THAYER
I scanned every corner of this event, but I couldn’t find her. I started to worry. I took a few deep breathes to calm down.
After I welcomed some guests, I paid my regards to my parents. I texted Lud and Ash. They were in one of the rooms, monitoring the situation in and out of the gala.
Ash replied.
Ash: Garden alone.
T: Watch over her. Make sure that no reporters would get to her.
Ash: Got it
I slipped my phone back into my pocket. It was inappropriate, but I tended to break etiquette every now and then.
“Thayer.” A voice purred beside me. Even if she stood naked in front of me right now, it wouldn’t even pique my interest. I had my woman to worry about, and she was the very least.
“Lady Kadynce,” I addressed respectfully. I was well-groomed to do it, but I barely looked at her. As always, she sought my attention, smiling sweetly.
She was the perfect epitome of a trophy-wife to be on the outside— superficial but poised. Beautiful, but mean. And she was one of the chosen to be my wife.
She came from a prominent family from the west. But she didn’t give me the effect the way Kennedy did. She may be beautiful and raised in an influential environment, but she was not my type. She could satisfy me in bed, but not in so many things I found in Kennedy.
“Can we talk in private?” What the fuck?
“You know it’s not appropriate, Kady.”
“Not in a few days.”
I threw curses in my head. I knew exactly what she meant. Of course, I was a catch. Let’s face it. Even if I was a beast, she would agree to marry me. Her family was power-hungry. Loyal? Maybe, but if I happened to be a nobody? She would even give me a second look.
“Look, if you want to say something to me, say it now. I have guests to entertain. Or you can leave your message to Marko.” I was a dick, but she had to understand that this arrangement was the least of my problems right now. I had a more pressing matter that needed my attention.
“As your future wife, you should take me with you and introduce me to your guests.”
I inwardly groaned. “Kady, we’re not engaged yet, and let me be honest with you, this engagement may not happen. So don’t let your hopes up.”
Her gaze was steady on my face, glaring at me. “You can’t postpone the engagement. It’s been arranged for years. And we’re getting married whether you like it or not.”
“Lower your voice down,” I said calmly, even if I was raging inside. I was a prince, and she wouldn’t dare raise my voice at me or ordered. “I’m a prince if you’ve forgotten that. There, maybe an arrangement, but you were just among those candidates. And if I say I won’t choose you, and I don’t wanna marry you, my father would respect that. Keep that in mind. You may start searching from your book club.”
“Is this because of that commoner?” Great! I didn’t have to explain why.
“Don’t use that word.”
“American.”
“You know the answer to it by now.”
“But my father told me—”
“When?” I stared at her.
“Brother?” Oh, thank fuck! Saved by my sister. “May I excuse my brother, Kadynce?”
“Of course.”
Even if she wouldn’t excuse us, Carlott already was dragging me away from her.
“Thank you.”
“I’d been watching you for a few minutes, and I couldn’t ignore your glare and discomfort. It’s bad for the media, brother. And I know you’ve been screaming for my help.” We stopped at the corner side of my parents.
Carlott was an epitome of a rebel princess with a huge heart when it came to children. There would always be someone who would stand on her beliefs despite the negative judgment of society. And that was what I admired about my baby sister.
“Where’s your American princess?” She was staring at me—really staring at me.
“Don’t call her that.”
“She would be, in the future.”
“She’s upset.”
“You mean pissed off.” She pursed her lips, clearly unimpressed.
“You’re still dating that guy.” Her American boyfriend was her big influenced, but she seemed happy, and he respected her.
“He has a name, Thayer Camren.”
I wished I could roll my eyes. “Fine. Waren.”
“You’re an ass, you know.”
“That’s not nice to say to your big brother, Carlott.”
“Give me a break. You’ve been a royal pain in the ass. How could you invite her and leave her unattended for—how long now? Oh, twenty-five minutes?”
Panic streaked through me. “Can you cover for me?”
“On one condition?”
“Name it.”
“Go.”
“Thank you.”
I looked at my parents and nodded slightly as a gesture that I would be leaving. Thankfully, my father seemed to be in a mood tonight.
I dialed Ash once I was outside the hall as I strode to the private exit.
“She’s with Lud.”
“Is she okay?”
“She seemed fine, but you know how she reacted after you dropped the Fukushima on her.”
“I told her before the gala, but not—”
“Not who you are.”
“She cares about me. She would understand. She supposed to understand.”
“If you’ve been just honest with her from the start, this won’t come down to this.”
I stopped to a halt. “What do you mean?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“No. You said this won’t come down to this. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Lud drove her back to the manor.”
“Without informing me?” I yelled at Ash over the phone. My blood boiled. “Fucking Ludovic.”
“There’s something more.”
“Damn it!” I growled. “What is it?”
“She’s so upset. And she wouldn’t tell Lud. You should fix this, T. Before it’s too late.”
“I will. Drive me home.”
I kept rubbing my temples as I rested my head at the backseat of the car. I tried calling her phone, but she wouldn’t pick up. She might turn the silent mode on.
When I walked in earlier. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. She looked like an angel just landed from the sky, as cliche as it may sound. She was the only thing that existed to me in the entire ballroom.
Then the air in my lungs thickened until it felt like I was drowning. Seeing those reactions in her face—the pain, the shock—she felt that I betrayed her trust. Ash and Lud had been right all along. I just couldn’t accept my mistake—my bruised ego.
Now she was mad at me.
She was right. I held back the truth. I should have been honest from the very beginning when I was sure she was the right one for me.
“Your Highness, are you okay?” Ash asked from the passenger seat.
“Just get there. Fast.” My jaw flexed.
Honestly, I was shaking. I didn’t know how to explain when she saw everything—she figured out everything about me. She gave her trust to me, and it was heartwarming. And now I ruined it.
I stared outside the window, watching cars passed by. Guilt, pain, and a string of unfamiliar feelings constricted in my chest. What if she was going to leave me? The pressure in my chest intensified.
God, I’m so madly in love with Kennedy.
“Fuck!”
“We’re almost there,” the driver announced.
“Talk to Lud.”
A few seconds by, Ash responded. “They’re on the way to the airport.”
“Come again?” I blurted, horrified.
“He’s driving Miss Gilby to the airport,” he rephrased.
“No fucking way. Call the aviation and ask which flight is living to the US tonight.”
I’d waited. As soon as Ash ended the call, I asked, “When?”
He turned to look at me. His face was inscrutable.
“Fucking when, Zakkary?”
“The boarding starts in an hour.”
“Fuck!”