The Prince's Bride (Modern Fairytales) (13 page)

His frown deepened. “I have no idea why you’re saying these things.”

“Sure you do. And, hey, I understand now why you didn’t want me at the hospital. I get it.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a frustrated sigh. “First of all, that’s not why I didn’t bring you with me to the hospital. And second of all, it’s my job to always be above reproach, to never lose my head, and allowing you to call me names in an outburst of emotion in front of my men isn’t acceptable. It causes a scene I can’t afford to be caught up in right now.”

“Well, don’t worry.” She pointed over her shoulder angrily. “As soon as I get in that car, you’ll never be embarrassed by my
outbursts of emotion
again.”

“You’re leaving,” he said flatly.

“Yep. Just like you wanted.”

He stared down at her, his blue eyes looked even bluer in the direct sunlight. “I never wanted that, and you know it. I wanted you to stay, so we could get to know—”

She forced a laugh. “Oh, drop the act all ready.”

“I—” He pressed his lips together angrily. Lips she’d kissed last night. Lips she’d never forget. “What act?”

“I know you got my letters, and you laughed about them with Harry,” she snapped. “He told me everything.”

That
brow
, that cocky, annoying
brow
lifted again.

She ached to tackle him to the ground, pull out some tweezers, and pluck the whole damn thing right off his face before she left the country for good.

“You must have misunderstood him. I would never laugh at you like that, and as I’ve said—
repeatedly—
I never got your letters.”

Forcing a cool smile, she crossed her arms. “If you say so.”

“I do,” he snarled, his nostrils flaring.

Finally
. He was showing some sort of emotion. “Then tell me how he knew what I wrote to you, and what you wrote back to me, if you never did it?”

“I don’t—” He froze and then laughed. It wasn’t a real laugh, though. Just like her smile wasn’t real. “Of course. I’m a fucking idiot.”

“No arguments there. But, hey, so was I for falling for your tricks when you swore you had no idea where my letters went.” She stepped back, still smiling. “But I’ll be on my way, now that I’ve been given the royal permission to go. Your pal Harry made it very clear I’m not good enough to hang here.”

He caught her elbow. “Alicia—”

“And don’t worry about your car.” She jerked free, stumbling back as she held on to her purse even tighter. “I haven’t lived in one since senior year, so it’ll come back safe and sound,” she said, taking another step back.

“That’s not—” Paling, he stepped forward, visibly shaken. “You
did
that?”

“Knock it off,” she snapped, because if he kept looking at her like that, like he hadn’t
known
, she would believe him. Again. And he’d break her heart. Again. “Just knock it off.”

“You lived in your car?” he asked slowly.

“Just like I told you,” she said, “in my letters.”

“I never got your fucking letters!” he shouted, fisting his hands. “
Jesus
. What is it going to take for you to believe me?”

Staring at him, she blinked, ignored the stupid hope inside of her, and asked unemotionally, “Should I curtsey as I leave, or am I exempt from that, as an American?”

He gave her a cold look, any and all hint of anger disappearing from his eyes. “You’re so quick to believe the worst of me, to think I could callously use you and lie to you, yet you’re the one running away because you refuse to see the good in anyone else. You won’t take a risk on someone who may or may not hurt you.”

“You
told
me to go,” she snapped. “Had them pack up my clothes, pick up my bags, and carry them out the door. So don’t act all surprised I’m leaving.”

“I didn’t tell him to do—” He cut himself off, letting out a short laugh. “You know what? Never mind. You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

“Believe what?” she asked slowly. Waiting for him to finish his denial. To finish saying he hadn’t sent Harry to escort her out of the castle, just hours after they had sex.

To deny any of it. All of it.

Something.

“I was merely giving you what you wanted when I told you to go,” he said point-blank. “Or is that not what you want anymore?”

“What I want is for you to tell the truth for once in your life,” she said, digging her nails into her palms.

He flexed his jaw and stared down at her. “You don’t want to hear the truth. No matter what I say, you’ll believe the worst of me. I’m done defending myself when I haven’t done anything wrong. Go.
Leave
. Clearly there’s nothing worth saving here.”

“I…I…” No words would come, and she broke off, staring at him with wide eyes, because hearing him say that… It made her feel ill.

It made her…made her…

Oh God.

