Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
ELENA
E lena’s heart sped up as she stepped into the rose-laden gazebo. Lit by the sparkling lights that draped from its roof, it created a magical ambiance filled with romance. Her lips parted as she studied it before she shot him a questioning glance. “What is this?”
He licked his lips, offering her a nervous smile. “Well, uh, I just…”
Her smile didn’t fade as she prodded him to continue with a cock of her head.
“Ellie, since I met you, my life has been different. You’re like this beacon of light that I never thought I’d find.”
His words echoed the sentiment in her own heart. “I feel quite the same.”
He nodded, his eyes stuck on the wooden boards beneath their feet. “I’m really glad you said that. Because I…love you. I am in love with you. And, Ellie…”
Her heart pounded frantically, and her eyes widened as he lowered to one knee, snapping open a ring box. The diamond-studded emerald sparkled under the lights. She pressed a hand to her chest as the shock hit her.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
Her features pinched as she studied the ring. It blurred when tears welled in her eyes. “Oh, Nathan.”
The two breathless words conveyed a bevy of unspoken emotions. Every fiber in her being wanted to accept him, to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him and then let him slide the ring onto her trembling finger.
But she couldn’t do that. Not yet. He had to know who she was. She couldn’t accept his proposal until he knew her identity. It wasn’t fair.
She stammered out an answer. “I…I love you, too, and…I…I’d love to say yes, but there is something I must tell you first that my change your mind.”
His features twisted, his disappointment obvious.
She wiped the tear that had fallen to her cheek as she grabbed his hands and squeezed them. “Please, Nathan, I desperately want to say yes.”
“Then say yes,” he whispered, still on one knee.
“But there’s something you must know first.” She tugged at him, trying to get him to rise.
He shook his head. “No, not until you answer.”
“Nathan, please. Please, there is something I must say, and it may make you wish you hadn’t offered. Please, I must tell you first.”
He shook his head. “Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. I love you. And we’ll get through it. Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. Ellie, if you love me, please say yes.”
She chewed her lower lip as she considered her response. “I do love you. I do.”
“Then, let’s get married.”
“Oh, Nathan, I want to marry you– ”
“You do?” A tentative smile crossed his features.
“Yes, I do. I–”
“Shh,” he said as he rose and pulled the ring from the box. “Then, let’s get married.”
He gently grabbed her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. She stared down at it. It felt so right on her hand. And she felt so right with him.
She raised her teary eyes to meet his. Before she could speak, he leaned forward, cupping her face in his hands before he kissed her, a gentle promise of his love.
She pulled back, her thumb tracing the emerald. “You may wish you hadn’t done this after I tell you what I must say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, El. Let’s just enjoy this moment. We’re in love. We’re getting married.”
She settled into his arms, wishing she could remain in his embrace forever, but she couldn’t. She had to tell him. He had to know before they moved forward.
She pulled back, sucking in a breath as another tear fell. “I wish I could enjoy this moment, but, Nathan, there is something I must confess.”
Nate’s features pinched as she pulled back to study her. “Okay?”
A knock interrupted their conversation. Elena snapped her tear-eyed gaze to find Victoria and the other Kingsleys hovering at the edge of the gazebo.
“I see a ring, but those don’t look like tears of happiness.” Victoria offered a hesitant smile as she flicked her gaze back and forth between them.
“She said yes,” Nate began as Ellie wiped at her cheeks again.
“I am very happy, Mrs. Kingsley, but I’m afraid there is something that I must say that may ruin everything,” Elena said through tears.
Victoria winced as her features scrunched. “Oh, I’m so sorry. We’ll give you some privacy–”
“No,” Elena said with a shake of her head. “No, please, what I’m about to say…everyone should hear it.”
Victoria sucked in a breath as her features registered confusion. “Okay.”
“Oh,” Chloe answered with a chuckle as they shuffled into the gazebo, “please tell me I was right, and you’re cheating.”
Victoria shot her an unimpressed glance, and she shrugged as she mouthed a “Sorry.”
“I am not,” Elena insisted, her voice sharp but still tinged with sadness. “Of course not. I love you, Nathan. I just…needed to be certain you loved me. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I just…”
“Ellie, what is it?” Nate asked. “Why are you so upset?”
“Well…” she began, her voice shaking. Her heart twisted into knot as her breath caught in her throat. She pressed a hand against her stomach as it fluttered, and she tried desperately to steady her wobbly knees.
She searched their questioning faces as she tried to find the words to tell them about her identity. “The thing is…I haven’t been–”
The arrival of several new people interrupted her words. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the entourage, her gaze centering on the man in the middle. He eyed the group, a mix of authority, surprise, and indifference etching his features.
Her heart stopped. She’d never get to explain, not now.
“I’m sorry, but this is a private family moment. You should–” Charles began when one man stepped forward.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I present His Royal Highness, King Frederick of Eldoria.”
Charles’s features tugged into a frown. “Your Highness, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I realize your family has been inquiring into our company– ”
The king held up a hand to stop his speech as his eyes settled on Elena. “Do you no longer bow to your king?”
Elena’s heart sank along with her gaze. She fought to steady her lower lip, and a single tear rolled down her cheek as she slid her eyes closed before snapping them open again.
With a lump in her throat, she stepped forward, her head bowed as she gathered her skirt and curtsied with one quiet word. “Father.”
“Father?” Chloe’s shrill voice cried from behind her.
A few other gasps of surprise sounded around her.
