CHAPTER 34 #2
“I know I told you earlier my mother approved for you to propose tonight, but something has come up…there has been a change of plans I need to update you on. I’m sorry, but you can’t propose tonight. Please call me back right away.”
Ava hung up, hating that she’d had to leave a voice message about him not being able to propose. She knew they’d been planning it for months and he wasn’t going to take the news well. That was why she’d wanted to tell him in person, or at least during a phone conversation, not in a voice message.
“Well, maybe this will get you to call me back,” she said to herself.
She walked over to her fireplace and added the Santa photo with her mother to her collection of photos with her father.
Smiling, she then turned to her attention to her antique dresser.
At first glance, it looked like a regular piece of bedroom furniture until Ava tapped the side of the dresser twice.
Suddenly, the top of the dresser slid open, revealing a secret compartment of stunning tiaras that slowly rose up about twelve inches high.
“I know you were one of my first inventions, but you’re still a favorite,” Ava said to the dresser as she picked up a stunning diamond-and-pearl tiara.
When her phone buzzed with a text, she eagerly put the tiara down. “Henry, finally!”
But when she checked her phone, the text wasn’t from Henry…it was from Justin.
Black or red bow tie for Stormy?
Ava laughed when she saw Justin had sent different adorable photos of Stormy modeling bow ties in both colors.
She texted back.
Red. We’ll match.
Justin responded.
Done! Everything going okay?
Ava smiled as she texted Justin back.
It’s great. Thanks for asking.
She couldn’t help but wish Henry had been as considerate about checking in with her, knowing how important this party was to her, especially when she’d been trying to reach him.
She went back to studying her tiaras, which sparkled from the light of the crystal chandelier hanging above them.
“Okay, which one of you beauties wants to go to a party?”
? ? ?
As the sun set over the castle, Ava stood in her mother’s bedroom in front of a gold-gilded mirror, studying her reflection. She was wearing a dazzling red cocktail dress with a stunning ruby-and-diamond tiara and matching jewelry.
“That’s my favorite,” her mother said, clapping her hands, delighted. She was wearing an ivory silk robe.
Ava self-consciously adjusted the neckline. “Are you sure it’s not too much?”
“You look perfect!” her mom said.
Ava turned and faced her mother. “I have something to tell you.”
“Oh my, you suddenly look very serious,” her mother said. “Is everything all right?”
“It will be,” Ava said, still looking worried. “I hope…You know I’ve been trying to get ahold of Henry.”
“Yes.”
“And you know, before you left for Paris, we wanted to make sure we had your permission for him to propose at the party,” Ava continued.
A flicker of concern crossed her mother’s face. “Yes, you were very insistent about it.”
“And you told me we couldn’t get engaged yet, and that we had to wait until Valentine’s Day…”
Her mother took her hand. “Yes. I’m sorry, but I was trying to do anything I could to stall you—”
“I know,” Ava said. “But I told Henry you gave your permission for him to propose at the Christmas party tonight.”
“What?!” her mother exclaimed as she dropped Ava’s hand. “But I was very clear—”
“I know,” Ava said, cringing. “He was pressuring me, and I didn’t want to let him down.”
The queen took a deep breath. “Are you saying you want to me to give my permission now, so he can propose tonight? I will if this is what you really want.”
“No,” Ava said. “It’s okay. You don’t need you to do that. I just told Henry he can’t propose tonight.”
Her mother’s eyes grew huge with hope. “You did? How did he take it?”
Ava shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanted to tell him in person, but I never got a chance, so I had to leave it on a voice message.”
Her mother winced.
“I know,” Ava said. “I hated doing that but there was nothing else I could do.”
“No, you did the right thing,” her mother said. “He had to know before the party.”
“Exactly.”
Her mother suddenly looked nervous. “So,” she started. “Does this mean you want to get engaged on Valentine’s Day?”
“No,” Ava said. “This means I don’t want to get engaged to Henry at all.
I’m not going to marry him, Mother. You were right—I don’t love him.
He doesn’t love me. I want more than just a business arrangement.
If I’m going to be the best person I can be to rule our country I need someone by my side to support me and love me, just like I love them. ”
Ecstatic, her mother’s face lit up with joy as she threw her arms around her. “This is the best news ever! I’m so happy for you!”
Ava couldn’t help but laugh. “You have to be the only mother in the world who would celebrate her daughter breaking up with a duke.”
“So, does this mean you and Justin—”
Ava held up both hands to stop her mother. “Mother, stop. I can’t even think about that until I handle this.”