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harleybeaumont · 2 years ago

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Maxwell's Jolly Holiday - Pt. 1

Book - The Royal Romance AU

Pairings -(kind of) Liam x Maxwell

Synopsis- This story gives a glimpse into Maxwell’s high school days at an all boys school where he joins the drama club and performs in his first play. This is set as a prequel to my fic, Unintentional, but can definitely be read as a standalone fic too! This 'one shot' has taken on a life of its own and will probably end up being 3 parts.

Warnings- swearing, some crude language, a few homophobic comments from bullies

Word count- 2,810

A/N- This is a late submission for @maxwell-beaumont-appreciation week - Day 3 - The Early Years.

Read the next parts here.

Part 1 - Anything Can Happen If You Let It

“This place sucks,” Maxwell said despondently as he flopped down onto his twin sized bed at the Cordonian Boys Finishing School. He held the phone closer to his ear as he prepared to explain to his friend, Prince Liam. “There’s nothing to do here. There’s nothing good to eat. I don’t even have any friends.. I miss you guys.”

Liam, as helpful as ever, attempted to cheer up his good friend. “It can’t be that bad. Rashad’s going there too, right? You guys always get along when you come to the palace to visit. ”

Max rolled his eyes, “Ya but he’s a junior like you. He can't associate with a lowly sophomore.”

“Did he say that?”

Max closed his eyes. “He didn’t have to. I sat down at the lunch table with him and his friends and they totally ignored me. Any time I tried to talk they just spoke over me. This went on for a week before I just gave up and sat alone.”

“Wow,” Liam sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“Eh.”

Liam was worried about his friend. It wasn’t like Maxwell to be anything other than optimistic and cheerful, so this really must have crushed his spirits. It didn’t help that Bertrand had dumped Max at an all boys high school at the start of his sophomore year because he ‘couldn’t deal with him’ anymore. “Maybe you just haven’t found your ‘group’. You know.. the people who have similar interests as you. Are there any clubs you can join?”

“When Bert dropped me off, he signed me up for fencing, polo, and etiquette club.”

“Etiquette club? That’s a real thing?!”

Maxwell shuddered, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” Three days a week discussing proper silverware placement was enough for him.

“Yikes.. Well, there has to be something there that interests you.”

“Well..” Max sat up and grabbed his backpack off of the floor, yanking open the zipper and uncrumpling the neon pink flier he had grabbed from the courtyard. “There’s one thing, but I don’t know..”

“What is it?”

“Don’t laugh, ok?”

Liam smiled on the other end of the phone. “Max, you know I’d never laugh at you.”

“Well, the drama club is putting on a play and.. I was thinking of auditioning. It’s for Mary Poppins.” Max waited to see if Liam was going to tease him, but instead only heard excitement on the other line.

“Max! That would be perfect for you! You love that movie!”

“I know, but I’ve never acted before.”

“Man, you love to sing, you love to dance.. And you freaking love Mary Poppins! Remember that little bird head umbrella you used to pretend you could fly with? You’d put on your moms red coat and floral hat and hold that umbrella and-” Liam was cut off by his own laughter at the memory.

“Ya, ya.. I broke my arm that way too, trying to dance to ‘Step In Time’ on my roof.” Liam's laughter was contagious and Max couldn’t help but join in. “Fine, now it's funny. Now that my arm’s healed and I can properly do jazz hands again.”

“Sorry! I know I said I wouldn't laugh at you.. The memory is just too funny!”

“Ya,” Max chuckled. “I get it.”

“But seriously, you have to audition!”

Max shrugged as his eyes skimmed over the paper again. ‘Saturday at noon - open auditions.’ “What if Bertrand gets mad?”

Liam looked around to make sure he was alone before he replied. “Listen, fuck Bertrand. He doesn’t have control over everything you do.”

Max scoffed, “try telling him that.”

Liam smirked, “then tell him that you auditioning for the play is a direct order from the Prince.”

Max and Liam snickered and Max felt lighter than he had in weeks. “You know what? I’ll do it! I’m gonna audition.”

“Good,” Liam smiled. “Then when you get a role, me and Drake will be in the front row cheering you on.”

“Ahh! Don’t jinx it!”

Liam laughed, “Ok, sorry.. Well, I guess I'll talk to you in a few days."

Max paused for a moment, ignoring the pain in his chest at saying goodbye to Liam. The Prince’s busy schedule only allowed them one or two phone calls a week, and both of them looked forward to it more than anything. Sure they texted, but it wasn’t the same. Max sighed, “ya.”

“Hey, don’t forget to text me after the audition!”

Maxwell smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you know the minute after.”

___________________________________________________

Maxwell pushed open the wooden double doors of the theater and to his surprise found the room packed with students. His eyes widened and he cautiously made his way down an aisle toward the front of the room. A few guys he recognized from his algebra class waved him over.

“Hey Beaumont!” A tall, blonde boy named Caleb, clapped him on the back. “I didn’t know you were auditioning.”

“Ah, it was kind of a last minute decision.” Max smiled, “I didn’t know you guys were into theater!”

Caleb chuckled, “were not. Hell, I don’t think eighty percent of the guys here give a shit about this play.”

Max wrinkled his nose as he looked around the crowded room, “Then why are they here?”

“Her.” Caleb nodded to the stage where a busty brunette stood speaking with the theater teacher. “Amanda Haynes.”

“What’s so special about her?” Max asked with genuine curiosity.

Jason, a boy next to Caleb, scoffed, “dude, this is the only pussy we’ll get to see here all year.. Unless you count old Mrs. Endermeyer the librarian. And this chick is fine as hell!”

Caleb watched the girl with a grin, “She’s from Welton’s all girls school, and playing Mary Poppins. And there’s rumors that they’ve turned this into a romance and whoever plays Bert gets to kiss her.”

Max felt a wave of disappointment wash over him. He was nervous enough having to go against just a handful of theater kids, but half the school was there auditioning. There was no way he was going to get a part. “Maybe I’ll just wait until the next play to audition.”

“Are you crazy? And miss a chance to get some of that?!” Caleb said, elbowing Max.

Another boy walked up and put an arm around Max, pinching his cheek, “You guys didn’t know? Beaumont only likes dick.”

Max wiggled out from the boy's arm and rolled his eyes as the group of guys surrounding him laughed loudly. Caleb took in Maxwell’s hurt expression and stopped laughing. “Oh shit. Sorry, I thought he was joking.”

Jason snickered, “Bet this is a huge disappointment for Max then. Too bad they aren’t casting Mary Poppins as a dude, right Beaumont?”

Another boy laughed, “Naw I bet Max wishes he got to audition for Mary Poppins!”

A few more guys around them laughed and Max pushed past them, making his way toward the other side of the crowd. He was used to a few of the guys in school teasing him, but most didn’t. There were other boys in his school who were gay. In fact, at the beginning of the year, Max had his first real boyfriend. Though only short lived, the relationship was exciting and he learned a lot.

"Ahem!" The theater teacher cleared his throat loudly from the stage. Mr. Eldore was a gray haired, lanky man with thick glasses who Max had seen rollerskating around school before. He was a little strange, but that made Max like him more. He put a megaphone to his mouth and called out, “Take your seats please! Auditions will begin shortly.”

As the room quieted down, Mr Eldore cleared his throat again. “Now.. Let me start this audition by clearing up a few things. First of all, I’ve heard talk that this is being turned into a romance. That is completely untrue. I’m not sure who started that rumor, but if that’s why you’ve come to audition then you can go ahead and leave now. There are no kissing scenes in this play.”

The room erupted in groans and grumbles and half of the boys stood and filed out of the building.

Mr. Eldore grinned, gesturing to the girl selected to play Mary Poppins. “Now then, Ms. Haynes here has asked me to inform all of you that she is currently in a relationship and not interested in pursuing another one.. Despite the many offers she has received this afternoon.”

Half of the remaining boys left the room as well.

Mr. Eldore clapped his hands together, “Alright let’s get this audition started! I’m the theater teacher, Mr. Eldore, but I’m also the director of this play. You can call me ‘Mr. Eldore’ or ‘Mr. Director’, or if you’re feeling generous, ‘Sir Eldore, Lord of the Theater’.”

A few students in the front row chuckled appreciatively and then the auditions were underway.

Max took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he watched several of the more experienced kids recite their lines. They were incredible. He discreetly took out his phone and typed out a text to Liam, “I can’t do this! I’m gonna leave!”

Liam replied almost instantly, “No you aren’t!”

“They're all SO good!”

“So are you! Hey, when you’re on stage, just pretend I’m there with you. It’s just us playing like we used to. And remember, you are Maxwell fucking Beaumont and you are amazing.”

Max felt butterflies floating in his stomach.. However, these were different from the ones he had earlier. These particular butterflies only came out around Liam. He grinned and quickly replied, “thanks.”

The theater teacher called out, “Next we have.. Maxwell Beaumont.”

Max quickly stood and made his way to the stage with a renewed sense of self-worth. I can do this. Just pretend Liam is here. We’re all just having fun.

Mr. Eldore skimmed over the paper he held in his hand, “It says here that you have singing and dancing experience. What type of dancing?”

“Yes sir. Um, I’ve taken tap, jazz, and .. recently I’ve gotten into breakdancing.” Bertrand would kill him if he found out he had told anyone about his breakdancing.

“Hmm,” the teacher looked impressed as he continued to read. “Well I can’t wait to see how you incorporate that into the role you’re auditioning for.. What role are you auditioning for? You didn’t fill that in.”

Max shifted nervously on stage, “Well honestly I’ll take anything. I’ve never acted before so I don’t even know if I’ll be any good at it.” Feeling like he wasn’t doing a very good job of selling himself, Max spoke up again, “but I’m a fast learner and what I lack in skill, I make up for in enthusiasm!”

Mr. Eldore and a few other students chuckled. “Well that’s good to know. You can read for Bert. Page 39.”

“Bert?! The lead role?”

“It’s only because he has the most lines. It’ll give me a sense of your abilities.”

“Oh. Ok.” Max shook out his shoulders and held up the script. He practically knew the whole play and movie by heart and grinned as he skimmed over the lines. He took a deep breath and faced the girl playing Mary Poppins.

“Stay right there! I’d know that silhouette anywhere: Mary Poppins!”

Amanda placed her hand over her heart, grinning bashfully, “It’s nice to see you, Bert.”

“Well I must say, you do look swell.”

They rehearsed a few more lines and Max even sang the first half of the song "Jolly Holiday". Things seemed to be going well, but Mr. Eldore’s poker face gave absolutely nothing away as he randomly scribbled notes onto the paper he was holding. “Thank you, Mr. Beaumont. You can take your seat.”

Max returned to his chair, his body thrumming with energy and nerves. His audition had ended so abruptly. Was that a good or a bad thing? He watched the next few students read for Bert and they were flawless. He hoped he would at least get a role as one of the extra chimney sweeps, then he could really learn the choreography for the song "Step in Time". Liam would get a kick out of that. Liam! Max suddenly remembered he was supposed to text him and snuck his phone out of his pocket, quickly sending off a text. “I’m done!”

“Aaaaand?”

“I don’t know! It felt like it went ok!”

“GREAT!”

“I just pretended you were with me and it was so much easier!”

“I wish I was with you.”

The butterflies came back in full force and Max let out a giggle, but quickly stifled it with a hand over his mouth. Thankfully no one seemed to have noticed. “Me too.”

The typing indicator dots that showed Liam was responding, came and went a dozen times and Max held the phone, waiting to see what Liam was going to say. Finally the text came across. “Everything seems better when we’re together.”

Maxwell felt all the breath leave his body and grinned like a fool while he read the sentence over and over. Was Liam actually flirting with him? No.. no way. Liam was the prince and had never shown any real interest in him. They had kissed once when they were younger just to see what it was like, but nothing ever came of it. He typed back, “It is. 100%.”

To his surprise, Max was called back on stage with a few other guys to read a different portion of the play. He was feeling good, and even threw in some dance moves. When he was done, the theater kids actually clapped for him. They didn’t even tease him or laugh! They were surprisingly.. Nice. A boy named Eddie even asked him to sit with them once he rejoined the audience.

An hour later, Mr. Eldore took the stage and called for everyone’s attention. “That concludes our auditions for today. I’ll have the casting sheet up Monday morning and not a minute sooner. And don’t you even think about knocking on my door tomorrow. Not only is it Sunday, but I will be busy judging the annual Duck Herding championship with my partner.”

Max hopped up and rushed off to his dorm room. He was giddy with excitement and needed to release some energy. That could only mean one thing- following along with break dancing videos on YouTube.

______________________________________________

Max spent the next day trying to distract himself from the impending posting of the cast list that was to occur the following morning. He made it through his weekly phone call with Bertrand and even got to chat with Liam for a while that night. Monday morning he awoke early and rushed to the hallway outside the theater where Mr. Eldore was posting the list. He turned to Max and nodded before stepping aside and letting the crowd of theater kids rush forward.

He heard a few groans and some cheers from some of the guys as he made his way over to the list. Eddie clapped him on the back with a smile, “congrats man!”

“What?” Max blinked at him in surprise. “You mean I got a part?!”

“Not just a part.. the part!” Eddie grinned.

Maxwell skimmed the list starting at the bottom, and when he didn’t find his name, continued making his way up to the top. He reached the very top line and saw his name next to the male lead role, Bert. “No!!” He turned to Eddie, completely dumbfounded. “This has to be a mistake!”

Eddie shook his head, “No way! You were great, man! We were all talking about it after the audition!”

“You were all talking about.. me?! And not in a bad way?!”

“Why would we be talking about you in a bad way?”

Maxwell didn’t have an answer. He wasn’t used to people complimenting him (other than Liam) so this was a completely foreign feeling. His heart was beating out of his chest from excitement and he didn’t know what to do with himself. “I have to go call my friend and let him know!”

Eddie grinned, “go for it! And now that you’re in the play you should totally join the drama club! It’ll help you get to know everyone better and we have ‘bad movie night’ every Friday. It’s a blast!”

Maxwell was so overwhelmed he threw his arms around Eddie, “Oh my gosh! Thank you! I will definitely join!”

Eddie patted his back with a chuckle, “Ok then. I’ll see you Wednesday for rehearsal? I’m playing Mr. Banks.”

“Oh, congrats!” Max high fived Eddie awkwardly, before heading outside to phone Liam. He called out over his shoulder, “see you then, Eddie!”

#maxwell beaumont #the royal romance #maxwell's jolly holiday #trr maxwell #mbaw #maxwell beaumont appreciation week #trr fanfic #the royal romance fanfic #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week #mary poppins

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axwalker · 4 years ago

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Bad Timing: Kismet

Book: The Royal Romance (AU)

Pairing: Drake Walker x Alexis O’Brien (MC)

Synopsis: Alexis O’Brien is escaping a terrible past. After months of running she settles in Cordonia where she meets Drake at the bar where she works and they spend a passionate night together.

What happens when a one-night-stand turns into unexpected parenthood?

This chapter

MASTERLIST

WORDS: 3,890 🙊

POV: Dual

TRIGGER WARNINGS: None for this chapter. In the future, mentions of domestic violence, and explicit sex scenes.

ALL MY FICS ARE +18

A/N: I apologize for any grammatical errors.

I switch between Drake’s and Alexis’ POV several time in this chapter. I hope it’ll be clear enough!

PRESENT TIME Alexis

After a one-hour bus ride and a 20-minutes walk, I finally find the correct address. When I reach the massive iron gates, I punch in the code Mr. Beaumont’s assistant gave me on the phone and gape as the extensive estate comes into view when I walk through. Acres and acres of super green grass littered with pines surround the massive house in the distance. The closer I get, the more I feel like a foreigner. This might have been my world once, but my new reality couldn’t be further apart from all this luxury. I have fifty dollars left in my wallet, an eviction notice back in my 200 square foot studio, and to top it all, the worst freaking headache I’ve had in my life. Talk about a bad streak. Ironically, I’m happier than I’ve been in years. My life belongs to me; I don’t have to live in constant fear and –most importantly, I’m free. Unattached. I want to do a lot of things with my life, and no one will stop me. That’s worth the worst headache in the world or a few money problems.

