33. Nick
Chapter thirty-three
Nick
Me: Privy Council meeting running late. Must cancel our lunch plans. Sorry.
I keep my text to Willa succinct since I’m tapping it out covertly, my phone hidden under the conference room table. I’m disappointed to miss our lunch date, but duty calls.
Impatiently, I peek under the table and see Willa has read the text. The dancing bubbles indicate that she’s responding.
Willa: Okay.
That’s all she wrote. Okay . A single word. It doesn’t take a genius to read between the lines and know that she’s displeased.
When Lord Bettencourt finally wraps up his closing remarks nearly two hours later, I shoot out of my chair and push past the other council members, eager to get out of this meeting and find Willa .
As I push through the crowded corridor, my mother stops me. “Nicholai, we need to talk.”
“Not now, Mother,” I reply tersely.
Willa’s first soiree with Lady Marchette went so well that she's been invited to another tea, which is to take place this afternoon. The window of time I have to find Willa and apologize in person is quite small, and it's made even smaller by my own busy schedule. I don’t want to waste any time listening to my mother’s haranguing.
Mother grabs the sleeve of my jacket, adding softly, “Please."
With a grumbling sigh, I relent. “Fine, but I can’t talk now. We’ll talk later after my next meeting. I’ll find you when I’m finished.”
She smiles faintly and nods. “Alright. Thank you.” Before she lets go of my sleeve, she leans in and kisses my cheek, stunning me. I cannot remember the last time she bestowed motherly affection on me. It’s been years, I know that much.
I stand, rooted in place, watching my mother walk away before remembering my mission to make things right with Willa.
Stalking through the palace, I slip out the side entrance, hustling down the gravel pathway.
When I push open the powder blue front door of Stoneleigh Cottage, I call out Willa’s name but receive no response.
The sliding glass door to the rear patio is ajar, so I head into the backyard, where I find her sitting at the outdoor table, book in hand, an uneaten plate of food in front of her.
Though she must sense my approach, she doesn’t act like it. She simply turns the page of her book.
Bollocks, she’s definitely upset.
“Willa, I’m sorry I had to miss lunch. I was tied up in a meeting.”
She places the book on the table, briefly meeting my gaze. There’s a distance between us that takes me by surprise. We exchanged words of love last night, yet today, she's withdrawn and wary .
“What’s wrong?” I ask, slipping my fingers under her chin.
“Nothing,” she murmurs, lying through her teeth.
Confused, I sit down in the chair next to hers, stretching out my legs in front of me. When I kissed her goodbye this morning, this tension and distance wasn't present. What happened in the last few hours to turn things on their head?
When she stubbornly remains silent, I fall back on our tried-and-true method of communication. “Truth or dare?”
She turns her head to mine, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. For a long moment, I fear she’s not going to respond, but she finally says, “Truth.”
“Are you angry with me?”
“No, not really,” she supplies with a sigh that suggests otherwise. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
“Were you really held up by the Privy Council meeting?”
“I was." Baffled, I cock my head in her direction. "Where is this doubt coming from?”
She lifts a finger and swirls it around my face. “You have lipstick on your cheek.”
“Ugh,” I groan. Even when my mother isn’t trying to make trouble for me, she does.
“The meeting ran long. Afterwards, I ran into my mother in the palace, and she kissed me,” I explain, but the hesitancy and fear don’t leave Willa’s face.
“I’ll prove my whereabouts.” Sliding my phone from my trouser pocket, I dial Alex’s number.
Willa sputters and tries to stop me, but I move my phone out of reach.
If she’s doubting me, I want to nip it in the bud immediately.
I have nothing to hide, and I don’t want her worries to fester and grow.
Willa is an anxious overthinker, so as her boyfriend, I’ll gladly be an over-explainer if that will put her fears to rest.
“The meeting's only been over for ten minutes and you're already harassing me,” Alex jests.
Maintaining eye contact with Willa, I reply to my brother's teasing, “What can I say, I miss you already. But I think I misplaced my notes from the meeting. Email me a copy, will you?”
“You probably left them on the table. Go check the conference room.”
“Just email me a copy, okay?”
“Call the council secretary. I’m much too busy and important for that sort of task,” he fires back with a laugh.
“Alex.”
“Fine.”
When I hang up, I ask Willa, “Believe me now?”
Chagrined, Willa nods. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. Just tell me what’s going on. Please. I don’t like whatever this is.” I lift my hand to caress her cheek. “I won’t lie to you and risk losing you again, so what made you feel like I would?”
