Chapter 23
LOUIS
The guard outside my door almost startles me. As soon as I move past him, he follows me. I turn to face him.
“I’d like to take a walk. Alone, please,” I tell him, keeping my voice pleasant even though I want to put my fist through the wall.
“I’m sorry, Your Highness. The queen has requested you remain in your quarters for the evening.”
“Requested? Like it’s a suggestion?”
“Yes, sir.”
I stare at him for a long moment, waiting for him to flinch or look away or show any sign that he understands how absurd this is. He doesn’t. He’s been trained to keep her thirty-six-year-old son locked in his room like a teenager who’s grounded for missing curfew.
“And what happens if I choose to disregard that request and leave anyway?”
“I’ve been instructed to accompany you wherever you go and report back to Her Majesty at the end of each shift.”
“Wow. I’m not a child.”
“I agree with you, Your Highness. I’m following the queen’s direct orders.”
“I know. Apologies. My frustration isn’t with you, but rather my mother.”
So, I can walk the halls of my own palace, but every step will be documented and delivered to my mother. It’s the illusion of freedom without having any.
“Is there any way I can convince you not to do that?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been instructed not to follow your order, per Her Majesty.”
“Of course. I’m sorry you’re wasting your time,” I say.
“Sir, it’s an honor.”
I give him a nod and close the door. The frustration rushing through me has me wanting to be reckless.
I move to the window beside my bed and open it.
I look down at a fifteen-foot drop, then stare at the dark sea.
Tomorrow, I’ll be going to my storage and searching for my rappelling equipment from when I went cave exploring a few years ago.
My loft feels much smaller than it did this morning.
The walls are the same distance apart, but everything feels like it’s pressing in on me.
I pour myself a whiskey and stand at the window, watching the gardens below, where staff are setting up something near the rose beds.
Lanterns maybe. It looks like a table for two.
I haven’t seen Addison in four days. My schedule has been intentionally packed. Between strategic meetings and meals with visiting dignitaries who want to discuss trade agreements, I’ve had no extra time to see her.
I gave Delphine a note to deliver to Addison this morning.
A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts. I down the whiskey and cross the room, expecting to find another guard with another politely worded command. Instead, Delphine slips inside and closes the door behind her, pressing her back against it like she’s barricading us in.
“What the fuck?” she asks, glancing around the room, making sure we’re alone.
She pushes off the door and goes straight to the whiskey. We both look like a mess as we take double shots.
“We need to talk.”
“Clearly,” I say, making a hand motion to turn the volume down. “They’re reporting everything to Mother.”
“I know. I started getting followed three days ago. I’ve not been able to go anywhere. It’s destroying my summer.” She drinks several gulps. “I’ve been working all year to show off this body! Even my phone is being tracked. I couldn’t deliver your note.”
She hands it back to me, then reaches into her bag and pulls out a slim folder.
“But I did find what you’d asked for. The palace archives had records of every piece Henri had painted during his tenure. Locations, storage moves, catalog numbers. It took some digging because half of it was handwritten in cursive that looks like drunk calligraphy, but it’s all there.”
I take the folder and flip it open. It’s pages of inventory lists, dates, and room assignments. Some entries are crossed out with new locations noted beside them. It’s going to take time to go through, time I don’t have right now.
“Thank you.” I set it on my desk. “I’ll look at this later.”
“You’re welcome. Now tell me what the hell is happening.”
I run a hand through my hair and resist the urge to throw something. “Mother is isolating us. Making sure we have no allies, no information, no way to know what’s going on.”
“She’s starving the fire burning between you. Are you sure your relationship can handle this?” Delphine’s voice is serious.
The thought of it makes me sick. “Addison knows I’m not giving up. She’s too smart to fall for these tricks.”
My mother isn’t just separating us physically. She’s trying to break Addison’s faith in me, to make her believe I’ve chosen duty over her.
“We have to talk to Addy,” I tell Delphine.
“How? You can’t take a piss without someone documenting it.”
“I’m going to climb out the window.”