I ring the bell, and a gorgeous woman opens the door. Her deep blue eyes scowl at me when I smile at her.

“Who are you looking for?” She doesn’t ask as much as she barks the question.

“Eh,” I haven’t been called shy a single day of my life, but her attitude it’s messing with the positive vibes I had coming up here. “I’m looking for Mr. Bertrand Beaumont from Beaumont Caterings.”

“This door is for house guests only. The help,” she says the word as if it tastes bad in her mouth, “must go around the house and ring the bell back there.” She’s about to close the door right in my face when two hot guys come to the door. Seriously, what do people eat in this country?

“Penelope, what are you doing answering the door like a simple maid? Where is Jessa?”

Penelope rolls her eyes. “She had to leave early. She said she asked you for the afternoon off.”

The older man nods as, the younger one grins at me. “We can discuss Jessa’s schedule later, Bertie. Please, come in, Ms.?” He asks me, still smiling.

“Ortiz. Alexis Ortiz.” I grin back, instantly liking the man with the kind blue eyes. “I’m here for the catering job.”

“I’m Maxwell Beaumont. This is my brother Bertrand—the owner and Penelope Brim, one of our party planners.”

I follow them to a huge office and give Bertrand the resumé I printed at the internet place next to my building.

“Is this all true?” He asks after a quick read.

I nod my head.

“Are you sure, Ms. Ortiz? It says here that you were working as a bartender, a barista, and a waitress in a very exclusive French restaurant, all at the same time.”

Penelope gives me a dismissive glare. “She’s obviously lying. That isn’t even possible. Unless she’s iniquitous.”

I know better than to interrupt a potential employer, even worse if it’s to correct them, but this woman is grating on my nerves. Plus, I had a lifetime of keeping my head down with Matt, and I just don’t have the patience for this kind of crap anymore. And she called me a liar. Hell no.

“No, Ms. Brim, I’m not ubiquitous.” Maxwell snorts, and I swear the other guy, Bertrand, smiles behind my CV. I refrain from telling her what iniquitous actually means because I do need this job. “I worked as a barista in a Starbucks from 5 to 11 am. Then as a waitress at “Clair de Lune” from 12 to 6 pm. Finally, as a bartender in an Irish pub from 7 to midnight or 2 am, depending on the day. You can call any of those places and see I’m not lying.” Just please, God, don’t ask for my papers.

Maxwell reads the resumé when Bertrand gives it to him. “Do you speak French and Spanish as well?”

I shrug. “I love languages, and I grew up in a house where my mom and grandmother only spoke Spanish. I learned French in school. I had an amazing teacher.”

Maxwell and Bertrand look at each other. The older brother, a younger, sterner version of Hugh Jackman, clears his throat. “I’ll be honest with you, Ms. Ortiz. Two of our waiters are absent, and tomorrow we’ll be catering to one of the most important events of the year. If everything in your resume is true, you can start training today --paid of course, and start working tomorrow.”

Paid training? Despite my throbbing head, I want to scream with happiness. “Everything is true.”

“That’s settled then. Penelope, please, darling, show Ms. Ortiz the kitchens and the ballroom. You can ask Naomi to train her for tonight. You know Regina, and she’ll want everything to go as smooth as possible.”

“Right.” Penelope turned at me with an uptight smile. “Come with me.”

I turn and beam at Maxwell, who’s giving me a thumbs up. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”

Bertrand shakes his head. “Don’t thank me yet, Ms. Ortiz. Just do an impeccable job.” He glances at my Vans. “And for the love of God, only heels tomorrow.”

I nod and follow Penelope down the hallway.

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DRAKE

“This is why you ditch your friends who get hitched to a relationship,” I grumble, sitting in my chair.

“He’s five minutes late,” Liam says.

Leo shakes his head. “Well, I want a goddamn drink. How come I can’t order one until he gets here?”

Liam pinches the bridge of his nose. “You two are acting like children. You can wait five minutes.”

“Maybe, but I need something, and fast.”

“Ah, there they are,” Max exclaims, hands clasped together, staring at us. “My boys.” Jesus Christ. Liam is scooped into a hug and then set back in his chair.

From over Liam’s head, Max points at me and shakes his finger. “Come here; you handsome Walker bastard.”

I hold up my hand. “I’m good.”

“Nope.” He shakes his head. “You don’t get to pass up Max’s snuggles.” Before I can move, he swoops to his knees, pulls me into a hug. . . and nuzzles.

“What the fuck are you doing, Beaumont?” I ask, my voice strong as I try to push him away.

“You smell like heaven,” he says, chuckling. No one likes to fuck with me as much as Maxwell Beaumont does. Unfortunately for me, he’s one of my best friends, and the bastard is well aware of it.

“Get out of here.” I palm his face and push him away.

Leo laughs. “Come on, man, you know Walker is a sour bastard.”

With another laugh, Maxwell retreats to his seat, unbuttons his jacket, and sits down. Hands-on the table, he looks between us and declares, “I’m in love.”

Christ. “We know,” Liam and I say at the same time, irritation heavy in our voices. Leo just rolls his eyes as he looks for a waiter.

Maxwell has only been dating Rashad for a few weeks, so it’s no surprise he’s like this—a hopeful idiot with a relentless smile. Hell, he’s been in love with the man for years. It took him a really, really long time to finally make a move. He adjusts his tie as he says, “You don’t have to be rude about it. I’m just sharing. Isn’t that what this is all about? Sharing?”

“Sharing? I thought this was about drinking as much as possible and hooking up with a hot waitress,” Leo says, flagging down our waiter.

When he arrives, I talk above the guys and quickly say, “Macallan, neat.”

“Dalmore, on the rocks, please,” Liam says, and Leo orders the same.

When the waiter turns to Max, he rubs his stomach and says, “You know, a hot cocoa would be perfect right now.”

What the actual fuck? “No.” I step in. “He’ll have an Old Fashion. Thanks.” A little confused and probably slightly disturbed, he takes off as Max complains.

“Hey, I really wanted a hot cocoa.”

“Not happening. First, because they don’t serve hot cocoas here and second because we’re supposed to be out drinking, Beaumont. And you fucking love Old Fashions. You order one every damn time. Stop complaining.”

“Sheesh.” Maxwell unfolds his napkin and sets it on his lap. “What’s up your ass?”

“Nothing.” I push my hand through my hair.

“It’s a girl.” Leo smirks, causing Liam and Max to practically jump out of their seats.

“A girl?” Liam cocks his eyebrow. “Surely not Drake --permanent bachelor, Walker. My fucking heart can’t take it.”

Fucking Leo. “It’s not what Leo is making it out to be.”

“He met her two months ago, and he’s been thinking about her ever since. Magical pussy right there.”

“I swear, Leo; I don’t care for how long we’ve been friends, next time you talk about her like that, I’ll personally break that shit-eat grin off your face”

The clown raises his arms. “I rest my case.”

“What?” Max’s eyes nearly fall out of their sockets. “Drake Walker doesn’t get attached, and he doesn’t duel his friends for a girl.”

Jesus. Thankfully the waiter brings our drinks at that moment, so I have a second to compose myself.

“You slept with her?” Liam asks after a swig of Dalmore. He’s been in a stable relationship with Hanna Lee for a year now. Once the most popular guy on school, he now spends his Friday nights curled up with her watching Netflix. I can’t even remember the last time he went out with us.

“I don’t want to talk about it. The only reason this fuckhead is bringing it up it’s because I went looking for her, and he saw it.” There I said it. Better me than Leo fucking Rys.

Max and Liam exchange a look, but Max seems too stunned to talk, so Liam asks. “You did what?”

I chug my whiskey and ask for another one. “I don’t know why. I just …” Tired of this fucking conversation, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “We had a great time. That’s all.”

“How come Leo knows about this girl, and I don’t?” Liam complains.

Max complains too. “Dude, you know I’m the romantic one. Leo over here has a brick for a heart, and Li is too busy. You need to discuss these things with me.”

“I don’t have a brick for a heart,” Leo says, surprisingly offended.

“No, you’re just still hung up on Maddie,” I say with a smirk. He shifts in his chair but doesn’t say anything. What does it feel, Rys?

“So . . . who is the girl?” Maxwell asks.

For fuck’s sake. I might as well get it over with. “I’m going to say one last time that I’m not interested in her anymore, so before your little hearts starts beating wildly for playing cupid, it’s not going to happen.”

In a snarky tone, Leo replies, “Well, of course, it’s not. She left the country. Are you that bad, Walker? Because I can give you a tip or two.” He’s so fucking annoying.

“Oh.” Max sighs, disappointed.

Leo elbows his brother and says, “He hasn’t slept with anyone since.”

And there it is. The real reason why Leo is worried about this. He lost his wingman. “I’m not an animal, Leo. It’s not the first time in my life that I go two months without fucking. I’m not you. Anyway, all this is pointless. She’s gone.”

My friends grew up with me, so they know when it’s time to stop pushing. Max interrupts the silence that follows because nothing makes little Beaumont more uncomfortable than a gap in the conversation. “Everything is ready for the party tomorrow night. The thirtieth anniversary of Rys Corporation will be a success.”

Liam nods. “Regina talked with Hana this morning. It’s the first anniversary since I took over as CEO. I need everything to be perfect.”

“What about the staff, Max?” Leo asks, smiling. Having sex at every anniversary party is a personal challenge of his.

“We actually hired someone today. She’s gorgeous.” He turns his head at Leo. “But she’s off-limits.” Leo smirks, wiggling his eyebrows. “I mean it, dude. Bertrand said he’s tired of looking for new waitresses. Two quit yesterday morning when they found out that the event was for Rys corporation.”

“Hey, I never lie. It’s not my fault if they think I’ll call them anyway.”

“Whatever, just don’t mess with her. Plus, I got to talk to her after her training today. She’s super nice. She’s Am--. Wait.” He says when his phone chimes up. “Sorry, boys. It was a text from Penelope. Apparently, the Chablis hasn’t been delivered yet. I have to call Joelle before I lose my big brother over a wine crisis. See you all tomorrow.” He finishes his cocktail and stands up.

Liam stands up too. “I should go home too. Han arrived today from Hong Kong.”

Leo checks his phone. “Wait, Li. I’ll go with you. I have a date with this girl I met last night at Kismet. Do you want to come, man?” He asks me. “I’m sure she has a friend she can introduce you.”

I shake my head. “I’ll finish my whiskey and head home. See you all tomorrow.”

It was only one fucking night. Why can’t I get her out of my head?

It’s maddening. Or maybe it is a blessing. If I’m still thinking about her after one night, imagine how bad I’d have it after several. It’s best that she stays far the fuck away from me. I’m not interested in long-term attachments of any kind. I don’t want to think about Lexie Ortiz, but she’s infected my brain. The sound of her teasing laugh haunts me.

And I can’t deny it; it was one hell of a night.

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ALEXIS

“This is a single girl’s paradise.”

“No,” I grimace, trying to clean the spilled tomato sauce from my shirt. “Paradise would be a tropical beach with a hot cabana boy giving us free massages... and an endless supply of piñas Coladas.” Naomi laughs, the sound almost lost in the chaos of the kitchen. Chefs shouting orders, Penelope and Bertrand panicking, plates being dropped—the world of catering is a noisy business.

“Cabana boys may have hot smoking bodies and virility, Lex, but they lack two essential qualities: prestige and money.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you’d prefer an old limp dick over a young hard one? Interesting,” I answer, teasing her.

“No, that’s not what I’m saying, smart ass. I’m saying I’d take a solid bank account over a solid dick. Think about it—with all that money, he could never fuck me at all, and I couldn’t care less. And I’d be treated properly. Rich guys know how to treat a lady.”

“Trust me on this, Naomi. Money has absolutely nothing to do with how a man treats a woman.” I should know. “In any case,” I retort, grabbing another tray of drinks, “if you’re looking for old rich guys, there are tons of opportunities out there.” I laugh at the dreamy look on her face, partly because it’s hilarious and partly because I know she’s kidding. After my training last night, she invited me to her house, where I met Theo, her little boy. He’s eight years old and the absolute love of her life.

“Speaking of fucking,” she says, her eyes sparkling, “did you see the Rys brothers? One of them is taken, but the other two are single and oh so yummy. Especially the tall and brooding one. I’ll kill for those smoldering brown eyes looking right at my soul”

I snort. “You really should stop reading romance novels, Nao. And yes. I served one of them and his girlfriend champagne earlier, but he was blond and didn’t have smoldering, brooding eyes. I thought they were only two brothers, though.”

“Well, technically, yes. But Constantine Rys --the super-rich owner of Rys Corporation-- adopted two other kids. A boy and a girl. They all grew up together.” She uncorks several champagne bottles as she speaks.

Now that my uniform is clean, I grab one of the Veuve Clicquot bottles and help her pouring the cold liquid into the glasses on our trays. “How do you know all of that?”

“I’m Cordonian, girl. The Rys siblings are almost royalty in this country. The one that is not an actual Rys is the one with the smoldering eyes. He doesn’t work for the company, though. He’s a … a vet, I think.”

A veterinarian like Drake. My stupid heart flutters when I think about him.

“Do we pay you to work or to gossip, ladies?” Penelope screams from the kitchen door.

Naomi and I roll our eyes and grab our refilled trays.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DRAKE

“This is a huge night for Liam,” Regina says behind her champagne glass. Constantine has been telling everyone, especially her, that he’s ready and happy to retire, but she knows him better than anyone. Leaving Rys Corporation and pass the torch to Liam is much more difficult for Constantine than he cares to admit.

“It’ll be all right, Regina. Don’t worry. Liam is more than ready to handle the responsibility.”

She throws a glance at Liam, who’s standing a few feet behind me next to his dad. “I just hope he doesn’t forget that his personal life is equally important. He and Hana work too hard.”

I’m about to answer when one of the waitresses distracts me. Her back is turned to me, so I can’t see her face, but there is something incredibly familiar about the way she moves. She’s passing drinks amongst Regina’s friends. I want to go and see who she is, but Liam catches my eyes across the room. We exchange a look, one that we’ve exchanged several times over our lives. It was Liam and me when we were younger, walking into his father’s office after getting into a fight at school. It was the two of us when we came home late, and his parents were waiting in the living room as we walked in, drunk. It was the two of us when we wrecked Leo’s new Porsche when we were sixteen, and right now, I know he needs me. Constantine is a great father, but he has too many expectations for his younger son. Liam needs a break.

Regina sees the exchange and smiles. “Liam’s very lucky to have you, Drake.” She is not our biological mother, but she loves all of us as if she was. And she’s more my mother than Bianca Walker will never be.

A couple of men look at me, and I try to remember if I should know them from somewhere. I think they’re both on the board of directors at RC. As much as I love the Rys, I will never get used to this shit. Socializing and pretending to like a bunch of people that annoy the fuck out of me. Ignoring them, I make my way to my best friend. Liam is standing with his hands in his pockets, looking serious and put together like the CEO of the largest company in Cordonia should.

“I think it’s going well,” he says as I approach. “Father was driving me crazy with all his advice.”

“It’s not only the anniversary of the company, Li. It’s also his first one as the former CEO. It’s normal he feels out of place.”

Liam nods. “I know. I just wish he’ll trust me more.”

“He does, Liam. He’s just nervous.”

I’m cut short by Liam’s grin. His gaze slides right behind me and lights up.

“Would either of you like a glass of champagne?” a female, very familiar voice nearly whispers behind me.

“I’m good,” Liam answers, looking at me out of the corner of his eye. “How about you, Drake?”

I turn around, and my heart skips a beat. Soft curves, tanned skin, and a few freckles across the bridge of her nose. The brightest, most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen. Alexis Ortiz tucks a strand of her rich brown hair behind her ear and takes a deep breath. Her eyes widen, and I see she recognizes me but doesn’t mention it. Instead, a faint smile ghosts her luscious lips, and she lifts her chin like she has a secret she won’t tell. A secret we share. Her gaze remains on Liam, almost like she’s afraid to look my way. Finally, she turns to me, and when she does, an adorable blush color her cheeks.

“Would you, uh, sir?” she asks, taking half a step backward.