He watched her coldly, without a hint of emotion, and she opened her mouth to tell him to go fuck himself. Instead, a strangled sob escaped, and she covered her mouth in horror. She hadn’t cried in almost nine years. Not since he left her at the airport.

She took off running, tripping over the raised sidewalk as she fled for the waiting car. She stumbled forward, catching herself, but lost her shoe in the process.

Glancing over her shoulder, she saw him striding toward her, his jaw tight, hand outstretched to help her to her feet.

“Hell,” she muttered under her breath, abandoning the shoe and bolting for the car. The second she threw herself inside it, tears streaming down her face, she slammed the door shut and shouted, “
Go
! Go, go,
go
!”

The driver stepped on the gas, and she left Leo standing in the driveway, watching her with wide eyes and an outstretched hand…

And her shoe at his feet.

Chapter Seventeen

Leo walked into his office, her sneaker in his hand and his heart beating harder than a war drum before a battle. Everything inside of him, every damn muscle and thought and nerve, screamed for him to go after Alicia.

But he’d forced himself on her enough times, and she clearly didn’t trust him, or care about him, and she never would. No matter what he said or did, she would still think he was the type of guy who would leave her standing alone in an airport, and not give a damn. There was nothing he could do to change that.

He shut the door behind him, and Harry stood, looking nervous. Good. He should be fucking nervous. “I—”

Leo held up a hand and commanded, “Silence.”

Harry shut up instantly, staring at him with fear.

“Why did you do it?” he asked, his voice hard.

“I asked Alicia to leave so you wouldn’t have to, Your Highness,” Harry said quickly, tugging on his collar. “You said this morning she was free to go, so I simply—”

“So you packed up her belongings and pushed her out the door, without telling me?”

Harry averted his eyes. “For your own benefit, of course.”

“Bullshit.” He tossed Alicia’s sneaker on the chair in front of his desk and went around behind it. “That wasn’t for my benefit, and you know it.”

“The team decided it was best for her to exit quietly, all things considered.” Harry forced a smile. “With your father gone, there’s a lot on your mind, and we didn’t want you to have any undue stress because of her.”

He nodded slowly and sat down in his chair, crossing an ankle over his knee. “And that’s also why you wrote to her, all those years ago, and left her at the airport.”

“Yes, I—” Harry froze, all signs of color leaving his cheeks. “I…uh…I don’t know what you mean, Your Highness.”

“Who decided she wasn’t worth the trouble?” Leo asked slowly, resting his palms on his desk and leaning forward. “Who made that call for me, without asking what I wanted?”

“I don’t know what you’re—” When Leo gave the other man a look, he broke off instantly, his shoulders sagging forward. “Yes, it was me. I wrote those letters.”

“Who. Ordered. It?”

“Your father.” Harry held a hand up when Leo growled. “He regretted it afterward, though. That’s why he specifically requested Baker send in Alicia when they inquired after sending an agent over. He felt bad, and after keeping tabs on her for the past ten years, he decided to try to make amends for his actions.”

Leo sank in the chair, swallowing the protests that automatically came to the tip of his tongue. “But he
liked
Alicia.”

“He did.” Harry held his hands out. “But you two were so young, and she was a risk your father wasn’t willing to take. But as more time passed and you still refused to accept anyone else as your wife, he thought maybe he made a mistake back then. I don’t. I think it was the right call. She’s not a fit queen for this country.”

“
You
think?” Leo asked angrily.

How could his father have done this?

“Despite my assurances he did the right thing, he gave her a scholarship to school, and watched over her, kept her off the streets once he realized she was living on them.” Harry shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So he didn’t leave her life completely.”

“He paid for her schooling?” Leo asked, his throat tight.

“Yes. She doesn’t know, and never will, but he felt bad for not bringing her over here.” Harry shrugged. “He was going to tell you, and her, too, even though I advised against it.”

Anger at his father warred with grief, and for the first time in a long time, he didn’t agree with something his father did. He was a fair man. A good one. So the fact that he did this to Alicia was…
baffling
. “Why did he tell you about this, and not me?”

“He enlisted my help in writing to her back then, in sounding like you.” Harry lowered his head. “My king asked me to help him, and I did it with gratitude. It was the right call.”

Leo didn’t say anything, because quite frankly…

He had no clue
what
to say.

But Alicia deserved to hear the truth before she left. Deserved to hear that his father decided she wasn’t worth the risk, and intercepted her letters.

“Call my car around,” he said between clenched teeth.