King Frederick gave a curt wave to the man at his side. He stepped forward again, his hands clasped as he announced. “Her Royal Highness, Princess Elena of Eldoria.”
Elena’s heart pounded as she closed her eyes again. There went her secret, announced in one formal bellow from her father’s assistant.
She twisted to eye the Kingsleys with pinched features. “I am so very sorry,” she whispered.
“Ellie…” Nate began, his features a mix of confusion and disbelief.
“Ellie,” King Frederick repeated with a click of his tongue. “How decidedly common.”
He reached for her and tugged her closer. “She is a crown princess, you will address her as such.”
Ellie’s nose wrinkled as she wrangled her arm from his grip.
He arched an eyebrow. “Elena?”
“No,” she said simply.
He offered her an unimpressed stare. “We should speak privately.”
“No,” she said, her voice stronger as she curled her fingers into a fist.
He fluttered his eyelashes, clasping his hands behind his back. “Fine, then we shall discuss it here and now. Your cousin has informed me of this little…fling. I hope it is out of your system.”
“Out of my system? This is not a game,” she answered, heat entering her voice.
“No, it is not,” he bellowed. “But it ends now.”
Elena’s jaw tightened as she stared down her father.
“Come along, Elena. It is time to return home.”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. She flashed her ring finger at him. “I am engaged.”
“Engaged?” He threw his head back with a sharp laugh. “Yes, Elena, you are. You are engaged to Prince Erik. And it is time to come home and marry him.”
“What?” Victoria asked.
“That’s not true,” Elena said, shooting her a pleading glance. “We are not engaged.”
“Are you dating him?” Nate’s voice, laced with hurt and fear asked.
“No,” Elena said with a shake of her head as she twisted to face him, her features pinched. “We have only met once when I was seven.”
“Elena has been promised to him since birth. She knows that full-well. This relationship is unauthorized.”
“Unauthorized?” Victoria shot back as she stepped forward. “Does this sort of thing still happen?”
Her father set his authoritative gaze on Victoria. “I will not debate the specifics of my country’s protocols. Elena, remove that ring and let us go.”
“I will not,” she answered.
His features hardened. “Are you saying you have no intention of calling off this farce of a relationship and returning to Eldoria to fulfill your duty?”
She raised her chin, trying to strengthen her resolve under the scrutiny of his gaze. “I will not call it off. I love Nathan, and our relationship is real. ”
She shot Nate a pleading gaze, hoping he still wanted her. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.
“Elena,” King Frederick said, his voice a warning. “I warn you not to test me.”
She interlaced her fingers through Nate’s. “This is not a whim, nor a game. Please, Father.”
“Neither is your duty to your country and your family.” The King’s measured words were both a king’s command and a father’s plea. “You know the weight of the crown and the sacrifices it demands. I will not–cannot–allow you to forsake your responsibilities for a…momentary infatuation.”
“Momentary infatuation? That is not at all what this is. You have been listening to Julian far too much. He only means to sow trouble between us.”
“Julian is not a part of this.”
“Isn’t he? Is it not him who alerted you to my…unseemly behavior?”
King Frederick’s voice carried a steel edge, tempered by years of rule but tainted by a father’s upset. “You are leaving me with little choice, Elena, though I had hoped to resolve this quietly for your sake and our family’s.”
“I cannot abandon my heart, nor pretend my feelings are fleeting. I will not. You must allow me my choice.”
For a moment, King Frederick’s expression softened, revealing the father beneath the crown. But his next words sliced through her heart, a decree that brokered no deals and offered no leeway. “I am sorry, Elena. Truly, I am. But the time for discussions has passed. You will return with me tonight. If you refuse…”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “If I refuse?”
“I shall take the necessary steps to secure your future and the future of our kingdom.”
The unspoken threat hung heavy between them. Her eyes flitted to the royal guards flanking her father. She understood what would happen. If they had to, they would rip her from her fiancé and return her to Eldoria.
“That sounds like a threat,” Victoria answered. “And I–”
Elena stepped forward, her voice shaking as she held back sobs. “I will go with you, Father,” she conceded, her voice barely above a whisper.
Each word she spoke sliced a dagger through her heart. “But please, give me a moment.”
“Make it brief,” he answered.
She spun to face them, her eyes filling with tears again. She focused her bleary gaze on Nate. “Nathan–”
“Ellie, don’t go, please.”
“I have no choice,” she sobbed.
Victoria stepped forward. “Honey, if you need help, we have security, too.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Kingsley. But I haven’t a choice. You must know how deeply sorry I am. For everything. I…had the same misgivings you did when you gave me your fake name. But this is not how I wanted things to unfold.”
She sucked in a deep steadying breath. “I only wanted someone to see beyond my crown. Please know my feelings for you are real and profound. I love you, Nathan. And I am truly sorry for any pain I’ve caused.”
“Ellie–”
“Elena, we must go.” King Frederick waved at her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered again as she clapped a hand over her lips and hurried away from the gazebo.
“Ellie, wait!” Nate’s voice called, but she couldn’t.
Tears poured down her cheeks as she raced from the Kingsley’s property, slipping into the royal convoy’s car and burying her face in her hands.
King Frederick slipped inside next to her a moment later. “It is hard now, darling, but you will survive. You are my brave daughter. You will rally. ”
The true weight of the cost of her crown pressed down upon her. Love was not a luxury afforded a princess.
She pulled her head up, tears still shining in her eyes. Her features twisted with disdain as the car pulled away from the Kingsley mansion. “I will not. My heart will never move on from him. And I will never forgive you for this.”