“Would I what?” I press, enjoying too much the way her cheeks turn even pinker.

“Would you like a drink?” The words leave her lips fast like she wants to pronounce them and run away. I take a step towards her, remembering the night she spent in my arms and how damn perfect she felt. I know I make her nervous because I see little goosebumps erupting on her soft skin. I smirk at her. “That depends on what you’re offering.”

I shouldn’t be toying with her, but I can’t help it. I want to keep her talking, to watch her reactions, to see that sweet smile again.

“I don’t have much to offer,” she says, a hint of nervousness in her voice. “Unless you like champagne, sir.” She emphasizes the last word.

“I like all sorts of things.” I keep my gaze heavy against hers, not allowing her to look away. She fidgets with her tray and swallows hard but never takes her eyes off mine, too rebellious to look away. The longer our eyes match, the hotter my body becomes. She bits her delicious bottom lip slowly, her dark gaze boring into mine.

“Is that so?” Liam laughs beside me, and I watch her jump like she forgot he was there. Alexis clears her throat and glances around the room. She turns back to us again, this time a practiced smile on her face. The easy grin and soft laugh are both gone. She wants to get away from me, I can feel it, and I understand. She’s working; it wouldn’t be professional. This is not the time or the place to reconnect. Unfortunately for her, I have other plans.

“Gentlemen ...” With a nod, Alexis walks away as fast as possible. She doesn’t look back, but I watch her until she’s out of sight.

“What was that?” Liam snickers, loosening his gray silk tie. “I thought you were going to jump on her.”

I rub my thumb over my lip, still surprised as hell.

“That was Alexis, the girl I met a couple of months ago. Now, if you excuse me, Li, I need to go talk to Bertrand.”

@mskaneko @burnsoslow @gkittylove99 @kat-tia801 @no-one-u-know @thegreentwin @twinkle-320 @forallthatitsworth @kingliam2019 @marshmallowsandfire @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @princessleac1 @twinkleallnight @tinkie1973 @drakexwillow @moneyfordiamonds

@yukinagato2012 @alyssalauren

#drake x alexis #drake walker #drake walker fanfic #drake x mc #tw domestic violence

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alj4890 · 5 years ago

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A Second Chance

(Thomas Hunt x oc*Amanda)

A/N Our last chapter of this series. I will say that some things did not turn out how I originally planned, but I do love that about writing with these characters. They really do end up taking a life of their own. Our final chapter for A Second Chance has Maxwell’s big surprise, Amanda’s decision, and an epilogue. Thanks so much for enjoying this brief series. Sorry I haven’t responded much on your comments. In between beginning this and ending it, migraines from the bowels of the earth struck at various intervals. But I have thoroughly enjoyed how this story unfolded.

@lxaah11 @alleksa16 @penguininapinktuxedo @blackcoffee85 @stopforamoment @hopefulmoonobject @krsnlove @annekebbphotography @hopelessromantic1352 . @sunflowergirl05 @desireepow-1986 @greywitchyshots @lilyofchoices @moodyvalentinestories @emceesynonymroll @my-heart-beats-for-ya @aworldoffandoms @ab1901 @flyawayboo @i-bloody-love-drake-walker . @trappedinfandoms @kate-mckenzie @cordoniaqueensworld @everythingmarvelsherlockspn

Masterlist

Catch up here with Chapter 9

Chapter 10

While Maxwell was away, Amanda sat down and begin to compose a list of all the things at St Orella that were either left to her as an inheritance or she had purchased herself. Everything else either was left in terms of being a part of the duchy.

Thomas had read Kathleen a few stories at the window seat while she continued to write down what she knew was hers. He would look up every once in a while and watch her tap the top of her pen to her lips while reading over what she had listed.

When she set it down, he realized that her list barely covered half a page.

As Kathleen left them to see what her aunt and uncle were doing, Thomas came up behind Amanda’s chair and read over her shoulder. “That’s all you plan to take?”

She nodded. “The majority of furniture was left to the St Orellan heir. These are what members of my family either left personally to me or to a family member who then made certain I inherited it.” She then pointed to another column. “These I bought for myself using my personal fortune and not the St. Orellan coffers.”

“What about the portraits of your parents and uncle?” He asked.

She shook her head. “Those were painted for the St Orellan gallery.” When she noticed his concern, she gently caressed his cheek. “I have plenty of pictures of them that will go with me.” She then opened a drawer to her desk. “And I get to take these with me.” She pulled out the different journals of her ancestors. “Each one was written for family, not the for the current duke or duchess.”

He pressed a kiss to her lips when she looked back up at him.

“You know Maxwell won’t mind if you take more.” He kissed her ear. “I don’t want you to leave behind anything that means something to you.”

She smiled and shook her head. “I am taking what means the most to me.” She looked up at all the heavily ornate furniture and decorations, excited at the prospect of picking new décor. “The rest belongs here.”

He took her hand when she rose from her chair. She met his still worried gaze and smiled. “Come. Let’s get Kathleen ready for this big surprise.”

*************

A little over an hour later…

"Must we wear these?" Thomas asked.

Maxwell nodded. "It's the only way for you to be truly surprised."

Kathleen obediently slipped on the sleep mask and gripped her mother's shirt.

"Wait until we are in the car." Amanda said, trying to keep from laughing.

"It isn't a surprise party, is it?" Thomas appeared suddenly ill.

"You'll find out soon enough." Maxwell said in a sing song voice.

Kathleen giggled at her father's resigned expression. He glanced down at her, saw she only had one eye covered with the sleep mask, and felt his first smile form since Maxwell had handed them the blinders.

"What do you think the surprise is?" He whispered to her.

"Maybe a party." Kathleen said. "Oh! Or an animal!" Her face lit up with excitement. "He gave Aunt Riley and Uncle Liam two red pandas when they got married. What if he got us two since you and Mommy are getting married."

Maxwell heard her loud whisper and gently shook his head no when Amanda whispered to him if it was that.

"I never do repeats." He admitted. "I'm not that kind of gifter."

"A limo?" Thomas' eyebrows raised in disbelief when they followed him outside. "Where are we going?"

"You can't expect my surprise to begin with a normal car ride." Maxwell replied, wounded at such a thought.

Kathleen hurried inside.

"After you." Maxwell said to the couple.

The two got in and sat down across from their daughter. Maxwell smoothly slid in and sat on the seat between Kathleen and her parents.

He rubbed his hands together. "Alright party people, masks on!"

Thomas groaned softly when both Amanda and Kathleen gave him a silent pleading look to play along. He pulled the mask over his head and settled it over his eyes. He felt somewhat placated for doing so when he felt a kiss placed on his cheek

Once everyone had their sleep masks firmly in place, Maxwell lowered the privacy barrier and told the driver to proceed. He raised it back up and relaxed with a big smile on his face.

During the long ride, Thomas felt Amanda slip her hand in his as well as resting her head against his shoulder. His lips curved as memories of the night before flashed through his mind. He was looking forward to tonight and all the possibilities that were before him.

Amanda’s own smile appeared when she felt his arm lift to wrap around her. She then felt his lips brush her temple and couldn't wait until they were alone once more. Her heart was completely ready for their future. Now that the burden of St Orella had been lifted off of her shoulders, she was excited for what lay ahead.

The two had stayed up late into the night making plans for the type of wedding they wanted, possible honeymoon destinations, and of course talk of maybe having more children.

Even when she used to daydream of Thomas realizing he loved her and wanted to be with her and Kathleen, it had never matched to the real thing. She still was waiting on either her alarm clock or Kathleen to wake her up from what surely must be a dream.

While the two sat quietly with their thoughts, Kathleen kept up a steady chatter with Maxwell, trying to guess where they were going.

"Give it up, Kat." Maxwell teased. "You will never guess this."

He had to fight his laughter at her huffing and folding her arms. Her little face scrunched into a fierce frown was made even more humorous by the sleep mask covering half of it.

After some time, the limo slowed to a stop.

"Keep those on!" Maxwell ordered when they all moved to rip the blinders off.

He got out, commanded they remained still, and then told them to carefully step out.

"Alright, stand right here--wait no--Thomas, you need to--" Maxwell repositioned them and stood in front of them to make certain they were in the best spot for the big reveal.

"It sounds like the beach." Kathleen gripped her parents' hands as she strained to figure out what their surprise was.

"Yes, it does." Thomas murmured.

"Is it a picnic?!" Kathleen asked.

Maxwell shook his head then realized none of them could see him. "No picnic."

"Are we going sailing?" Amanda asked.

"Nope." Maxwell gloated. "Now, on the count of three, I want you to take your masks off." He glanced behind him, grinning at his conspirators stepping out onto the lawn. "One...two...THREE!"

The family removed them and blinked at the bright sky.

They looked around curiously.

"Well?! What do you think?" Maxwell could not quite contain his giddy excitement.

"The house?" Thomas asked, looking at the mansion set against the rocky shore.

"It's beautiful." Amanda said, admiring the subdued gray brick.

"It's yours." Maxwell said proudly.

The couple looked at him with mouths agape.

"What?" Thomas uttered.

"Can we go in?" Kathleen asked.

"Maxwell--how, you can't give us a house!" Amanda exclaimed. "This is too much."

The rest of the Cordonian group and Stephen and Rachel had smiles as they pointed out that it was a wedding present from them all.

"Max picked it out." Riley began. "He said you had to have a place in Cordonia so that you would visit more often."

"Liam used his kingly authority and got all the paperwork completed overnight." Drake added.

"And we have been doing a little bit of decorating." Olivia rolled her eyes. "Mostly, we have been doing whatever Hana ordered us to do."

Amanda covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes. She shook her head at the immense generosity of her friends. They had stuck by her through every trial she faced. Helped her wade through years of uncertainty. And now they had rushed to give her a home all her own. No nobles to deal with. No political work to keep it. Just a home for her and her family.

When the first broken sob escaped her lips, Thomas gently pulled her into his arms. She tried to muffle her crying against his shirt.

"Mommy!" Kathleen rubbed her eyes and pressed her face against her legs. "Don't cry."

Thomas rubbed Amanda’s back while she tried to calm down. He knew the last few days had to be a whirlwind of change and stress on her. Being given such a gift was her breaking point.

Hudson cleared his throat from the front door. "Your grace?" When numerous heads turned toward him, he shook his head. "Forgive me, I meant Lady Hana. There is an issue of furniture placement that we need your direction on."

Hana smiled and hurried inside, pulling Rashad along with her.

"Hey," Maxwell said softly. He tugged on Amanda's hair making a surprise laugh pop out amongst her tears. "Can I give you your tour before I go pick up Nadia from the airport?"

She nodded while dabbing at her cheeks and nose with the tissues Riley had handed her.

He grinned and motioned with his head. "Come on. I can't wait for you to see the inside. It literally screams Amanda and Thomas."

Kathleen tugged on his hand. "What about me?"

His grin grew bigger. "Just you wait, Kat. Hana has done something that definitely has your name written all over it."

The rooms were bright and cheerful with unparalleled views of the ocean. They were also surprisingly filled with furniture.

Amanda paused when she recognized her favorite recliner from one of her informal dens at St Orella. "Max? Is this..."

"Don't worry." He said proudly. "Hudson knows what has to stay at St Orella and what doesn't. The rest though is new furniture." He shook his head as if to admonish her. "Every bride needs something old and something new."

Thomas laced his fingers with hers as they continued with the tour.

There were rooms for all their needs. A breakfast nook in the large kitchen. A dining room with Amanda's great grandmother's china tea set sitting in a place of honor in the middle of a table that could seat twelve. A study was currently being worked on by a few of St Orella's servants. Some of the books on the shelves were the very ones Kathleen had been interested in.

A large living room was complete with nothing but furniture that was made for comfort. No rough, formal antiques that made one less likely to sit could be found anywhere.

There was one room downstairs that was left completely empty.

"This will be the theater room." Maxwell explained. "I called Addison to let her know what we were doing, and she and the Hollywood bunch are designing this for you. They'll be here Monday."

Thomas groaned at the thought of more company. His lips curved though each time Amanda exclaimed how much she loved all that they had seen.

Kathleen tugged on Maxwell's hand. "Can we see my bedroom?"

"Bedroom?" He pretended to ponder that. "Hmm...did you need one?"

Her little jaw dropped. "Where will I sleep?"

"I didn't think of that." Maxwell muttered. He chuckled when she still seemed unable to believe it. "Do you honestly think I would leave out the most important part?"

They went up the staircase and saw a room with the door closed and another larger one with Hana directing some workers.

"Let's look at where we are going to stick your parents first." Maxwell whispered.

They all peeked into the room where Hana was.

"Oh!" Amanda gasped. The room was similar in design to the one she had in St Orella. There was a large fireplace in which Hana had placed two chairs. The bed that was being put together was set in a way that one could enjoy the fire from it or turn on their side and see the ocean.

Thomas admired the suite's bathroom with its large shower with multiple shower heads. His eyebrows lifted at some of their clothes already in the walk-in closet.

"Hana," Maxwell called out. "It is time to reveal your masterpiece!"

She smiled and left Rashad in charge.

"Close your eyes." Hana whispered as she held Kathleen's hand.

The little girl closed them tight and nearly bounced with anticipation when she heard the door open.

"You can open them." Hana clasped her hands together, beaming at the happiness she saw in Kathleen's face.

"Twinkle lights!" Kathleen pointed up at the ceiling. She went from one area to another, thanking Hana with each aspect she loved.

"Hana," Amanda said in surprise. "This looks so much like her room in California."

"I wanted her to have that sense of home here." Hana explained, blushing at all the compliments everyone was giving her. "That was why I asked you for more detail about her room." She knelt when Kathleen hugged her.

"This is the best surprise ever!” Kathleen told her, kissing her cheek. "I love my room, Aunt Hana."

Maxwell grinned and quietly motioned for Amanda to follow him. "The rest are guestrooms that we ran out of time to furnish. We thought you and Thomas and Kathleen might want to stay here tonight. Rachel and Stephen can stay at St Orella for as long as they want."

He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. "Are you happy with it?"

She nodded, pulling him into a hug. "More than I can express." She kissed his cheek and tried not to cry again. "Thank you."

He checked the time and told her he would be back later. "Hudson and the rest will be bringing your things over. Anything you want from St Orella is yours. Just write out a list and he'll make sure to have it delivered." He winked before hurrying down the stairs.

***************

While Kathleen played in her new room, Thomas and Amanda stepped outside to the back patio. It curved around with the house and had a number of lounge chairs and covered swings set out.

"What do you think?" Amanda asked.

"It's a beautiful home." He turned to look up at it. "I'm surprised Maxwell chose one that I would have actually picked for us."

He noticed she was staring at him. "What are you thinking?"

"That I want to get married." She admitted, blooms of color appearing on her cheeks.

He smiled as his lips tenderly brushed hers. "So do I."

"I mean today." She looked up at him. "I want our first night here to be one of us celebrating our marriage."

His arms tightened around her. "I will marry you whenever you wish." His lips grazed her ear. "Nothing could make me happier than doing so right now."

Amanda smiled as she met his lips in a more heated kiss. "Wait here."

He watched her hurry inside, disappearing down a hall.

A few minutes later she returned with Liam.

"You do realize that everyone will have my head for this?" He teased.

"We will do our best to be discreet." Amanda glanced at Thomas. "Or as discreet as we can be with dressing up."

"You have a plan?" Thomas asked, noticing the secretive smile on her face.

"I do." She pointed to a secluded area on the shore. "Meet us down there in thirty minutes."

*************

40 minutes later...

Thomas tugged at his bowtie and checked the time once more.

"You're not nervous, are you?" Liam asked, amused watching his agitated movements.

"No." His frown eased. "Not at all. I'm about to marry the only one I have ever loved."

Liam clapped his shoulder in camaraderie.

"Can you legally marry us without witnesses?" Thomas asked, concerned about it not being official.

Liam nodded. "I'm the king. It will be legal and binding." His eyes lifted when he saw movement coming down the hill. "Ah, here they are."

Thomas turned and couldn't stop the smile that formed. Kathleen had on the sparkly dress he had bought her for her birthday. Amanda had dressed in the dark teal gown she had known he had always loved her in.

