Chapter Five
THERE ARE TIMES WE remember, times we forget.
And that morning I woke up, and I’m still in his arms—
It’s a moment I know I’ll always remember, even if it proves to be the last one.
“Princess...”
Arkane rolls me to my back, and he looms over me, his dark hair falling forward, the morning light coming in pale through the heavy bedroom curtains and catching the edges of him, and—
“You’re awake.”
My beautiful and noble prince...
“Good morning, love.”
Oh, the way my cheeks burn the moment I realize what I just said—
Dark eyes gleam down at me. “I like that.”
But my embarrassment doesn’t last, with Arkane already sweeping me up into his arms, and all I can do is gasp and hold on to him as he carries me across the room—
“Where are we—” The words die in my throat. I already know where he’s taking me because we’re here. The en-suite that’s as modern and fancy as the rest of his fancy bachelor townhouse in Foxtown’s fanciest neighborhood for eligible noblemen—
My heart is pounding so, so hard as he gently lets me slide down to my feet on the cool marble floor. He turns the shower on without taking his eyes off mine, and jets of water stream down on our bodies, our clothes turning translucent under the water, and oh...
This moment of our lips meeting as he pulls me close...
This moment of his fingers following the lines of my body, and my own hands pressing against the solid expanse of his chest.
It’s one of those moments I’ll keep in my heart even if it turns out to be the last.
Arkane’s gaze never leaves mine, not even after we shower, and I change into a beautiful Regency gown that’s just magically appeared in the bedroom when we step out of the en-suite.
Pale blue silk, ivory lace at the sleeves, a sash the same turquoise as my earrings from the night before.
Foxtown, of course. Someone has been paid to make sure I have the right thing to wear at the right hour, and the dress was waiting on the bed, draped just so, when we came back from the en-suite.
I can feel his eyes following me even when I sit down on the edge of the bed to put on the stockings that come with the dress, and a self-conscious laugh finally slips past my lips.
“What’s wrong?”
He kneels down in front of me. “Nothing.”
Arkane insists on helping me tie the ribbons of my silk slippers, one at a time, his head bent over the work, and my eyes start to sting at how gentle he is.
His hands at my ankles. The careful loop and tuck of each ribbon.
He has never been clumsy with anything that has to do with my body, and apparently that is also true of slippers.
I suspect this is just one of the many, many moments that I was meant to cry—
And when he lifts his head, and he sees the tears I’m hastily trying to wipe away.
“It seems I should be the one who’s asking,” he says quietly. “What’s wrong, Tiara?”
“N-Nothing.” I’m shaking my head vehemently, it matters so much to me that he knows I mean what I’m saying. “Nothing’s wrong.” And I guess that’s what scares me the most. Because a part of me...that pesky 1% of my heart that always insists on arguing with the remaining 99%, that part is convinced—
No, Ti. Don’t even say it out loud. Just don’t.
And so I don’t.
And eventually, the moment fades. Not completely that it’s stopped existing, but as Arkane takes my hand in his, and we walk out of the room together, the warmth of his touch is a barrier, and the moment eventually sinks into my subconscious.
The women of his family are now joined by Lucius when we join them for breakfast in the morning room.
Foxtown is just so massive that those willing to pay are able to purchase their own property within the park, and that’s exactly what this is—a Regency-themed replica of their family ranch back in San Antonio.
The sun comes through tall sash windows.
A long sideboard along one wall holds covered silver dishes that the staff have laid out and discreetly disappeared from.
Joy is at one end of the table in a dove-grey morning dress, Tassy at her right, Icelle across from them, and the chair at Joy’s left has been kept empty for Arkane.
Lucius rises when we come in.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Tiara.” Love has completely changed Lucius. Even though six years have passed since we last saw each other, he actually looks younger and more relaxed, and if the way his wife Tassy looks at him is anything to go by, he’s probably grown all the more handsome, too.
Lucius bows, and I curtsy in return.
“I feel the same, Your Grace.”