She shakes her head. “You can’t do that. You could hurt yourself.”
“Then help me.”
“No! If you die, they’ll say I killed you for the crown. No way that’s happening,” she says.
Delphine opens her mouth to respond, but the door swings open before she can speak. We both turn, and my entire body goes rigid when I see who’s standing in the doorway.
Tatiana.
She’s wearing a pink sundress, her hair loose around her shoulders, and she looks pissed.
“Get out,” Delphine says, stepping forward with her fists clenched at her sides.
“I need to speak with Louis.”
“You need to get the hell out of his room before I throw you out myself.”
“Delphine”—Tatiana’s voice is quiet, almost pleading—“please. Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.”
“After what you did? You’re lucky I don’t—”
“It’s fine,” I say, and both women turn to stare at me.
Delphine looks at me like I’ve lost my mind because I told her exactly what happened. “Louis, you can’t be alone with her.”
“Give us a moment.”
“You can’t be serious,” my sister pleads.
“It’s a direct order.” I hold Delphine’s gaze until she realizes I’m not going to back down. “Wait outside.”
She shakes her head, her expression shifting from disbelief to rage. “If you try anything, I’ll publicly call you a liar.”
“Noted.”
Delphine shoulders past Tatiana on her way out, knocking into her hard enough to make her stumble. The door closes behind her, and then it’s just the two of us.
Tatiana stays near the entrance, keeping her distance, like she knows she’s not welcome any closer. “Thank you for agreeing to speak with me.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything. You have five minutes, and then you’re gone.”
“That’s fair.” She takes a breath and clasps her hands in front of her. “I came to apologize. What I did in your office was wrong. I violated your boundaries, I disrespected you, and I’ve felt sick about it ever since.”
“This is an act. I’m not buying it.” I keep my voice flat.
“Staying and doing this—it isn’t my choice,” she finally says.
And for a brief moment, I understand.
She meets my eyes, and I see something I wasn’t expecting. “Louis, I need you to understand something. What happened in your office … I did it on purpose.”
I stare at her.
“I created a situation that I knew would get me sent home.” She takes a step closer, then stops when she sees my expression.
“I’ve known about this possible arrangement since I was a teenager.
My family has been planning this marriage, hoping you wouldn’t find a bride, so we could build our alliances.
I never had a choice, never had a say, never had anyone ask me what I actually wanted. ”
“That doesn’t explain it.”
“I decided to make myself so unacceptable that your family would have no choice but to reject me.” Her voice cracks.
“I saw the way you looked at her. The artist. In the hallway, when you thought no one was watching. I’ve never seen anyone look at another person like that.
I knew you would never look at me that way.
So, I gave you an out. I gave both of us an out. ”
I don’t know what to say. I’ve spent the past week hating this woman, blaming her for everything that’d gone wrong, and now she’s standing in front of me, telling me she was trying to help.
“If that’s true,” I say slowly, “then why are you still here?”
“Because you did something to negate my only move. They pulled me off the plane, Louis. I was so close to escaping this prison.” Tatiana laughs, but there’s zero humor in it.
“I don’t know what else to do, Louis. I’ve been difficult, I’ve been cold, I’ve made it clear that I don’t want this, and none of it matters.
Your mother won’t let me go, and she’s not going to let you have Addison.
She’ll burn this whole country down before that happens. ”
I walk to the window and look out at the gardens below. The table is fully set now, candles flickering in the evening light. There are two place settings. It’s intimate and romantic.
“That’s for us, isn’t it?” I say. “The dinner in the gardens.”
“I asked your mother’s permission to invite you. I thought … I thought we could talk privately so that I could explain.”
I turn back to face her. “Why should I believe any of this? You could be lying to manipulate me. You could be working with my mother to break me down.”
“I could be.” She doesn’t flinch away from the accusation.
“But I’m not. And the only way I can prove that is by telling you the truth, even if you don’t believe me.
” She pauses, and when she speaks again, her voice is barely above a whisper.
“I’m in love with someone back home. A man my family would never approve of.