The two loves of his life walked hand in hand and stopped before him.

"We're ready." Kathleen said to Liam.

He chuckled and began the ceremony.

While Amanda and Thomas stood before one other with their hands clasped, Kathleen stood next to Liam. She leaned against his side as the vows were exchanged. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed when she let out a yawn.

Her parents though were oblivious to her thinking it was taking too long. When Liam brought up the issue of rings, Amanda began to say they did not have any yet.

Thomas pulled them out of his pocket.

"Where did you get those?" She asked, completely surprised.

"I wanted them to match your engagement ring." Thomas lowered his eyes to the bands he held. "I bought them at the same time."

She shook her head while trying not to cry again. When she took his wedding ring, she noticed markings on the inside.

She held it closer and read the words aloud. "A second chance."

He nodded at the engraving he had secretly had done while she was in the capital. Thomas slipped her ring over her finger and raised her hand to his lips, pressing a tender kiss to it. He lifted his eyes to hers. "That's been my wish for five years."

She slid his ring over his finger and pulled him close for a kiss. All the love they felt was poured into that single touch. She opened her eyes, smiling that this wasn't a dream. "It's been my wish too."

************

Epilogue…

Once upon a time, there was a duchess from a far away land who met a man from Hollywood. The instant they met; they knew that something special was about to happen. Over time they realized that they were in love. But like all fairy tales, turmoil struck and the two were forced to be apart for a long time. The only consolation the duchess had was in the little piece of her former relationship: a daughter.

The poor man in Hollywood, pining for his lost love, was left in the dark to her existence. Years of searching for the one who held his heart would all come to an end one fateful night in New York.

That was the moment for a second chance at love to occur. Fears and doubts plagued the couple, and yet they persevered in the hopes to one day be together. More trials and decisions were made until the moment they said I do on a rocky shore in Cordonia.

What was to follow surprised no one who knew the couple. The two settled into a happy life together. Thomas, our hero, continued to make movies and to love his wife and daughter with all his heart. He never took one moment he had with them for granted, having seen what life was like without them. He spent every moment he had making certain that they knew they were his entire world. Nothing else matter but his love and his family.

Amanda, our heroine, settled into a life as a stay-at-home mom. She and their daughter Kathleen supported and loved Thomas in all his endeavors. She never ceased in telling him how happy she was nor how much she loved him. For she knew what it was like to live a life believing he did not care for her. Her heart nearly burst with tenderness when Thomas had director’s chairs for each one of them on all his movie sets. They traveled everywhere together and loved every adventure they went on. She still made him see the humor in every inconvenience and the ability to be thankful for the ones you have by your side during them.

Three years after Thomas and Amanda married, they were welcomed with the birth of their twins. Ian and Elizabeth had their father wrapped around their fingers just like their older sister did. He marveled at being able to see everything firsthand. He was the one to insist on getting up in the middle of the night for bottle feedings and diaper changes. The twins smiled every time they heard his voice. Thomas and Amanda both felt that they had everything they could possibly want. They realized that their life together had been sweeter than either could have ever imagined. Neither could think of a single thing to wish for. Life was perfect.

Kathleen flourished under her parents love and care. Much like her father, she went on to take an interest in the fine arts. With her love of musicals, she began to study more of dance and singing. Unlike her mother, she had a clear alto voice that with further practice became quite pleasing to the ear. Her dance classes allowed her to wear all the sparkly outfits she wanted and even gained the eye of a certain young man when she was a teenager. Michael Rodriguez would go often to watch her practice, complimenting everything about her. Like his father, his sweet gentlemanly personality helped Thomas reluctantly give his approval for the two to date. They are still inseparable, supporting one another as Michael walks in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps to be an actor. He in turn follows Kathleen every chance he gets to New York, waiting backstage each evening with a bouquet of flowers and nothing but love in his heart. On one particular evening, he had a ring waiting for her in her dressing room. Without any hesitation, Kathleen said yes. Their wedding was termed Hollywood Royalty with two heirs of the most famous marrying. Neither paid any attention to the press. They only had eyes for each other and the future that awaited them.

As the twins grew, Ian shared his parents’ obsession with films. He would go on to work his way up to be his father’s assistant director. Then he set out on his own and made his first movie. Fearful he could never match the emotional depth his father so easily captured, Ian worked tirelessly over finding the right script, then finding the right actors. While his family worried over his health with the long hours and stress, he refused to back away for even a second from his dream. As the credits rolled on his premiere, he turned to see his father with tears in his eyes. Thomas pulled him into a hug and told him that he was his favorite director in the entire world. Amanda worried with the handsome looks he inherited from his father, that he might end up falling for the wrong woman. She still had nightmares of Kara Bennett and her pursuit of Thomas. But Ian was more like his father than anyone first realized. He didn’t fall in love until one fateful night when he bumped into a student form UCLA at a coffee shop he loved to frequent. Their impact caused her to drop all her books. When he voiced his surprise that they were all medical textbooks, she had blushed and blundered her way into his heart with her admission that she was following in her parents’ footsteps. Nearly a year later, Ian would marry Dr. Alice Ramsey in a lavish wedding in Boston.

Elizabeth had at first appeared to be a miniature Kathleen. Her features and immense sweetness mirrored those of her sibling yet, she possessed a quieter nature, more like her father’s. She was serious minded though was uncertain what she wished to do in life. Unlike her twin and sister, she was not drawn to a life of performance. She wanted to do something else, something more meaningful with her life. She knew what her father and siblings did brought joy to the world, yet she wanted to find a different way to serve people. On a trip back to her mother’s home country, she soon discovered what she was meant for. It had been years since she had last seen the future duke of St Orella. Lord Xavier Beaumont had recently returned from college and was ready to begin his part in caring for the people of Cordonia. When his eyes met Elizabeth’s across the royal ballroom, all thoughts left his mind save for the one that he needed to meet her. Imagine his surprise that she was the same little girl he had once played with. After a whirlwind courtship, the two married, much to the delight of Maxwell. He had always secretly hoped that his son would fall in love with one of Amanda’s daughters. He wanted the St Orella duchy to still be apart of her family. And now it was.

All in all, the Hunt family had a series of sweet and humorous moments over the years. Neither Thomas nor Amanda ever dreamed that their lives would one day resemble what they did. Thomas had once thought he was destined for life as a bachelor. Film would be his lifelong love, his movies his offspring. Amanda in turn believed her life tied permanently to St Orella. She had once thought she would marry a noble or a diplomat, have the necessary heir and spare and live a contented life amongst the court.

Both could be heard every once in a while say how thankful they were that life did not work out at all like they had once planned.

And with that…

They all lived happily ever after.

#Thomas Hunt #thomas hunt x amanda #choices thomas hunt #thomas hunt x oc #thomas hunt rcd #a second chance

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nazariolahela · 5 years ago

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Something Domestic: Chapter 15

A/N: Hey y'all! This story is told in first-person narrative, from Riley’s (MC) POV. There will likely be smidges of canon in this, but not too much. Thanks for reading, and please leave feedback, and/or if you would like to be tagged.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. It was a busy one for me. Hence why this chapter is a few weeks late. Anywho, here’s Part 2 of Liam’s POV. We’ll get back to Riley’s POV next chapter.

Catch up here

Series Tags: @burnsoslow @aworldoffandoms @dcbbw @ladyangel70 @texaskitten30 @sunandlemons @jlynn12273 @indiacater @jared2612 @rainbowsinthestorm @drakesensworld @badchoicesposts @msjr0119 @katurrade @blackcoffee85 @cynicalworlds-blog @hopefulmoonobject @cmestrella @sugarandspice-milkandhoney @superharrietsuper @custaroonie @lady-calypso @ritachacha @olympianpantsuit @desiree-0816 @the-soot-sprite @kate-mckenzie @narrytheworld @octobereighth @lynne1993 @queen-anastasia-universe @loveellamae @sarzkh31

Synopsis: When Riley Brooks takes a new job as a nanny for the affluent Rhys family in New York’s Upper East Side, she assumes she’s just going to care for the children of the couple who hired her. But instead of just school pick-ups and afternoon snacks, she also finds herself spending time with Liam, the handsome divorced dad. Can Riley control her feelings for Liam while still performing the job she was hired for?

All characters are the property of Pixelberry Studios. Thanks for allowing me to borrow them.

Chapter Summary: Liam helps to mend the rift between Hana and Riley.

The first thing on my agenda is to get to Mara. I know she’s been compromised by my ex-wife, so getting her to confess will be tricky. Leo and I go over how he’ll get Madeleine to spill as we ride through Manhattan in my McLaren P1. Bastien, my most loyal employee, tipped me off to where Mara and the new nanny will be with Philip today, so I took a long lunch to try and get some answers from her.

“So, where is Madeleine’s faithful lackey today?” he asks.

“Bastien said she and Belinda took Philip to the playground.”

My brother nods and taps a message on his phone. “I got ahold of your ex this morning. She wants to have dinner tonight. She’s leaving the kids with Rashad so she can meet me.” He chuckles. “Poor sucker. At least she’s not your problem anymore.”

“Except she’s my children’s mother, so she’ll always be my problem.”

“What are you going to do about her if I get her to confess?”

I shrug my shoulders. I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Right now, I just want the goddamn truth so I can get my girl back. Yes, I called Riley my girl. Even though she won’t speak to me and she’s got another man, I’m not giving up.

We pull up to the park and exit the car. The weather is cooler this time of year, so I fasten the buttons of my dress coat and make my way toward the playground. Leo and I scan the area for any sign of Mara and after a few moments, he spots her standing near the slide. Belinda is sitting on the bench, rifling through her tote bag.

When I approach, Philip is the first to see me. “DADDY!” he shouts and leaps off the monkey bars, sprinting across the playground. He latches himself onto my leg. I pick up my son and toss him in the air before planting a kiss on his cheek. I look into his blue eyes and my heart bursts. To be honest, I had doubts that he was my son after I found out Madeleine cheated during our marriage. But one look at him dispelled them. I had a paternity test done to be absolutely sure, but sometimes I think about what I would have done if he wasn’t mine.

Mara sees me and her eyes bug out of her skull. She turns to Belinda and alerts her of my presence. “Sir?” she says as they approach me.

“Belinda, take Philip over to the swingset. I need to speak with Mara privately.”

The nanny nods and ushers my son away from us. I motion for Mara to take a seat on a nearby bench.

“Everything alright, sir?” she says.

“I’m just dropping in to see how things are going with the new nanny. I know there were some issues with the last one, so I want to make sure we don’t have any similar problems going forward.”

She bobs her head. “Things seem to be going well, sir. From what I’ve seen, Ms. Stewart is having no trouble carrying out her duties.”

“That’s good to hear. Any issues with the paparazzi?”

“Nothing we can’t handle, sir. Sometimes they camp out wherever we go, but they’ve left us alone for the most part.”

I nod. “That’s good. The safety of my children is very important, Mara. I want to make sure the people in charge of them are not putting them in harm’s way.”

“I agree, sir. I take my job seriously.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Because I would have a huge issue if I knew those people were deliberately putting my kids at risk.”

She visibly swallows. “Uh...sir. I-I don’t know what you mean.”

I look over at Philip as I speak and clench my fists. “Mara. I know the tabloids called you. Do you know how I know? My friend Olivia. I assume you’ve met her. Well, she knows someone at Trend. Her contact told us everything. They gave us your name. How much did they give you, Mara?”

Her eyes go wide and she fidgets with the hem of her jacket. “Sir. Please. I don’t kn…”

I hold my hand up, stopping her. “Mara. There’s no use denying it. I know my ex-wife is behind this, but I want to know how you are and you’re going to tell me.”

She bows her head and exhales. “I swear to you, sir. I didn’t know what Ms. Karlington was going to do. She told me to gather dirt on Miss Brooks. She said it was for the benefit of the kids. I didn’t know she was planning to sell the story to the tabloids. She had me plant a listening device in Miss Brooks’ phone when she wasn’t looking. That’s how I knew about you two. That you were involved.”

I cock my eyebrow. “How long did you know?”

“Not very long, sir. Ms. Karlington suspected something after the scholarship benefit. That’s when she had me bug Miss Brooks’s phone. We were able to take the recordings and sell them to the tabloids along with the details of your divorce. I’m so sorry, sir. She threatened to have me fired if I didn’t cooperate.”

Of course, she did. “Why though?”

“She said it was because of the divorce. If you would have just agreed to her arrangement, none of this would have happened.”

I drag my hand down my face. Why am I gasping? I already knew that. The so-called “arrangement” Mara is referring to is one Madeleine brought up after I filed. She suggested that we stay married for our “public image,” but that we could both have people on the side. I laughed in her face. “So, how much did they pay you?”

Mara pauses, unable to meet my eyes. “$50,000, sir.”

That’s it? That’s less than what we pay her yearly salary. I shake my head and rise from my seat. Mara stands and addresses me. “Sir? I’m genuinely sorry for any pain I may have caused you and Miss Brooks. I understand if you can no longer retain my services.” She starts to walk away when I call out to her.

“We’ll figure that out later. In the meantime, I trust you won’t tell my ex-wife about our little chat?”

“No, sir,” she says, shaking her head. She makes her way back to Philip and Belinda. I run my fingers through my hair and head back to the car, where my brother leans against the hood.

“Well? How did it go? Did she sing like a canary?”

I smirk and press the unlock button on my keyfob. “She did.”

He grins and brings his hand to his mouth, kissing his fingers. “Delicious. Now, we just need Madeleine to give us an encore.”

***

Later that afternoon, I’m back at the office, finishing up some quarterly reports when my cellphone chimes. I pull it from my suit jacket to see a text from Leo.

Perfect. Now for part two of my “master plan.” I close my laptop down and grab my coat off the back of my chair. I exit my office and head down the hall towards the elevator. As I step in and descend towards the lobby, I call up Drake.

“Hey, man. You on your way over?”

“Yep. Just leaving the office. Is she there?”

“She showed up a few minutes ago. You sure this will work?”

I sigh. “I hope so...”

He chuckles. “If not, I guess it’s back to escorts and porn for you.”

That’s my best friend for you. Always busting my balls. In all the years we’ve been friends, he’s never been one to let me sit around and feel sorry for myself. But he’ll always have my back when I need him. “Fuck you, man. I’ll see you in about half an hour.”

He laughs and I hang up the phone. I get into my car and head to my destination. When I pull up outside the building, my nerves start to get the best of me. Snap out of it, Li. You can do this. I inhale deeply and exit the car and make my way inside. I stride down the hallway and stop in front of the door. I take another deep breath and knock twice. A few moments later, it swings open.

“Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Hey, Meghan. Is Hana home?”

She eyes me incredulously. “Yeah. I’ll get her. Just a second.” She steps back and allows me to enter the apartment. I look around as Meghan retreats down the hallway. Pictures of her and Hana line the walls of the living room. I smile to myself. My eyes catch a photo of her and Riley in graduation caps and gowns. This one must have been from their college graduation.

“Liam? What are you doing here?” Hana asks as she enters the room. She’s surprised to see me, but it passes quickly and the shock is replaced with a smile. She walks up and I wrap her up in a hug.

“Hey. Nice place you got here.”

We separate and she gestures me to sit down. “What’s going on? Is everything okay? No offense, but you’re the last person I expected to show up here.”

I nod. “Yeah, everything is fine. I was hoping I could get your help.”

She cocks an eyebrow. “Uh...sure. What for?”

I rub the back of my neck. “I heard what happened between you and Riley and I’m sorry that I had a hand in it.”

“It’s not your fault. Riley’s actions were her own. No matter what happened between you and her, it had nothing to do with me.”

“I understand that, but I feel partly responsible. I just want you to know that.”

She nods. “Don’t be. Now, what can I help you with?”

“I need you to help me get Riley back.”

I hear Meghan guffaw from the kitchen. An understandable reaction. Hana looks towards her and frowns, then looks back to me. “You know she and I haven’t spoken in almost a month, right?”

“I do, but I’m hoping to help you out too. I know you guys were super close and this distance has been hard on both of you. Even if I can’t win her back, I want to help you mend your friendship.”

