CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – HATTIE #2
“Let me remind you of something.” I take a step closer to her and dip my head, gently reaching out to rest my hand on her upper arm in what will seem like a gentle and reassuring, even pleading touch from a big sister to anyone watching us.
“You were only raised like that because I was kidnapped. Everything you have right now is because I disappeared. If I hadn’t gone missing, do you really think you’d be recognised as a Sinclair?
Even now, everyone believes you’re an adopted daughter, while I’ve been acknowledged fully.
Without my disappearance, you’d be nothing more than what you really are: a mistress’ daughter, raised on the sidelines, while I reap the rewards of the Sinclair name. ”
“You—”
“‘Your’ engagement? It was never yours. It was always mine. It was my mother who discussed it with the queen, and it was passed onto you as a courtesy.” I keep my voice low, my tone flat, my words tight.
“I didn’t take anything from you. I merely claimed what was already mine, and you can’t stand that.
You can’t stand that our father had to acknowledge me as his daughter in public because of what I did.
You can’t stand the reminder that everything you have is by pure chance, and that to top it off, Finn chose me.
He had a choice, and in a world where he could have chosen sweet little Jasmine Sinclair, raised for fifteen years to be his wife, he chose me.
Harriet Sinclair. The one who went missing. The one with the unknown past.”
I pull back and meet her gaze. Her eyes are roaring with hatred, and I know she’s about to blow. One more push, and she’ll stupidly give me exactly what I want.
So I do it.
I push.
“Your little daydreams were just that—dreams. Delusions far above anything you deserve. You never would have been his wife. The queen was never going to grant permission.” Just a little more.
“He was waiting for me, Jas. The whole time you thought you were going to marry him, he was waiting in the hope I’d finally come home.
” One more time. “He was even a virgin. That’s how devoted he was to the arrangement between us, even without knowing me.
The best bit? While you were off gallivanting, preening, and planning a future that would never happen, he was fucking me. ”
Sting.
The sound of her palm hitting my cheek registers moments after the sting spreads across my skin.
We both freeze.
I act first. I raise my hand to my cheek, taking a staggering step back from her. Her slap barely registers on the pain scale for me, but it’s just enough that my eyes instinctively water from the force of the impact.
The realisation of what she’s done flickers across her face rapidly. Her eyes widen, but before she can say a word, we’re separated. She’s dragged away from me and restrained by the guards that have been watching from a distance, and Faye rushes over, shouting.
“Get off her!”
“Those are royal guards, you prat,” Valentina drawls, pulling up the rear. “Cut it out before they grab you, too.” She hurries to me, her face the picture of perfect concern. “Oh, my gosh, Hattie! Are you all right?”
“I—I…” I look from her to Jasmine, wide-eyed, giving my best innocent show. “I was just apologising for keeping the engagement a secret. I didn’t know she had real feelings for him, and I—”
“Oh, hon.” She gently removes my hand from my face as I look to Sophia.
“Please, let her go. She’s my sister. I don’t hold it against her.”
Sophia’s lips thin even as Jasmine struggles against her hold. “Miss Sinclair, I’m afraid I can’t.”
“Please,” I whisper, but she doesn’t falter. “Then please just escort her out quietly, if you must do something. It’s my fault. She just made a mistake in the heat of the moment. I understand how she must be feeling right now, so please don’t hold it against her.”
Jasmine’s glare is so fierce it could slice down an entire army, but I’m so wrapped up in my wronged big sister act that it barely registers on my radar.
I lean into Valentina as the store manager rushes over and is held back by another one of the guards, and Faye is desperately trying to talk some calm into my fuming half-sister.
“Very well. As you wish, Miss Harriet.” She gives Jasmine’s arm a tug. “Miss Sinclair, I suggest you follow me before your sister has a change of heart.”
“I—she…!” Jasmine stutters, pointing at me, but Sophia and the other guards usher her away before she can finish whatever it is she’s trying to say. There’s a crowd of people gathering outside the store, and she quickly dips her head and hides her face, but it’s too late.
Because Valentina whispers, “Got it,” in my ear as she fake consoles me.
Within a couple of hours, this will be everywhere.
“Miss Sinclair, I’m terribly sorry about this,” the manager says, approaching me while wringing her hands. “Would you and your friend please come with me? We have a private area you can shop in at the back away from prying eyes. We can also arrange for medical personnel to attend to you.”
“Thank you so much,” Valentina says. “Come on, Hattie. There are a lot of eyes around.”
I lean into her when she wraps her arm around me. “I won’t need a medical professional. Just something cool for my cheek, if you could, please.”
“Of course, of course.” She quickly motions for us to follow her, muttering something about a heavy discount as a formal apology. I can’t accept it per the rules of the Royal Family, but that doesn’t mean Valentina has to do the same.
She can go wild.
While she does that, I will smile.
And brace myself for the storm that’s coming.