He’s not royal, not wealthy, not politically advantageous.
He’s … kind. And good to me. And he makes me feel like I’m worth something beyond my bloodline. ”
“Then why didn’t you fight harder to be with him?”
“Because I was raised to believe I didn’t have the right to fight.
Because my father told me my feelings didn’t matter.
Because I thought if I went along with what everyone expected, eventually, I’d learn to be happy.
” Her eyes are wet now, and she blinks rapidly to keep the tears from falling.
“But you showed me how wrong I was. And I want to go home and try, but I’m stuck in a country I don’t want to be in, about to be engaged and married to a man who loves someone else.
Not to mention, I’ll be forced to have your baby.
Do you really want to be that miserable with me for another seventy years? ”
I study her for a long moment, looking for the lie, the manipulation, the hidden agenda, but I don’t find it. Either she’s the best actress I’ve ever encountered, or she’s telling the truth.
“What exactly are you proposing?”
She takes a shaky breath. “An alliance. A fake courtship that gives your mother what she wants to see while we both work toward what we actually want. I play the devoted fiancée in public, you play the attentive prince, and I’ll help you see your girlfriend.
When the time is right, we stage a breakup that lets me go home with my dignity intact.
If you hurt me badly enough, my parents will let me marry whoever I want. ”
“And Addison? Can I tell her?”
“Tell her, but she has to be on her best behavior. She has to pretend she doesn’t care in public settings.”
“There are a lot of things that could go wrong.”
“I know. But it’s the only plan I have.” She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m not asking you to trust me, Louis. I know I haven’t earned that. But I’m asking you to consider that we might both want the same thing and that working together is better than fighting alone.”
I think about the life I’ve been promised versus the life I actually want.
“If I agree to this,” I say, “there are conditions.”
“Name them.”
“No sex.”
“Agreed.”
“In public, we’ll hold hands, we’ll smile, we’ll look like the perfect couple. But that’s where it ends. No kissing, no intimacy beyond what’s absolutely necessary for appearances.”
“I disagree with that. You have to sell it, Louis. The world has to believe you really broke my heart when this ends. Do you understand? You will have to kiss me.”
“Okay. And let it be known that if I ever find out you’re lying to me, if I find out this is all some elaborate scheme to help my mother keep me in line, I will make sure you never set foot in this country again.
I will personally ensure that every royal family in Europe knows exactly what kind of person you are. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She holds my gaze without wavering. “I understand the consequences.”
I extend my hand. “Then we have a deal.”
She shakes it, her grip firm and steady. “We have a deal.”
I grab my jacket from the chair by the door. “I believe you promised me dinner.”
“I did.” She manages a small smile. “Shall we give your mother something to celebrate?”
Delphine gives me a dirty look when I leave my room. The guard follows behind me, but so does Delphine and her guard.
“What are you doing, Louis? She’s a snake! You can’t trust her.”
“I don’t,” I say without hesitation. “Leave us, Delphi. Please.”
I turn to my sister as Tatiana continues toward the dinner.
“She’s tricking you.”
“Maybe I’m tricking her.”
“Oh? Oh. Okay.” Then she smacks me upside my head. “Don’t trust her.”
“I won’t. I have to go. Meet me soon.”
She walks away, shaking her head, and I catch up to Tatiana. I’m aware of eyes on us from every window. Staff pause in their work to watch us pass. A photographer appears from nowhere, and I know the pictures will be on my mother’s desk within the hour.
The table is set with white linens and crystal glasses, candles casting warm light across the roses that surround us. I pull out Tatiana’s chair before she can, and I take the seat across from her.
“To unlikely alliances,” she says below her breath, raising her glass.
“To getting what we want.”
“Exactly,” she says.
We clink glasses, and I drink it all in one gulp. My mother selected my favorite Pinot for this charade.
I lean in close. “We have a lot to discuss.”
“Yes, we do.”
Tomorrow, these photographs will be posted in the royal news. And I have no way to warn Addison beforehand.
I have to see her soon.