Hana folds her hands in her lap and stares at the floor. We sit in silence for several minutes; I don’t say anything and allow her to gather her thoughts. She finally clears her throat and looks at me. “Okay. What do you need me to do?”

Ten minutes later, Hana, Meghan and I are in my car on our way to the Double Tappe. Hana sits in the front seat, tapping on her phone. Meghan speaks up from the backseat. “Are you sure you want to do this, Hana? She owes you an apology. You don’t owe her anything,” she states, placing a hand on her girlfriend’s shoulder.

Hana covers Meghan’s hand with her own and turns to me. “She’s my best friend. I’ve been kind of stubborn as well through all of this. She’s called me several times over the last month to apologize. I haven’t answered her calls, but the truth is, I miss her. It’s been hard not speaking to her every day. If she’s willing to make up, I am too.”

I smile back at her. Hana is too pure for this world and Riley is lucky to have a friend like her. We pull up outside the Double Tappe and I see Maxwell standing outside, talking on the phone. He looks up and notices us, and a smile spreads across his face. He holds his finger up then wraps up his call.

“Hey, ladies! What brings you here on this fine evening?” he says, wrapping Hana up in a bone-crushing hug. She giggles and tries to wiggle free from his grip. After swinging her around like a ragdoll, he sets her down and grabs Meghan. She squeals as he picks her up, then releases her. I wrap my arm around Hana’s shoulder and the four of us make our way into the Double Tappe.

Drake is the first to see us. He looks up from mixing a drink and waves in our direction. His actions cause the girl at the bar to turn around. There she is. My breath catches in my throat. She looks at me, then at Hana, and her beautiful blue eyes go wide. I watch her as she takes in her best friend. She and Hana stare at each other for several seconds. Meghan gives Hana’s hand a gentle squeeze in encouragement. I can only imagine how they’re both feeling right now. Hana takes a deep breath and makes her way over to Riley. The two talk for a few moments, before making their way to the back of the bar.

I notice the tool I saw in her apartment last week sitting at the bar and my blood boils. Welp, time to audible this plan. I make my way to where he’s sitting at the bar and shake Drake’s hand.

“What can I get you?” he asks me, looking at the tool out of the corner of his eye.

“Give me the Macallan Lalique Single Malt.”

The tool turns to me, eyes bulging out of his skull. “You serve that here?”

Drake smirks. “Only for special occasions.”

The tool looks at Drake, then back at me. “That stuff is like $520 a shot”

“$525,” I reply, reaching in my wallet and tossing a handful of $100 bills on the bar. Drake takes the money and deposits it into the cash register, then hands me my change. I stuff several bills into the tip jar. The tool looks down at his drink, then looks up at me. His shocked expression amuses me.

“Dare I ask how you can afford that?”

I chuckle as I raise the glass to my lips and take a sip. Drake cocks an eyebrow at him. “You have no idea who he is, do you?”

The tool looks over at me, trying to figure out if he knows me. “You look really familiar. Like, I’ve seen you before, but I can’t place it.”

I reach into my suit jacket and retrieve one of my business cards, tossing it on the bar. He picks it up, studying the print. After a few seconds, his eyes widen and he looks back up at me.

“Wait, you’re Liam Rhys? Holy shit, man! You’re the king of this city! I’m Josh. It’s nice to meet you,” he says, extending his hand. I give it a quick shake and force a tight smile, but I cringe internally. Why am I playing nice with Riley’s new piece? He’s just going to be disappointed when I steal his girl back. He starts telling me about his job. I think he says something about being a financial intern for one of my competitors. Note to self: buy them out and fire his ass. I pretend to have an interest in what he says. Drake gives me a confused look from behind the bar, wondering where I’m going with this.

After several excruciating minutes of listening to Josh drone on about gods knows what, I pat him on the shoulder and excuse myself. I notice Hana sitting in one of the booths, with Meghan hovering over the table. I make my way over to them.

“Where’s Riley?”

Meghan nods her head towards the bathrooms. Perfect. I wink at her and make my way down the dimly lit hall. I stand outside the women’s room and wait for her to come out. After what feels like hours, the door swings open.

“Liam? What the hell?”

I stalk towards her and pin her against the back wall placing both hands on either side of her and caging her in. “You’re still with him?”

She glares at me. “Since last week, yeah. What business is it of yours?”

I lean in and inhale her scent. The mix of rose and jasmine makes me want to devour her right here. I run my nose along the base of her neck and she shudders. “You are my business, Riley. Have you slept with him yet?”

She shakes her head. “We’ve only been seeing each other for a couple of weeks.”

Oh, thank gods. “Then why was he shirtless in your apartment?”

She scoffs. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Have you thought about what I said?”

She looks up at me. “Did you figure out who framed me?”

“I did. Come home with me.”

“Liam…” she whispers as I plant soft kisses along her collarbone. She moans softly and grips the lapels of my jacket. My dick instantly hardens. Part of me is hoping the tool ...I’m sorry… Josh comes looking for her and finds us. I drag my lips up her throat and pull her bottom lip between my teeth. She inhales sharply, then pushes me away. “Tell me. Who was it?”

What were we talking about? Oh, yeah. The tabloid leak. “Who do you think it was?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I can’t think of anyone who would hate me enough to do that.”

“It was Madeleine. She found out about us so she had Mara sell it to the gossip mags.” I fill her in on everything Mara told me and Leo and my plans to get Madeleine to confess. Riley’s eyes glimmer with tears.

“W-Why would she do that?”

“Because she’s a hateful bitch. Why else would she try to make me miserable? This was never about you, babe. You were just collateral damage.”

She sniffles and wipes a lone tear away. “I don’t understand. Does she want you back?”

I laugh humorlessly. “No. She just wants the façade of the perfect marriage. She wants to have her cake and eat it too.”

Riley nods. “So, what are you going to do?”

“Well, as soon as I get everything I need from Leo, I’m taking her ass back to court and fighting for primary custody. I’m not letting her hurt my kids ever again. Or you.” I lean in and kiss her forehead.

She sighs. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, for starters, you could say, ‘I’m leaving Dickbag out there for you.’ Then, you could say, ‘Fuck me in the coat closet right now, Liam.’”

She giggles and slaps my chest. “I can’t do that to him. He deserves better.”

I capture her wrist and place a kiss on her palm. “Well, it’s going to be hard to continue dating him when you’re mine.”

She leans in and plants a chaste kiss on my lips. “Let me talk to him first. I owe him that much.”

I sigh and brush a lock of hair from her face. “Fine. But don’t take too long.” I leave her with one last kiss on the lips and stroll down the hallway back towards the bar. Josh is still there, talking Max and Drake’s ears off about something. I pass Hana’s table, where she and Meghan are snuggled inside the booth. “You guys need a ride home?”

Hana looks around then back to me. “No. I think we’re going to hang out for a little while.” Her eyes dart to the left and she rises from the booth, engulfing Riley in a hug. She looks back at me. “Thank you for everything, Liam.”

I give her a warm smile and wave goodbye to Drake and Maxwell as I make my way outside. I check my phone for an update from Leo. Nothing yet, but at least we’re heading in the right direction.

#something domestic #nanny au #trr au #liam rhys #riley brooks #choices fanfic #nazariolahela fanfic

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pug-bitch · 5 years ago

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That’s not why I’m staying (4)

Messes, and a small fire

Book: The Royal Romance, Book 2

Pairing: Drake Walker x Amara Suarez

Rating: some foul language, some extremely suggestive, and a VERY steamy scene, right at the beginning (I guess I now start every chapter with some people getting it on :D). This is absolutely NOT appropriate for people under 18.

Word count: about 3,700 (Sorry for the absence of a Keep Reading option - I’m on mobile!)

Notes: This picks up where we left off, during Liv and Rashad’s date (pre-boeuf bourguignon), starting with Olivia’s POV. This chapter is slightly shorter than my usual ones, but I needed to have a shorter one to get myself back in the spirit of writing for pleasure. I’m sorry I’ve been MIA for a couple of weeks, my job is taking over, and writing is a big part of it, so opening a Word doc has been quite the scary experience. But I’m doing my best, and I intend to keep writing this series, because it makes me happy :) Thank you for sticking with me!!!

*****

Olivia’s lips find Rashad’s and capture them seamlessly. She feels him lean into her kiss, as he closes his eyes and lets out a quiet moan. Fuck, he’s sexy, she thinks. How had she never noticed before? Now she can’t get enough of him.

‘Fuck, Nevrakis,’ he sighs. ‘You’re so hot.’

She smirks and kisses him again, all the while unbuttoning his shirt. Rashad’s hands run down her spine, giving her chills as they do. They grab her ass firmly, and press her further against him. She can very clearly feel his hard cock under his pants. The mere thought of it makes her wet.

She can’t wait anymore. They had multiple makeout sessions, endless flirting, and a lukewarm sex session. She needs the real him, now, or else…

She grinds him more and more intensely, until they both can’t take it any longer. His right hand leaves her ass to find the spot under her dress, between her thighs, and he gently pulls her already wet panties onto the side. Breathlessly, she follows suit and unzips his pants, and quickly pulls down his boxers, finally freeing his big cock. He moans harder onto her kiss.

She can’t wait anymore. He teases her entrance with the tip of his cock, but she wants more, now.

Once he’s completely inside her, they both let out a low groan.

Finally, she thinks. That’s what she’s talking about.

*****

Liam can’t stop his eyelid from twitching. The collar of his white shirt is hurting his neck, suffocating him. He wishes he could just run away and never look back.

His encounter with Drake this afternoon did him a world of good. Finally someone listened to him, not in a fake way like Madeleine used to, when she was trying to seduce him with her pretend compassion.

He has his best friend back. They can count on each other again.

Madeleine is wearing a pre-bridal outfit — white everything. She looks so angelic, Liam himself has trouble believing that she really is a schemer, just from looking at her. But when he thinks back of their awkward, forced interactions… He shudders. No more thinking.

Leo pats him on the back. The two brothers smile at each other. They had a heart-to-heart earlier, and Leo perfectly understood that Liam can’t ask him to be best man, with the history that he and Madeleine share. It felt good to be supported, even by just two people.

Madeleine holds out her hand for Liam to take. Together, they walk onto the platform, surrounded by reporters and various representatives of the Cordonian press. King Constantine is already on the platform, and Liam can’t help but think that he hasn’t really seen his father in motion for a very, very long time. Can he even walk anymore? In any case, he’s good at concealing. If that’s what being a King means, well, Liam won’t be any good. He can feel the beads of sweat dangling over his brow.

His father gives him a curt nod. It’s time.

He clears his throat. ‘People of Cordonia. It is with great pleasure that I officially announce my engagement to Countess Madeleine of Fydelia.’ He turns to Madeleine and they offer each other their fakest smile. ‘We couldn’t be happier about the news, and we look forward to the upcoming festivities. In four days, this Friday, we will depart for our engagement tour, which will stop in Rome, then Paris, then London, finally culminating in a trip to New York City. With us, we will have the pleasure to welcome our wedding parties. Please, Lady Madeleine,’ he says as he turns to her.

She smiles and says, ‘My maid of honor will be Lady Kiara of Castelsarreillan. In my wedding party, I will be delighted to count my fellow former contestants Lady Penelope of Portavira, Duchess Olivia Nevrakis of Lythikos, Lady Hana Lee, and—‘ she pauses and Liam could swear she let a slight smirk show. ‘Lady Amara Suarez.’

The crowd lets out a slight gasp. Liam hurries with his list. ‘And my best man will be my longtime friend Drake Walker. In my wedding party, I am welcoming my brother, former Prince Leo, Duke Bertrand Beaumont of Ramsford, Lord Maxwell Beaumont of Ramsford, and Lord Rashad Domvallier.’ He takes a long breath. ‘Thank you, dear people of Cordonia, for your well wishes. We both wish you all the happiness we are experiencing ourselves, and to all a good night.’

*****

‘Well, I guess it’s official,’ Drake says as he turns off the TV. ‘We gotta do this thing.’

Hana nods as she takes a sip of her wine. ‘Yep. Just the thought of pretending to be helpful to that bitch is giving me hives.’

Drake has to chuckle at Hana’s swearing - he might never get used to it. ‘And I have to be Liam’s freaking best man. Which, like… it’s fine, of course I want to be there for him, but—‘ He trails off. Amara meets his eye.

‘You’re nervous about being in the spotlight,’ she finishes his sentence. He nods. She continues, rubbing Drake’s hand in support. ‘I know, me too, babe. But think about it. It’s for the best. We’ll be on the frontline, ready to pounce if Madeleine shows her hand in the slightest.’

Maxwell nods. ‘Exactly. We’ll be there for each other, too. Oh and, after these drinks, let’s all write our acknowledgements to Liam and Madeleine. That way, tomorrow, we can go to the cabin without a care in the world.’

Drake smiles earnestly. ‘I can’t wait. We all need it. You’ll see, Mike, it’s as calm as what we’ve seen of the coast today, but even more remote.’

Michael smiles excitedly. ‘I’m excited! I’ll take loads of pictures for Callie, she’s been asking about where we are. She’ll love that.’

Drake looks to Amara, who is smiling quietly, a sneaky tear in her eye. Without saying a word, Drake takes her hand again, and squeezes it. He knows how much she’s missed her niece. How badly she wants to be a part of her life again. Drake can’t help but imagine Amara’s family visiting Cordonia, coming to the cabin, having long dinners on the patio, overlooking nature… He may not have much of a family —it’s broken, it spans over two continents and three countries, it’s riddled with lies and unspoken things— but Amara makes him want to fix things. With her folks, with his… He wants their ducks to be in a row.

‘Guys,’ Maxwell whispers dramatically, ‘has anyone heard from Liv?’

This takes Amara out of her daydream, and she replies, ‘Oh, not at all. Let’s hope she’s too busy to text.’ She performs a theatrical wiggling of her eyebrows.

Hana joins in, ‘Maybe she’s just too tied up at the moment.’

Michael nods, a cheeky smile on his face, ‘Maybe she needs to remain on top of things.’

Maxwell, a proud look on his face, chimes in: ‘Maybe she can’t talk because her mouth is full.’

Everyone looks on in horror, until a collective roaring laughter takes over the silence.

‘Holy shit Max,’ Amara says, crying with laughter, ‘too far, honey!’

Michael wipes off a tear, ‘Jeez Maxwell, we were trying to be subtle over here!’

Maxwell shrugs. ‘I just wanted to be a part of it, guys.’

*****

‘Please Michael, go to bed,’ Maxwell waves him off. ‘You don’t need to do all this.’

Michael continues to carry plates from the living room to the sink. ‘No, I want to help! Drake cooked, Amara made the after-dinner drinks, I want to do my part.’ He pauses and makes a charming face at Maxwell. ‘Please.’

Max sighs. Why must they always meet like this, in the kitchen? All Maxwell has ever done in here is messes, and a small fire once —Bertrand still won’t let him use the oven—, but these days, he finds himself drawn to this space. This is where he puts plates together for his friends. Even though he can’t cook, he loves to entertain, and while he happily leaves the roasting and chopping to Drake, Maxwell loves preparing snacks and apéritif trays.

Not to mention the late-night cleanups. Which Michael always joins in on.

He chuckles and busies himself with the dishes. He told everyone else to go to bed, that he’s got it. Truth is, he was kinda hoping this would happen. People going upstairs to pack for tomorrow’s trip, and, if we’re being realistic, Drake and Amara probably going upstairs to get it on. Bertrand went to bed a while ago, as soon as he came home, and that leaves him here, now.

Dammit, he thinks. Why did the girls have to put these ideas in his head?

Well, once again, if we’re being honest, the ideas were already in there, but Maxwell was simply burying them under piles and piles of insecurity, laced with unwavering friendliness.

Maxwell had never been the one in charge before —no one trusts him with anything usually, see the kitchen fire anecdote—, but ever since Michael turned up, it had been Max’s pleasure to show him around, make sure he’s okay, and, most importantly, help him and Amara fix their relationship.

He knows Amara trusts him, and considers him like a brother, which is of course reciprocal. From the moment he told her about Savannah, and instead of judging him for keeping that secret from Drake, she helped him come clean, he’s known that she is a true friend.

