife when she’s at the bottom of a pit of despair?

“I’ll contact Enzo when I can be sure he’s no longer a selfish bastard,” I say. “Might take a while. I think the selfish and bastard parts are quite ingrained.”

“God, Maren. Just divorce him.” She throws up her hands. “No one but you will see it as a failure. As quitting.”

Lots of people around Bellerive will see it as both. Bringing an American to the island as my husband was enough of a hubbub, especially since Enzo’s job involved becoming social media famous. Not that he didn’t work hard. Between his gaming videos and his online workout channel, he put in a lot of hours. His flexibility meant he could, if he wanted to, travel around the world in support of my various charities. And he did, for a while.

But the Tucker family is steeped in old, elitist money and a mountain of history on this island. Expectations abound. Enzo didn’t fit in anywhere in that sense, but he did try, at first.

The truth is, we’d already been fraying when I agreed to train and travel to that last adventure race. It was a race we’d conquered three years before. Only thirty percent of teams ever finished. We knew we could do it again.

Enzo loved my sense of adventure when we met, but there was no doubt he resented me when he arrived at my bedside in Chile.

My mother has always said I have a wild heart, and she was shocked Enzo managed to break me down into marriage. To live in Bellerive, we had to be wed. Didn’t feel like breaking to give in to the life he said he wanted. The one he painted with pretty words and empty promises. Us, together, on the island paradise I called home. Bending, maybe.

I was definitely broken by the time he left.

“Look, if that’s all you asked me here to talk about, I have another appointment I need to get to.” There’s nothing else on my calendar, but I’m itching for a run. Since I broke my ankle, I’ve had to start building the distance from scratch, and I’m finally gaining that sense of accomplishment I’ve been missing.

“That’s not actually why I called you.” Caitlin winces and rubs her face. “Your mom asked me to check in with you. She’s worried about you agreeing to train the race team you were once part of. She wasn’t sure you were being honest with her, and you finally seem like yourself again.”

“Other than Prince Brice trying to horn his way onto the team, everything will be fine. No one needs to worry. I’m not racing; I’m training them.”

“Prince Brice?” Caitlin’s eyebrows almost disappear into her hairline.

“Can you imagine?” I let out a chuckle as I stand. “Talk about a disaster.”

“The country would eat that up. You’d raise a lot of money.”

“And we’d potentially put my teammates’ lives in danger. He has zero training.”

“You’d be one of the best to train him. Everyone has to start somewhere.”

She’s gone from attempting to gently talk me out of taking on this task to stroking my ego. Before my accident, my team was one of the best in the world. I have no doubt I could train Brice if I thought he’d take it seriously. Having watched him from afar since we were teenagers, I’m certain he doesn’t have a serious, dedicated bone in his body. The only thing he’s ever seemed to put his full effort behind is getting drunk with his brother, Nick, and dumping scandals on the king and queen.

Although I can’t see King Alexander being the same indulgent presence on the throne, I’m not willing to stake anyone’s life on Brice’s ability to see something through properly.

“No,” I say. “The fourth needs to be a woman. Keep the team balanced. Prince Brice would probably back out at the last minute and leave us in the lurch.”

“The Summerset Royals are many things, Maren, but they aren’t quitters. Especially with the media focus on this race and with his dad’s involvement in the cause. But if your objection is truly more about balance, then I’d go see Melody Winter. She lives out in Padget Bay. She’s into hiking, rock climbing, long-distance running. She’d be an excellent candidate to fill your shoes.”

Now this is what I really needed. Another person to present at the board meeting as a viable option. While the Winter family isn’t as well known and won’t draw the same fundraising power, not having to train someone from the ground up is a definite asset.

As I head for her office door, Caitlin says, “And if your mother asks, tell her I tried very hard to convince you not to do this.”

“So hard.” I laugh as I open the door.

Chapter Three

Brice

If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying, which is exactly why I invited Tim and Cheryl from the Alzheimer’s Society Board to the royal estate for a grand tour a week before the adventure team vote. One thing I’ve learned about Maren during our various interactions is that she likes to win, just like me.

“As you can see,” I say, “we have lots of buildings that could be used to store equipment or that can be renovated for a particular purpose. We have the boat launch straight into the ocean for paddling practice. If I was a team member, I have no doubt my family would throw the full weight of their support behind me and the cause.”