Willa pulls idly at a thread on the skirt of her dress.
“Please talk to me,” I reiterate quietly.
“I spoke with your mother this morning—”
“For fuck’s sake, what has she said now?” I grumble. Of course, this rapid turnaround in Willa’s behavior is due to my egg donor.
“It wasn’t like that,” Willa shakes her head. “She was…she was nice to me.”
“Nice?” I repeat incredulously, my eyebrows raising. "My mother?"
“She opened up and told me about her life before she married your father, explaining how painful and difficult the transition was when she became a member of the royal family.” Willa’s tortured eyes lift to mine.
“She disclosed that your dad cheated on her and was unfaithful throughout their marriage. She described how trapped she felt. ”
I stiffen in disbelief. The state of my parents' marriage is a tightly held secret within our family, so I’m stunned my mother shared that privileged information with Willa. I’m not even sure my little sister knows about Father's infidelity, and it's a topic that Alex and I rarely discuss.
Willa mistakes my reaction, a look of horror crossing her features. “I’m so sorry, Nick. I thought you knew—”
“I did. I do know about my father’s affairs,” I amend, blowing out a heavy breath.
“I walked in on him having sex with one of his secretaries when I was ten. It was the first time I was forced to reconsider who I believed my father to be. He was my father and the king of my nation, but he was also a complex and flawed man.” After a beat, I ask, “But what does my father’s infidelity have to do with our relationship? ”
“Your mother drew some parallels between your personality and your father’s. She warned me that you’d woo me and then once you’d won me over, you’d move on. So, when you postponed our lunch plans and came home with lipstick on your cheek, I thought—”
“You thought that I’d already moved on and was having a date with someone else,” I theorize.
Sheepish, Willa nods. “I’m sorry for doubting you, Nick, but your mother’s words got into my head.”
“That’s what she does, Willa. She manipulates the situation and plays upon your weaknesses.” A half-scoff, half-chuckle bursts from my throat. “Now, I understand why she kissed me. I thought it odd at the time, but it was all part of her master plan.”
“No, Nick. I don’t think she was being manipulative. Not this time. I think she was being honest with me. She's trying to keep me from making the same mistake she made.”
“Mistake?” I thunder, losing my cool. “Am I a mistake? Is our relationship a mistake?”
For the first time in my life, I've devoted myself to a relationship, and I'm being punished for my father's wrongdoings. I'm hurt and angry that Willa doubted me, but I'm even angrier at my mother for attempting another scheme to ruin my relationship with Willa.
“No! No, never!” Willa replies vehemently.
“Willa, it’s simple. Do you trust me, or do you trust what my mother told you?”
I expect her to answer immediately, but she takes a moment.
And that moment of hesitation wounds me.
“You, Nick. Of course, I trust you.”
Standing from the chair, I yank back the sleeve of my suit jacket to check my watch. “I need to leave. I have another meeting that starts soon. Don’t worry,” I add angrily, “I’ll bring back the meeting minutes to prove my whereabouts.”
Grabbing my hand, Willa stops me. “I’m sorry. Please don’t leave like this, Nick. I love you.”
"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have said that." I flip my hand over so that I can thread my fingers with hers and huff out a small sigh. “I love you.”
As I open the patio door, I glance over my shoulder to find Willa watching me with worried eyes.
Loosening my tie, I pull it over my head and let out a mumbled expletive as I enter the solarium. In dire need of alcohol, I stride to the bar, pouring myself a hefty tumbler of bourbon. Tossing it back in one go, I hastily pour myself a second drink .
"Christ, save some for the rest of us," Alex chirps wryly.
Grabbing the crystal decanter by the neck, I carry it over to where Alex is sprawled on the couch and splash some into his glass. "There I saved you some. Now let me have the rest," I mutter.
"Good thing your girlfriend's place is within walking distance since you're halfway pissed already."
Despite not officially residing with Willa, I spend most of my nights there and tonight will be no different. I'll head over to the cottage as soon as I've regained my composure and don't feel the need to beat someone bloody.
"Are you going to tell me what has you in such a foul mood or shall I guess?"
I scoff, "I'll give you one guess, mate."
"Mother."
"Got it in one, just like I knew you would." I take another swallow, relishing the burn as the amber liquid coats the back of my throat. "The woman drives me insane."
Alex sighs, "What has she done now?"