Harry lifted his head. “You’re going after her.”

Leo came around the desk, seconds from pounding his aide into the floor. “Yeah. And?”

Harry cleared his throat and gripped the doorknob. “She’s not a princess. Nothing will change the fact that you can’t marry her.”

“As an advisor for my father, you should have been aware that my father passed a new law, six months ago. I don’t need to marry a princess.” Leo crossed his arms. “But I highly doubt that she’s looking to marry me, since she thinks I’m a guy who would kick her out of my house without a moment’s notice. That I’m the same boy who left her at the airport when she was orphaned and destitute. Yeah, Harry, I’m sure I’m high on her list of guys she even wants to talk to right now.” He crossed his arms, staring the other man down, unable to believe he’d
trusted
this guy. “My car. Now!”

Harry nodded and opened the door. “I’ll have it brought around.”

“One more thing,” Leo said quietly.

Harry cautiously let go of the knob. “Yes?”

“Pack your bags. You are no longer in my employ—not only because of what you did all those years ago, but because of how you treated Ms. Forkes today.”

“Understood, Your Highness.” Harry swallowed. “But I stand by my choices.”

After the other man left, Leo covered his face and let out a long breath. “What were you thinking, Dad? How could you do that to her? To
me
?”

No answer came.

Of course.

It was too late for that.

There was something to be said for the fact that he’d tried to make it right, though. Isn’t that all anyone could do, after making a mistake? Try to make up for it? His father had brought Alicia here, and then by some twist of fate, he’d seen Alicia in that club, and he’d fallen for her again. Although, in all reality, he hadn’t fallen, because he’d never gotten over her. Deep down, it had always been Alicia.

Would always
be
Alicia.

The door opened, and Harry stepped inside, holding a pile of envelopes that looked pretty damn old. “Your car is waiting for you. I thought you could read these on the ride to the airport.”

He took them, glancing at them. They were addressed to him, were from Alicia, and there were about eight of them.
Eight
. “Shit.”

Without another thought toward them, he headed outside. The second he was in his car, and Commander Jonathon settled in the front seat next to the driver, he said, “To the airport. Immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” the driver said.

He lowered his head and stared down at her neat handwriting on the envelope, knowing once he opened these, he would know every little dirty detail about Alicia’s past. Everything she’d wanted him to know, once upon a time, was there, waiting for him to read it. He had every right to open those letters and read every damn word she’d written to him. But the Alicia he knew now wouldn’t want him to know these things.

Not anymore.

She didn’t like talking about her past, and from this point on, it should be her decision whether she told him what happened to her all those years ago or not. It wasn’t his place to read those letters anymore because she’d written to the boy he’d been.

Not the man he was now.

Tossing the letters aside, he glanced out the window impatiently, knowing every second he was stuck in traffic was another second that Alicia could be leaving him. The second he pulled up to the airport, he was out the car door.

Commander Jonathon met him on the sidewalk. “Where to?”

“Do you happen to know what airline Ms. Forkes is flying out on?”

Jonathon nodded once. “Randovia Airlines, Highness. Flight 363, departing at five o’clock.”

Leo checked his watch, heading toward the stairs that led to the gates. He had twenty minutes till the plane took off, which meant she’d more than likely already have boarded.
Shit
. “I need to get to that plane immediately.”

“She’s at Gate F36. That’s on the other side of that airport. There’s no way we can make it in time at this pace,” Jonathon said. “We could detain the plane, or have her pulled off it.”

“No.” He gritted his teeth and scanned the airport. Already, the people around him had noticed him. “I can’t do that to her again. I have to…to…”

He weighed his choices in his mind heavily, considering all the risks and benefits from each one before he cut himself off. Enough worrying about risks and losses.

It was time to
live
.

To chase after what he wanted, no matter the consequences.

A newscaster straightened his hair before posing in front of the camera, which was pointed right at Leo. If he took off running across the airport, it would be on every damn news channel within seconds. He’d break the number one rule he always followed as a ruler, and he’d make a fool out of himself in public. But if he didn’t hurry up…

Jonathon pulled his phone out, preparing to place the call that he fully expected Leo to make. “Shall I detain the plane?”

“No.” He shrugged off his jacket, even though he only wore a short-sleeved shirt underneath it, and tossed it at his guard, who caught it with wide eyes. “I have to
run
.”

And then he did it.

He
ran
.