So, if she herself is telling him that she sees something between him and Michael, could there be some truth to it?

‘Hey Max,’ Michael says softly, interrupting his incessant internal questions. ‘Is your brother ok?’

Maxwell smiles. ‘Yeah, Bertrand’s fine. He’s just stressed out. He found out that he’s part of the wedding party and needs to come on the Tour, and he’s like Drake in a way. He doesn’t like the spotlight.’

Michael nods. ‘I see. It’s crazy how different you guys are.’ He pauses. ‘I don’t mean that you love the spotlight or anything, but you’re just more...comfortable. In any situation. It’s really admirable, actually.’

Maxwell chuckles and turns back to his dishwashing so Michael can’t see that he’s blushing. ‘Oh, thanks, but it’s nothing, really.’ He bites his lip, annoyed at himself for not finding the right words. It used to be so effortless between them, why did the girls have to fill his head with stupid fantasies?

But Michael doesn’t seem to mind. He sits at the kitchen island and starts putting cookies back in their tins, slowly, one by one, as if he wanted to drag this moment for longer. ‘I’m serious,’ he adds. ‘It takes a lot of guts, and a lot of adaptability, to be able to navigate any social situation without too much anxiety.’

Maxwell turns around to grab another dirty dish. He meets Michael’s eye. ‘Well thank you, but I don’t think I navigate that well. Plus, I was born into it, I guess, so I have no merit. Amara, on the other hand…’

Michael laughs. ‘Yeah, Amara has always been good with people. She’s analytic, too, you know. She figures people out really quickly.’ He pauses and absentmindedly plays with a cookie. ‘Like with Drake. You said he was basically the broody type, right?’

Max smiles. ‘Yeah. Not much of a social butterfly, our Drake.’

Michael chuckles. ‘Right. But I don’t know, around her, he seems to light up. Around us too, actually, when I went on the tour with him this afternoon, he was all friendly and talkative.’

Max puts down the last dish and put the kettle on, without even thinking about it. ‘Yeah. He and I have known each other forever. His sister is one of my closest friends. But before Amara showed up, I don’t know, he didn’t really open up. His dad died ten years ago and he really closed off afterwards.’ Maxwell stops himself. Shit, he thinks. That was a really sensitive topic to tackle, why did he have to talk about death right now?

Michael gets up and sets up two teacups on the island. Maxwell joins him while the kettle does its thing. ‘Well, Amara had closed off, too, as you know,’ Michael responds. ‘Just punished herself. Became a different person. Look, it’s really simple, I hadn’t seen my Amara for two years. But the minute I came here and saw her with you guys, with Drake, I knew. She’s back.’

Maxwell smiles brightly. ‘That’s really beautiful. I like that idea —they found each other and allowed each other to be open again.’

‘Right. But not just the two of them. Amara loves you, and Hana, and Olivia, and Bertrand, too. This isn’t just about Drake and Amara’s love, although that’s the obvious part. It’s more than that, it’s a group effort. You all support each other in ways I didn’t know were possible for people who’ve only been friends for a few months. It’s quite beautiful.’

Maxwell lets the silence wrap them both up, until the aggressive sound of the kettle draws them from their rêverie.

*****

‘Guys, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!’ Drake yells out from the front door. He’s been ready to go for a while, but Amara is carefully reviewing her bags to make sure she didn’t forget anything. They woke up very early and had a nice breakfast all together—Hana made a frittata—, and now Drake is loading up his Jeep.

‘One second babe,’ Amara responds, ‘Maxwell and Hana are still upstairs.’

Bertrand comes out of his study, and unsnaps his reading glasses. ‘Well, Amara, I wish you a pleasant stay, and I shall see you on Thursday.’

Amara wonders how someone who is under 35 years old has reading glasses that snap in the front. And are tied by a string that goes around his neck. Even her dad wouldn’t wear that. ‘Bertrand,’ she says as she pats his shoulder, ‘are you sure you don’t want to come? We can take two cars, we’d love to have you come with us.’

He blushes. ‘No no, thank you very much for the invitation, Drake insisted too, but I shall get my affairs in order before the tour commences on Thursday. I didn’t expect to be a part of it, you see.’

Amara smiles. ‘If you’re sure. But please, if you change your mind, call us and join us, ok?’

He nods. ‘Will do. Enjoy yourself, please.’

She squeezes his shoulder and heads outside. ‘Drake, relax,’ she says as she rolls her eyes, ‘they’ll be right out.’ She smiles upon seeing Michael outside, already loading his duffle bag into Drake’s Jeep. ‘Well someone else is eager,’ she teases.

Michael smiles, his blue eyes sparkling. ‘I gotta say, this is super exciting. Living in the city doesn’t give you too many opportunities like this one.’ He hops into the backseat.

Amara throws her luggage in the back and settles into the front seat. ‘You know,’ she says to Michael, looking at him in the rearview mirror, ‘you don’t HAVE to live in the city. From what Dad tells me, you have plenty of offers in Philly, you could comfortably live in the suburbs.’

Michael’s smile falters a bit as he nods along. ‘Yeah. I know Callie would love to get closer to Grampie and Grammie. But--’ he interrupts himself and shakes his head. ‘I can’t bring myself to sell the apartment before I find a place that I can really feel at home in. That’s the only home Callie has ever known. I can’t uproot her unless I’m sure.’

Amara nods and stretches her hand towards the backseat, reaching Michael’s knee. ‘You’re right. Sorry. You know best, it’s not my place.’

He grabs her hand. ‘It’s ok. I know it sounds silly, but nothing has clicked yet. Jorge and I visited this beautiful townhouse in Bryn Mawr, which is perfect on paper. I don’t know, it just didn’t work for me, for some reason.’

‘Listen to yourself. To your gut,’ she says. ‘It’ll happen.’

‘Wooooo here we come!’ Maxwell yells out from the front door. ‘Hana, give me your bag!’

He throws both bags in the back and opens the door for Hana, who makes quick eye contact with Amara before saying ‘Oh Max, would you mind getting in the middle? If I’m not near a window I’m gonna get nauseous.’

Amara has to fight the urge to roll her eyes and giggle. Maxwell isn’t wrong --acting must be the one thing Hana sucks at.

‘Sure thing babe,’ Max responds. He gets in right next to Michael, who smiles at him softly.

‘Alright guys,’ Drake says excitedly. ‘Let’s gooooooo!’

*****

‘Father, is everything alright?’ Liam asks, his fingers still rattling the door to ask for permission to enter.

He is met with a faint sound, emanating from his father, who is lying down on his bed, eyes half closed.

He gets closer, his hands shaky. He’s never seen him like this. He knew he had gotten worse, he knew his cancer was terminal, but he didn’t know just how bad it was.

‘Father?’ he asks hesitantly.

‘Li--Liam, you shouldn’t be here, I asked for no one to disturb me today.’ He swallows, but it’s obvious that he’s in pain. ‘Please go.’

Liam gets closer to his father. He feels like crying, but he can’t. Firstly, because it would make his father feel badly. Secondly, because Constantine has never been one to encourage displays of emotion.

‘Father,’ he whispers without making eye contact. ‘Bastien sent for me. He said you told your nurse to leave, and that you refused to take your medicine. Leo and I are concerned. Tell me what happened.’

Constantine rolls his eyes and sits up with tremendous effort. ‘Liam, this is none of your business. If you must know, this medicine is not helping, my pain is unmanageable. Please keep this to yourself, we’re not here for a pity party. The monarchy is strong, don’t let anyone think otherwise.’ He looks his son up and down. ‘How are things with your betrothed?’

Liam feels a pang in his heart. That’s the only thing his father cares about, visibly, and he’s not about to make the situation worse by opening up. ‘Things are fine. I’m hesitant to go on the tour, though, and to leave you alone here.’

Constantine lets a rare smile show on his face. ‘Don’t stay here on my behalf. Go, do your duty. You will come back here after London and attend the Engagement Ball. I’ll be here.’ He nods decisively.

Liam lets out a long sigh. ‘Alright, Father, as you wish.’

*****

‘Welcome, everyone!’ Drake yells out with a smile, as he opens the front door.

Michael takes in the gorgeousness of the scenery, before grabbing his bag from the Jeep. He shouldn’t feel so relaxed and happy without his daughter around, right? But something feels right around here. No stress, obviously, since he has zero responsibilities, and loving, supportive people surrounding him.

A pang of guilt goes through his chest. He should call Callie. Ever since Sergio passed, it’s been the two of them, always together, getting each other through life. Of course, his parents and in-laws are awesome and always around, but at the end of the day, it’s the two of them, the Hansen-Suarezes.

Drake distributes the rooms. Amara stays with him in his original bedroom, Max and Hana share Drake’s younger sister’s, and Michael is allotted the master bedroom.

‘Make yourself at home, Mike,’ Drake says to him softly. ‘I’ll let you get situated, if you need anything, let me know.’

‘Thank you so much,’ Michael replies gratefully. ‘This is amazing. I’ll be down soon, I wanna check in with my daughter really quickly.’

Drake nods. ‘Of course. Amara and I will be downstairs preparing drinks and snacks.’

Michael puts his bag down and opens it. Most of the clothes inside are too formal, too lawyery, but he notices that Maxwell snuck a couple of outfits in there for him. A note is pinned to a pair of jeans.

They suit you better than they suit me. All yours! :)

Michael smiles warmly. Maxwell never ceases to be thoughtful. He’d have to remember to buy him something as a thank you. Drake could help him sneak out and pick something.

He picks up his phone and dials Jorge’s number. His father-in-law’s warm voice picks up.

‘Hi sweetheart. Is everything ok?’

‘Hi Jorge, I’m doing great, how are you?’

‘Great,’ he says, ‘we’re in the countryside at Drake’s cabin for a couple of days.’

‘Wonderful, dear, is Amara ok too?’

Michael smiles. ‘Doing great, Jorge. You can rest assured, she is very happy here.’

Jorge’s voice lights up. ‘That’s so good to hear.’ He pauses. ‘Callie, sweetie, it’s your daddy. Come chat with him for a bit.’

Michael feels himself regenerate as he talks to his daughter. The conversation is short, it basically revolves around how much she loved going to Dilworth Park with Grampie and Grammy, and how fun it was playing in the fountain. Michael hangs up with a light heart.

He was silly to feel like a bad dad, just because he felt relaxed without her. Ever since Callie was born, he has been a reliable and loving father, who managed to maintain as stable a life for Callie as he could, after Sergio’s death. He juggled all the grueling paperwork, the grief, and the parenting duties, making sure she had enough love, hugs, support, tenderness in her life.

If anyone was good at being a widower, it was Michael. It fucking ruined his life, but he handled it like a champ. Stable in the face of adversity. Always even, only letting his feelings overflow when it came to his sister-in-law, whose grief he could not handle too well.

He had been stable. But not happy.

Of course, Callie makes him happy. She’s the light of his life, and always will be.

But he’d been on autopilot.

Seeing Amara actually thrive as her life got ridiculous and out of control had been eye opening. Maybe he needed that, too. Just for a while.

*****

Taglist:

@drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @andy-loves-corgis , @jovialyouthmusic , @mariahschoices , @drakesensworld , @thequeenofcronuts , @notoriouscs , @drakewalkerisreal , @nikkis1983 , @simsvetements , @alesana45 @iplaydrake @emceesynonymroll @lily1999love @silviasutton1989 @dcbbw @texaskitten30 @furiousherringoperatortoad @hollygirl1269 @sirbeepsalot @ladyangel70 @thisperfectmemory @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @i-bloody-love-drake-walker @mrsmairstanley @addictedtodrakefanfic @msjpuddleduck @kimmiedoo5 @furryperfectionlover @princessleac1

Thank you for your encouragements, everyone! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist :)

#that's not why i'm staying #drake walker x amara suarez #dramara #drake walker x mc #drake walker #trr fanfic #trr drake #drake x mc #drake walker trr #drake x amara #amara suarez

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jovialyouthmusic · 5 years ago

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Silver Service

A Royal Romance AU fanfic sequel to Protect and Serve

Bastien and his men try to get to the bottom of the mystery of who leaked the incriminating photographs of the suitors and have a narrow escape

Word Count 3618

A/N Warnings - possible injury and/or character death. If you have any issues or worries about the ending of this chapter, please DM me.

3 An Unpleasant Surprise

While Sophia and Bastien broke their drought, the press was busy. She had assured Liam that the best thing to do was to let them have their day to react, and issue another statement when she had analysed the output and worked out what the best strategy was. It was pointless making knee jerk reactions to potentially wild and sensational headlines. It would look better staying calm and objective.

The whole Palace went on communication lockdown – although it was impossible to stop anything leaking in through social media and TV broadcasts, nothing unauthorised was allowed out and only essential staff were allowed to enter or leave, to minimise any drama at the Palace gates. All outgoing calls were restricted and monitored, and Bastien was to be notified of anything out of the ordinary. A team had been sent out to Lady Adelaide’s manor and she and Lady Madeleine had been told in no uncertain terms not to make any statements. Bastien already had means to monitor any goings on there, and a kitchen porter regularly reported to him on anything unusual. Staff domiciled outside the Palace had already signed non disclosure agreements anyway. That left assorted nobles and their staff, none of whom had any concrete information to give.

It had been self indulgent of him to spend the day with Sophia, but he was certain that Lewis would let him know if anything of note happened. All the same, in the middle of the night he woke and went down to the security suite to check in.

Lewis had left a report on his desk, and he had a coded communication from Fydelia. He read the latter first, and raised his eyebrows at the content. The kitchen porter was an undercover member of the Guard and had logged some suspicious calls, notably one shortly after Madeleine had returned home. He put that aside and read Lewis’s report on the Press reaction, and made notes before making his own assessment of the day’s media reaction. He needed to know what Sophia thought, and made his way back to their suite. They could work just as well from his private study as from the suite.

He went into the kitchenette and prepared some hot chocolate before going into the bedroom to carefully wake Sophia. She sat up sleepily

‘Do I smell hot chocolate? What time is it?’

‘It’s not dawn yet, theá mou. We need to work on our reaction to the press – come, I hope you’re well rested’ Sophia laughed

‘Bas, your ‘slow’ is a normal day for most men. How can you be so ready for work after the day we just had – not to mention you’re still recovering from surgery.’ Bastien gave her a slow smile.

‘This just needs mental energy – I may not be ready to run a marathon or go another round with you, but my mind is as sharp as it normally is. You may remember I took a full report from Lewis only a day or so after the operation.’ Sophia rose and gave him a peck on the cheek

‘You are phenomenal’ she murmured, and got out of bed, putting on the nightdress and some soft thick socks. ‘Am I dressed modestly enough not to distract you?’ she asked impishly

‘Never’ he said ‘But I am focused on the job in hand, and you will be shortly’ Picking up the mugs of hot chocolate, he lead the way to the study. For the next half hour they pored over news reports and headlines. The press had reacted well to the rebuttals over the reputation of the various suitors and issued an apology, and despite Madeleine's effort to make herself out to be blameless, the field had been levelled. The papers and TV were chastened by the King’s protestation as to the innocence of all the suitors and were cautious not to print or broadcast anything unsubstantiated.

What followed was speculation over the provision of an heir – and the retractions had set the tone for how the media treated the story. Only the most reactionary anti monarchy outlets – of which mercifully were few – had been anything less than respectful.

‘Okay’ said Sophia ‘Now what we need to do is make out another statement for the King saying that the issue of the provision of an heir has to remain confidential in order to protect all those involved. We need to find a reason to have all the suitors in one place but under protection so that the Press won’t hound them or work out that Olivia is spending extra time with him. We need to keep that going until she falls pregnant, and give her some time for the pregnancy to be viable – an early announcement would not be a good idea.’

‘That sounds good – we can work out with his Majesty how to keep everyone together. Have you any ideas so far?’