“I think I’ll ask Damian if I can buy a royal title,” Arkane says, pulling out the chair beside his for me. “I don’t like Tiara curtsying to anyone.”
Everyone laughs, and this...
It’s a time to laugh, a time to embrace, and for those of us who know the truth—
It’s a time to just hope.
We talk while we have breakfast. They tease Arkane for not letting go of my hand under the table, and for Lucius always wanting to make Tassy blush by having her sit on his lap.
And after, and the men, following the customs of the park, leave the house to join the other gentlemen in the club—
It’s just us women.
Just all of us who know, and I remember, of course I remember the last time it was like this.
It was raining that day. Hard. But not as hard as the way my heart was pounding as I met with Icelle at the cafe, and I saw that Joy and her new sister-in-law Tassy were there, too.
The cafe was a quiet one in a part of the city Icelle had picked because no one would recognise any of us there, and the four of us were tucked into a corner booth at the back, the windows fogged from the weather outside, the rain drumming steady on the glass.
“Has something happened to Arkane?”
The words simply flew out of me that day, and those words, his mother would tell me later, were what convinced her that the risk was worth it.
“No, no, my dear. In fact, it’s the opposite...”
And that’s how I learned about The Plan.
“Have you heard about Foxtown?” the older woman had asked, both hands wrapped around her teacup like she needed the warmth more than the tea.
“If Jane Austen wanted to give Disney a run for its money...it’s that kind of place, I think?”
“It is, yes,” Joy confirmed. “The family behind it, they’re friends of ours. But lately, and we suspect it may be because of their business rivals...”
“It’s gone viral,” Icelle finished for her stepmother, her tone its usual flat. “Foxtown is what causes women to break up with broke exes and hook up with rich guys.”
“But it’s not true?”
“It happened to me, though,” Tassy said with a wince. “I didn’t mean it to happen like that, but it did. And because I’m not the only one...”
Oh. Well. That’s bad. But—
“Is there something I can help with?” I asked finally. I mean, I couldn’t think of any way I could, but—
“Foxtown’s marketing team came up with a theme for the new Season. It’s all about Second Chances, and—” Joy squirmed in her seat. “I might have suggested that you and Lucius could be their guests of honor on the first night.”
My eyes widened.
“We can’t guarantee how Lucius will react.” Icelle’s tone was strained, and for someone like her—
“All we can guarantee is that he’ll be there, and you’ll finally have a chance to talk to him. But other than that...”
Icelle looked at me, and I looked at her—
He can really, really kill you.
We had finally reached that stage of friendship where we no longer needed words.
I’m not kidding, Ti.
I know.
But it’s still worth a shot.
“Tiara...”
Joy’s soft tone draws me out of my memories. Outside, somewhere along the lane, a horse and rider are passing—the rhythmic clop of hooves carrying through the morning room—and the sound is what brings me back, more than her voice does.
“Today’s press conference is about to start.”
Ah.
Right.
That’s today.
It’s one of the many things we discussed back then, with all of us trying to figure out how and when Arkane would try to hurt me, in case this whole thing backfires, and it would turn out that all he wants is my pound of flesh.
“You can still back out.”
Arkane’s mother is smiling when she says this, but her eyes are also bright with tears, and I guess, that means it’s one of those moments.
I slowly shake my head. “If he tries to hurt me, it’s because I hurt him first—”
“You don’t understand.” Tassy’s voice is shaking, too. Her hand finds Joy’s across the table and grips. “We just heard...”
No no no no no no
“Mirabella’s here, too.”
Oh. I see. Okay.
I feel like I should do something. Say something. But I think I’m in shock.
Mirabella’s here?
The girl who...
She’s here?
Icelle grabs my hand. “I don’t like this.” Her face is a blank. Her tone is a blank. But the hand that’s holding mine is so, so cold.
She’s afraid for me.
And so am I.
But this is just one of those things that has to happen so we can all know, once and for all.
For everything there’s a season, and as much as I love him—I still don’t know if these times we have...
Are they meant to last?
Or are these moments the last I’ll ever have of him?