‘Some sort of tour similar to the social season, but concentrating on listening to the views of the common people in each duchy – a series of charity events for a deserving cause in each location would improve public relations, and I’m sure it’s the sort of thing Liam would be happy to support’

‘Sophia, that is an excellent idea, and I propose that we visit some of the minor duchies that didn’t field a suitor – such as Duke Rashad’s Domvallier and Lord Neville’s Commery Isles. I’ve had some interesting information as to the source of the leaking of the photographs but it needs more investigation.’ Sophia yawned

‘I have the feeling our sleep schedule is going to be rather unconventional for the next few days’ she said. ‘I’ll write Liam’s speech and you can check it over and show it to him at breakfast. If he releases it this morning it will be in the afternoon papers – and on TV and the internet immediately. After that we need to brainstorm about the charity tour’

‘It will have to be put to the Council of Nobles, but who can turn down the chance to be seen as a benevolent leader by encouraging local charities?’

Sophia got to work drafting out a speech, and Bastien went back to his office to leave a note for Lewis when he got back to work. The Council of Nobles were sent for to discuss the charity tour, and Bastien mulled over the information he had gleaned from Fydelia.

By the time Liam woke and had breakfast in his suite, Sophia had the speech ready, and he approved it. He didn’t need the Council’s approval to propose the charity tour, but organising it would need a lot of work liaising with the various duchies. Bastien moved on to the matter of the leaked photographs.

‘Some of my men are questioning the reporters who released the photos and tracking them back, but it may take time to get to the source.’ Liam nodded ‘Sir, it seems that Lady Adelaide had something to do with the leaking of the photographs. I presume she was angered by your rejection of her daughter. You of course had a full set of and you still have them, so there must have been at least one more set, or they were copied before you received them. I’m currently trying to discover who had access to the photographs apart from Constantine. I’m afraid Regina is our most likely suspect – the fact that she is related to Adelaide and Madeleine makes that even more likely that she was complicit, so I need your permission to question her.’ Liam frowned.

‘I’d like to question her myself’ he said ‘Informally of course’

‘With respect Sir, I feel that although you may be sensitive and sympathetic toward the Queen Mother, you may not be objective. You are welcome to be present when she’s questioned, of course. Sophia suggested you make your statement as soon as you can get members of the press assembled, then we can turn our attentions to Regina’ The King agreed and his aide Geoffrey made a call to admit a selection of reporters in to the Palace.

Bastien went back to the security suite to talk to Lewis, who was drinking black coffee.

‘So, let’s go over what we know already.’ Lewis said as Bastien took his place at the desk ‘Initially it’s thought that Constantine had only one set of photographs, which were kept in his safe. Only Constantine had the code to the safe, but he may have secreted some sort of reminder or clue to that code somewhere. We believe they were the only set because they were put in an envelope for Liam to open on his death. Regina knew about those photographs and may well have known or guessed the code to the safe without Constantine’s knowledge. We don’t know if they were digital or on film with negatives. We’re still looking into who took the photographs and whether they kept copies even though Constantine stipulated he was to have sole ownership of the images.’ Lewis sighed and sat back and Bastien spoke next.

‘So we need to know who had copies of them, how they got them and who released them to the press. I know for certain that Lady Adelaide had a part in it – she made a phone call to an unknown person who had access to them and gave them over to the press. That may have been Regina, or it may have been someone else.’ Lewis raised his eyebrows at Bastien’s revelation.

‘So it could be Regina and Adelaide aiding Madeleine’s bid to be Queen, or they may just be helping someone with other motives. I’ve sent for Lady Adelaide, and we’ll be questioning both her and Regina. I have a team investigating the press – there must be some sort of trail that will help us discover how the sole set of photographs was copied.’ There was a knock on the door and James entered

‘Sir, Regina is refusing to come to the interrogation suite. She insists that she wants to be interviewed in her quarters’ Bastien frowned.

‘I’m not allowing that – we have total control in our room. James, go to Liam and get him to order Regina to do as we request. Remind him that if she complied in getting the photographs copied or released she could be guilty of treason against him.’ James nodded and left. Bastien sighed. If Regina was going to be difficult, it would be a long day.

------

After Liam’s statement about the Charity tour and Regina’s interrogation Bastien returned to his suite. He had been awake for a long time and had had a snatched sandwich for lunch, and needed to rest. His thigh ached and he found it painful making his way back. Regina had denied tampering with the photographs – she said she hadn’t reproduced them or handled them at all and didn’t have access to the safe. One of the guards had been tasked with sifting through security footage in Constantine’s suite covering the safe where the photographs had been kept. Adelaide would be arriving later, and he needed to regroup before he talked to her.

Sophia was there to greet him. Immediately she saw he was hurting, and offered to draw a bath for him to ease his thigh. He sat in an easy chair and she massaged it for him, trying to hide her concern. He looked tired and she thought he was being thrown back into the thick of Palace intrigue before he was strong enough for it. The massage and bath worked well, and he sat in his reclining chair again, this time to take a power nap. He knew from past experience if he lay flat in bed he would sleep too soundly and be groggy when he woke up. He only needed a half hour nap and he’d be re-energised.

------

Later on, he waited in the interrogation room for Adelaide. She looked a little pale, but tossed her head flirtatiously when she saw him.

‘Why Mr Lykel, if I’d known it was you wanting to talk to me we could have gone somewhere more – private’ she said, reaching across the table toward him. He sat back, showing her that flirting was not going to work.

‘I would rather have done this privately, but for the serious nature of the matter in hand, Lady Adelaide’ he said gravely ‘I have reason to believe that you set in motion a process that was intended to make Lady Madeleine the only credible choice of suitor for King Liam.’ Adelaide pouted

‘What’s wrong with a mother trying to make the most of her daughter’s assets? She’s plainly the best choice for Queen and I’m certain Maddy would allow Liam to have a Cordonian marriage and have his choice of lovers’ she retorted

‘It is most definitely wrong when false accusations are made against other women – accusations that harm their reputation and cause them distress’ Adelaide shrugged and didn’t say anything. ‘You don’t deny making a call that resulted in the release of scurrilous photographs to the Press?’ She sighed

‘It would have blown over once Maddy was Queen. We’re not living in Victorian times, a few saucy headlines won’t permanently ruin their marriage prospects’

‘Nonetheless, the photographs involved were known to be in the possession of the former King, and anyone gaining access to them is a security risk and possibly liaising with those who wish to do harm to the monarchy. We’re looking at possible charges of treason’ Adelaide grew pale.

‘I – I didn’t think it was that serious’ she stuttered.

‘In that case you won’t mind telling me who you contacted so we can find out who got hold of the photographs’ Adelaide wrung her hands together

‘Well the problem is – I’m not really sure’ she pleaded. Bastien clenched his jaw and waited for her to explain. ‘It’s – delicate’ she said, leaning closer and lowering her voice.

‘This interview is being recorded, Lady Adelaide’ he replied ‘Please speak clearly’ She shook her head.

‘No, I’m not having this recorded’ she said ‘I’ll tell you in confidence, Mr Lykel, but I won’t have my private life exposed. Please’ She gazed at him pleadingly. He sighed heavily

‘Will you at least tell me in front of my second in command?’ he asked. She nodded, her face pale. He made a gesture and Lewis turned off the recorder.

‘Very well Adelaide, and this had better be the truth, or you will be charged with treason’ he warned her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

‘Well, I have a lover – he’s – well he’s dominant. I – I’ve never seen his face, he always wears a mask, and I don’t know his name.’ Bastien remained stony faced, inwardly rolling his eyes. Her sexual escapades were her weakness and had gotten her in to trouble on more than one occasion. She went on, biting her lip ‘He’s said things to me before – about what a good Queen Maddy would make, and that he could make sure that it happened. Maddy came home the other night and told me Liam had called everything off. I was so upset – I called him and told him all about it’ Her eyes reddened and she dabbed at them with a tissue. ‘I didn’t know about the photographs, I had no idea how he was going to make things happen. I’m sorry the others were hurt, truly I am’ Bastien nodded

‘I believe you, but you must give us details of how you contacted your ah, lover.’ he said sternly ‘Do you think you could identify him if you heard his voice – is he Cordonian, do you think, or does he have an accent?’

‘Oh he’s Cordonian, and yes, I think I could identify him by his voice. But please, I do need to be discreet. Gordon may overlook my indiscretions – after all lord knows he has his own – but I don’t want it splashed all over the…’ her voice trailed off as she realised what she had set in motion for the other suitors.

Bastien nodded to Lewis to turn the recording equipment on again

‘Thankyou Lady Adelaide, for the record you’re going to supply us with the contact details we’ve asked for. Your cooperation is appreciated.’

------

Later, after Adelaide had left to go and settle into the suite she would be sharing with Madeleine, Bastien spoke to Lewis. In truth, the phone number she had given them wouldn’t tell them much. They had secured a promise from her that she would notify them the next time she was due to call him – she called at regular intervals – and they would monitor and try to trace the call’s location. They checked in with James, who was checking security footage for anyone who might have tampered with the safe. He looked weary and his eyes were red from sleeplessness, but he had stuck to his task with stoicism.

‘I think I have something’ he said ‘One of the maids made a habit of moving a large vase in front of one of the security cameras when she cleaned Constantine’s study, but she fell foul of one of the other hidden cameras. I can’t directly see exactly what she was doing, but she was in the vicinity of the safe for a suspiciously long period of time on more than one occasion. I just need to double check the time stamps and the duty rosters for the cleaning teams – but I think we have our culprit’

‘Good man’ Bastien said, leaning on the desk to watch the footage James had picked out ‘Who is it?’

‘I’m not entirely sure, but I think it’s a young maid called Lisa’ he said ‘Shall I call her in for questioning? I don’t know if she’s on site but it won’t take long to find out.’

‘We need to verify her identity first’ Bastien chided ‘Cross check with the work schedules. I have an idea Drake is friendly with her, and Sophia also, I’ll call them to ID her.’

It was discovered that indeed it was Lisa who had been seen on the security cameras. Checking other footage, she was seen to take an envelope identical to the one left for Liam out of her bag to check it when leaving the Palace. The next day she had spent another suspicious length of time in Constantine’s study while cleaning it. It was not quite enough to be certain proof, but Bastien had a strong case against her. She wasn’t in the Palace so he asked housekeeping to call her in for an extra shift, saying there were unexpected visitors and she was needed to clean some of the empty suites – which was true, as that afternoon it was expected that the Council of nobles would approve Liam’s plan for the Charity tour and all the suitors would be called on to gather to plan the itinerary and travel together.

------

Sure enough, the young woman turned up on time, and she was watched every step of the way. As she approached the store cupboard to pick up fresh linen, Bastien strolled along the corridor as if by accident.

‘Good afternoon – Lisa, isn’t it?’ he asked her pleasantly as she clutched the list of supplies she needed. ‘Could you step into my office please?’ She looked puzzled.

‘I’m very busy Mr Lykel – can it wait until the end of my shift?’ she asked. He shook his head and stepped forward to take her elbow

‘I’m afraid not, I need to ask you some questions’ A look of panic crossed her face and she tried to pull away from him. He gripped her firmly, and one of his men, Parker, appeared from round the corner to block her should she try to run away.

In the interrogation suite, Lisa dissolved into tears. She had been coerced into breaking into the safe after stumbling across the code in a piece of paper that fell out of a book when she was cleaning. Bastien pressed her as to who had asked her to get the photos, but she clamped her mouth shut and said she was afraid that she’d be killed for telling.

‘Lisa, we will protect you if you tell us who it is’ Bastien assured her ‘This is a serious matter – you could be prosecuted for treason and either serve time in prison, or be exiled permanently. We can be lenient if you help us’ Lisa looked terrified.

‘I – I can’t tell you who it was’ she sniffled ‘I never saw him. He’s a member of the Sons of the Earth. I have a phone number, that’s all’

‘But Lisa, why did you do it?’ he asked ‘When you were interviewed you swore you’d serve the Crown – and you also signed a non disclosure agreement. You’re in a lot of trouble, my dear’

‘I – I’m sorry, here have my phone, the number’s there, under ‘Boris’ She held it out, but Bastien sat with his arms crossed.

‘Write it down for me’ he said

‘But – if you call him from another number he’ll know it’s not me’ she protested

‘I wouldn’t worry about that, Lisa’ he said flatly ‘We have our ways’ She took her phone back and Bastien started to reach for paper and pen, but as he did, Bastien spotted something that made his blood run cold – a button inset in the side, something that didn’t belong on that model of phone. He shouted out a warning to Parker to get down as he threw himself onto the floor under the metal table. Lisa pressed the button and a loud explosion rocked the tiny room…

Next chapter 4 Two’s Company, Three’s more fun

#protect and serve #silver service #bastien lykel #trr bastien #sophia x bastien #OC x Bastien #the royal romance au #royal romance fanfic

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riseandshinelittleblossom · 6 years ago

Text

Kinky Cards- Cordonians Gone Wild Edition

This is part of a collaborative AU created by @leelee10898 @speedyoperarascalparty @ao719 and @cocomaxley Thanks for letting me join the club girls! This is the introduction to a little mini-series we’ve decided to do. Hope you all enjoy!

Cordonians Gone Wild Master List

Disclaimer: I don’t own the TRR characters, they own me.

Taglist: @annekebbphotography @fullbeaumonty @choiceslife @stopforamoment @moneyfordiamonds @carabeth @give-me-ernest-sinclaire @3pawandme @ooo-barff-ooo @tornbetween2loves @editboutique @wannabemc2 @zaffrenotes @enmchoices @lodberg @lauradowning29

It was Pam's birthday and Stephanie and Maxwell had thrown her a surprise party in their new home. Most of the guests had already left for the night, leaving the incredibly intoxicated squad to their own devices.

“I have an idea. Savannah gave me this gift. I haven't opened it yet. She said to open it with my best friend and that it changed her entire life. You guys game? I mean you're all my best friends.” Stephanie asked in her usual drunken twang.

The group agreed and she disappeared down the hallway.

Maxwell was topping off everyone's glasses with yet another party punch concoction when his wife returned with a small white box topped with a crimson ribbon. She placed it on the coffee table, gingerly untying the bow.

“Its... they're sex cards. Now I just feel stupid. She meant open them with Maxwell.” She giggled, cheeks flushing slightly.

“Well hold on just a second. We're all adults here, and friends. Let me take a look at those.” Leo said, waving his fingers in a “give me” motion. Stephanie handed the deck to him and he silently flipped through a few before he scoffed.

“Psh. You guys would never try these. Any of you. Pegging, a golden shower…. You're all too tame in the sack, I think.”

“Those are some big words, brother. Care to make a wager on that?” Liam quirked an eyebrow as he reached for the cards.

“They can't be that bad. Bertrand did them.” Maxwell said and everyone else shuddered.

“Thanks for that mental image, Beaumont. The last thing I ever wanted to think about is Bertrand “golden showering” my sister.” Drake scowled as he downed his drink in one gulp.

“Maybe she showered him.” Maxwell shrugged, cackling at Drake's discomfort.

Drake balled his fist and gritted his teeth. “Collect your husband now, Stef. Or collect his teeth from the floor later.”

Pam placed a hand on her husband's shoulder as Stephanie shot hers a warning glare.

As Liam and Anitah read over some of the choices the queen piped up, “I think this could be fun. Each couple could choose a card for another couple. We could make it a game.”

“I don't know if I'm comfortable letting you all decide what goes on in my bedroom.” Rashad stated.

Genevieve took the cards from Liam and flipped through a few with Rashad reading over her shoulder. “It's okay, sweetheart. These could be fun.” She agreed. She held up one card in particular. “Here,Anitah. A challenge fit for the king and queen.”

Anitah took the card and she and Liam examined it. “Anitah is the doll.” Rashad smirked.

“Oh, well... I think I will rather enjoy being the queen's puppet master for once.” Liam gave his wife a sly smile, licking his lips as she blushed.

“Alright, let me and Red pick one.” Maxwell grabbed the cards from Gen and read them over.

“Stop! That one riiiiight there. Ultimate bondage.Your partner ties your hands and legs, so you cannot move, and covers your eyes and ears. Then for 40 min your partner uses you as he/she pleases. This has Leo and Alicia written all over it.” Stephanie handed the card to her friends while her husband passed the deck to Pam.

A wicked grin spread across Leo's face.

"Oh that's something we can definitely work with, hmm love?" "Why does this both excite and scare the shit out of me?" Alicia asked.

"I think Stef and Max are much more open in the bedroom than anyone thinks. So...maybe they would like to do this one. Plus one..." Pam mused.

“Plus one? What?” Drake took the card and read it to himself as a crimson blush crept across his face. He slid the card across the coffee table to his cousin. Stephanie and Maxwell shared an excited smile. “Please feel free to share zero details of that threesome with me.” Drake shook his head.

The slowly shrinking deck was passed back to the king and he thumbed through it.

“This! Drake and Pam! Drop It. For a full day of your partner’s choice, when he/she says “Drop It”, you must drop your pants down (or lift up your skirt) and have sex for at least 2 minutes.” Anitah told them handing Drake the card.

“Pam has to drop it.” Liam said with a deadpan stare.

Drake leaned over pulling the king into a tight hug. “This. This is why you're my best friend. Fuck yes.”

The deck made it's way to Leo and Alicia and they read the cards carefully.

“Plugged. Let your partner use a butt plug on yourself. Keep it there for at least 10 minutes.” Leo grinned and Rashad chuckled.

“If Rashad is okay with a butt plug, fine.” Gen decided folding her arms across her chest. Rashad's eyes were like saucers as he looked over at Leo. “Pick. A. Different. Card.” He commanded.

“Okay, Gen. Your partner chooses a pose from Kama Sutra and you must perform it as it says for at least 7 minutes.” Alicia read.

Gen blushed profusely, taking the card from her.

“Oh, this is definitely happening.” Rashad laughed.

“That's all of us then. I guess we can all reconvene on spa day and share all the deets.” Stephanie smiled as the guys all smirked, rubbing their hands together.

“I'm sure the stories to follow will be veeeeeery interesting.” Maxwell mused.

#cordonians gone wild AU #cgw au #trr fanfic #mini series #maxwell x stephanie #drake x pam #liam x anitah #leo x alicia #rashad x genevieve #trr drake walker #trr liam rhys #trr leo rhys #trr rashad #trr maxwell beaumont

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odindiana35-blog · 6 years ago

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The Hidden Treasure of Love of Rashad

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In its rebuttal, Microsoft has made a decision to concentrate on the smugness, refusing to inject any trendy-ness in their image.

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dlkardenal · 5 years ago

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Behind the Scalpel #3 Setting the foundations

Hey there, traveler!

Dar here with another episode of our favorite penguin telling stories clutching a weapon-sized medical tool. Today’s topic starts with one of our dear friends and important beta readers. He just finished reviewing the first draft of our WIP and the familiar itch to write came over him, so he asked us a question – how do you start?

So let’s talk about that, shall we?

A few disclaimers first: we are not a writing advice blog, and we never will be.

There are plenty of those around the web if you’re looking for some, I’m sure they’re easy enough to find because they are literally everywhere. This is more like a fireside story of how we did it and someone may find a few moments here and there that rings a bell or inspire them.

Still here? Awesome! Let me show you around…

I. Our writing style

Before we started creating our little book-baby, we already had a few years of experience roleplaying on play-by-post forums, so we pretty much knew what type of writers we are. Mainly, we are the type that doesn’t outline. Yes, that’s a thing and no, it is not the devil. You don’t HAVE to outline, some people can’t stick to a plan and like to explore the story as it unfolds through the characters. This is especially true for the co-writing method we used, which I talked about in a previous reply, but if anyone’s interested chuck me a reply and I’ll gladly elaborate again.

II. The world

But still, there were a few things we wrote down in a really pretty, ornate notebook. These were the “do”s and the “don’t”s. They are pretty self-explanatory: the “do”s were a bunch of concepts we insisted on putting into the book (to be more concrete, the “do”s were Arabic aesthetics, the appearance of djinn and A thousand and one night type of magic, a kingdom destroyed in a magical cataclysm leaving a desert and the few surviving cities). The “don’t”s were things we detested in other books so we tried to avoid these (things like forced love triangles, the chosen one trope, over the top mythical animals, a prophecy about the end of the world). When we finished this little brainstorm over a cup of green tea, we had ourselves the broad outline (well, not really but sorta) of a world.

III. The main character

Now came the exciting part and a point where our roleplayer past kicked in – we needed a POV character. We decided that Lory would control and act out this character throughout the story while I lob plot-related things and sexy mercenaries towards her, so she came up with the idea of our main character, Zaira. To start with she wrote a page-long text about Zaira smoking hookah in a luxurious villa and trying really hard to forget something in her past. Reading her thoughts two things became obvious: first, that Zaira (or Zee as we call her among ourselves) was a type of djinn that should’ve been able to control air, but she for some reason couldn’t. Second, that she worked as the assistant and adopted daughter of a perfume maker because the only superhuman power she had was an overly sensitive smell. That was all I needed to start and formulate a story.

IV. The inciting incident.

My first thought was some kind of murder-mystery. Maybe an important man was killed, a nobleman and his wife, and the murder weapon was a poisonous gas. Maybe the nobleman’s surviving son saw a young woman, so the city’s law enforcers think Zaira as a perfumer created the gas and know they are trying to blame, imprison, or even execute her.

That was the first idea, so I picked up the scene of Zee in a hookah party and threw a benevolent but serious law enforcer at her. This was Rashad, one of the more important side characters, a soldier tasked with finding the killer. Then all we had to do was act out how would the characters react. What would Rashad ask? What would Zee answer? Would she cooperate? Would Rashad believe her? From that point on we just kept acting out the characters, I swtiched from Rashad to some other faces you’ll meet eventually on our blog and I kept adding random tidbits to the story until it started to take shape. Of course there were a lot (I mean a LOT) of bad ideas, which needed rooting out. So before I weaved something into a scene I always asked Lory out-of-character what he thought about my newly made-up idea. When I got the green light I smashed it against the story and the part that didn’t scrape off on the already existing lore became our new building block. This was the same if she had an idea we could add, and that was the way we discovered our story.

Well, this is kind of it for now. I know it’s a bit shorter than our last post, but you get the gist of it.

Some take-home messages I wanted to pass: outlining is not the only way, writers are not Mandalorians. There are many ways. Also, it is a good strategy to just dump everything you want and don’t want in your story on a blank page, then mold it into a more or less functioning world, then create a character to explore it and flood him/her with every possible fuckup that can happen. Then just write until a new idea flashes your mind, try that idea against the already settled things and if it fits, go for it! Just keep your character’s personality in mind so they don’t do something unthinkable and unbelievable. Once again I must say this is not a writing advice post, so don’t go burning your manuscript if you’re not doing it like this. Go, find your own path, but if you try how we did it and succeed in jumping into your story, definitely message me so we can cheer together!

Also, we are toying with the idea of releasing the first book in pieces on Wattpad (either the whole thing our a few chapters to give a little taste), so if you’re interested in what that little first scene in the hookah place turned into, please let us know! But if you think that’s a terrible idea and we should sooner hit ourselves with a hammer, then don’t keep that to yourself either!

Dar

#writerblr #writebl #writing #bts #writing wip #current wip #writers #writers of tumblr #writing community

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feisty-mary · 7 years ago

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Reasons Why Marrying William Sloan Is the Best Decision of Your Life (Part 2)

Wow, Part 1 made me realize that there are more people who romanced Mr. Sloan than I originally thought! I just have to say, congratulations on your good taste in men. ;)

To those who have expressed interest in replaying the books to choose this sexy businessman, DO IT! YOU WON’T REGRET IT. Mr. Sloan is a total sweetheart who will sweep you off your feet and raise your expectations of partners so high it’s practically a crime.

Notes.

- From this point on I’ll refer to the businessman as Mr. Sloan, as he is more familiarly known.

- Read Part 1 before proceeding with this part. They both cover the first book, and most points are interconnected.

—————————————————————————

4. Book 1, Chapter 3. During their date in Venice, Mr. Sloan takes MC to Ristorante Oliviero for the best Italian food in the city. Without asking MC, he orders for her.

MC readily calls him out on it. “excuse u?? I can speak for myself and vote and own land and open a checking account? why are you bossing me around like I wanna choke on your dick??? oh wait”

Mr. Sloan is unfazed, although he tells MC to trust him in this particular instance. We let it go begrudgingly, although to be fair, the food he orders turns out to be amazing.

You have to admit, this kind of behavior on your first date raises a lot of red flags. Who wants to be in a relationship with a guy who decides for you without your permission?

To make sense of this, we fast forward to Book 1, Chapter 11, where something similar happens. Here Mr. Sloan returns to the cruise ship for his second date with MC. Honestly at this point I’m not even complaining because he flies back to her as soon as he can just to take her to Paris for a date??

Admittedly, he surprises her under the assumption that MC will readily agree/has nothing planned for the rest of the day herself. (Although, to be fair, surprises do have a way of ruining your own plans. That’s kind of the point!)

Here we’re given the option to tell him that he can’t expect us to leave for the Paris trip at a moment’s notice. A good option, too, since we’re trying to be as lowkey thirsty as possible we get to remind him that respect for each other’s time is kind of a thing. Besides, if you’re going to start a relationship with someone you might as well establish a list of acceptable and unacceptable bullshit between the two of you early on, right?

When MC calls him out, his reaction is surprising; he looks positively contrite. The panels above show him acknowledging his mistake, his tone completely different from when we first call him out in Book 1, Chapter 3. What’s more, he inadvertently reveals that he’s been listening to MC, after all, particularly about that advice to “let loose”. We don’t see him dance until Book 1, Chapter 18 (refer to reason 3 in Part 1), but it is clear even at this point how he’s making an attempt to match MC’s adventurousness and spend more time with her.

Just to put that in perspective, it’s useful to remember that he’s a CEO. In that particular line of work there is very little room for anything messes with plans, blueprints, and established timelines. That he is willing to make time for MC despite his busy schedule (because those meetings were probably scheduled months in advance and rescheduling them would be hell) says something about how much he must really consider being with her as his priority.

What I really want to underscore is how these separate chapters show us Mr. Sloan’s learning curve when it comes to romancing MC - and it’s clear he learns pretty darn fast. I had misgivings about his reaction to us calling him out on his take-charge attitude in Book 1, Chapter 3 but I like how it seems to have been deliberately written that way so we can see how he learns from it several chapters later.

He gets even better at it by the time we reach Book 2, Chapter 16, the night when he proposes to MC for the second time. He surprises her when he shows up at Nomade, and what do you know, this time he directly asks if she has plans for the evening before inviting her to Casablanca.

Did you see that? Yes, that’s character development.

5. Because Mr. Sloan is simply the best kind of life partner anyone can possibly ask for. Book 1 Chapter 18 reveals a lot about what we can expect from him as MC’s husband. As I’ve pointed out in reason 1 of Part 1, one of the things I really like about him is his foresight and how it always comes into play even in his relationship with MC, consistent with his work as an investor. He’s always thinking long term.

One of the ways the conversation with Mr. Sloan in this chapter is so distinctively him is that he doesn’t talk much about feelings anymore. That’s not to say he doesn’t reiterate them, because he does, at least in the beginning. But they don’t take up most of the things that’s said between him and MC.

What do they talk about, though? Well, they talk about important questions in relationships, like where they will live in the future and what MC thinks of having kids (in fact, this surprises MC herself, as shown in the panels below). Perhaps not everyone will agree with me on this, but the way I see it is that this man is already absolutely certain of what he feels for MC. As far as he’s concerned, the dating phase is done, which is why he’s already set that aside and moved on to the next one: planning their future together. Whatever MC’s misgivings might be, it’s clear at this point that Mr. Sloan has given their relationship some pretty serious consideration.

It’s also worth noting that when MC asks him what he thinks their future will look like, he tells her that she can tell him what she wants and he will just make them come true.

In Book 2, Chapter 8, he even goes as far as asking her, “hypothetically speaking”, where his next vacation house should be located.

Going back to reason 4 above makes it easier to see how Mr. Sloan’s character develops - he changes from someone who will make MC’s dietary choices for her to someone who looks at her as a partner with whom he can plan a future life together. It’s these small things, these subtle changes in his words and actions that tell us he’s been paying attention and learning from his interaction with MC. That perhaps their time together has actually changed him, and as cliche as it sounds, maybe even changed him for the better.

6. Mr. Sloan owns a winery. That’s literally it; who the hell turns down someone who owns a goddamn winery? Oh, and by the way? He names a bottle of wine after MC.

7. Because he knows his priorities, and it’s MC above anything else. In Book 2, Chapter 9, Rashad, Mr. Sloan’s very own best friend, warns MC that there’s a very big price to pay in being in a relationship with a CEO.

As hostile as Rashad delivers his warning, he makes a very valid point. Book 2, Chapter 9 perfectly underscores this when MC asks Mr. Sloan to go back to bed with her but he sadly turns her down, telling her he has to prepare for another business trip.

Before the chapter draws to a close, MC considers this silently, wondering if Rashad is right for warning her after all.

Surprisingly enough, in Book 2, Chapter 17, we see Mr. Sloan bite the bullet and very openly discuss Rashad’s thoughts on his relationship with MC.

I admit I did not see this coming; I thought it would be one of the things they’d conveniently overlook to give some sort of disadvantage to a potential relationship with Mr. Sloan. I mean, at least give the other suitors a fighting chance, Mr. Sloan?? lmao~

True to his nature as a businessman who most likely considers all angles of a particular negotiation before proceeding, Mr. Sloan talks to MC about his work-life balance and asks her what she thinks of it.

We try to be subtle about it, but suddenly Mr. Sloan says these magic words: “Consider it gone.”

Even MC does a double-take. Because… well, he can’t do that! He can’t just set aside his businesses for MC! Excuse me?? That’s like… totally sweet and romantic I cannot believe?????

I swear I didn’t cry. Maybe.

8. Because his proposals are so on point! Mr. Sloan proposed twice to my MC Alyanna because I’ve been loyal to him since the first book hahaha. Let me just spend some time on these proposals because they’re both beautiful and so well-thought-out.

Book 1, Chapter 19. First proposal.

I didn’t realize this until I was almost done with this list, but all the points I’ve listed up until now are mentioned and/or alluded to in his marriage proposal. I don’t want to gloat (who am I kidding, I totally do), but I can say with 100% confidence that our businessman’s first marriage proposal is the best of them all.

For example, he gather’s MC’s family members to witness the whole thing. One of the key themes in Rules of Engagement is family, and the first book does a good job at letting us see the strong bond between the four siblings. This being said, I thought it was very smart and thoughtful of Mr. Sloan to call them to witness what is arguably one of the most significant moments in MC’s life. It appears he knows what’s important to MC and he considers them important to him, too.

He also talks about how being with her has changed him, particularly about him dancing, as I’ve discussed in Part 1. In the left panel below, he mentions how MC makes him laugh, but also that she calls him out, unlike other people who appear to be intimidated by “Mr. Sloan from magazines”. I found this to be a nice touch; it gives the feeling that we’ve gone full circle and the time spent with him really helped build up their relationship.

The (intended?) symbolism is a nice, touch, too - Mr. Sloan proposes in the same place where he first met MC. If we go back to Book 1, Chapter 2, his very own words on the night they meet is “I’m not proposing that we get engaged. I just want to take you out for a romantic night. No strings attached.” Funny how he comes to propose many chapters later, at the very same restaurant and to the very same woman whom he once said those words to.

This is equal parts adorable and amusing.

In the left panel above, Mr. Sloan recalls the unfortunate (but absolutely hilarious) mix-up during his date with MC in Paris. It’s funny because you can tell he’s been thinking about that little mishap since it happened, and yes, his thoughts all along must have been, “Holy shit that was very embarrassing I swear I will never do that in my life.”

And yet here he is, several weeks (?) later, proposing in front of MC’s family and friends and possibly other people from the cruise. And you know what? He does it anyway. He braves his embarrassment and his discomfort anyway, because he’s decided that it’s okay, because it makes him the happiest, too.

It’s also interesting how he says, “Now, I’d like to put myself out here on a limb for once.” If we want to be very technical about it, “putting someone out on a limb” means “being in a dangerous position” or “doing something risky”. Well, okay, you say. Proposing is inherently risky, isn’t it, because there’s always a chance you’ll get turned down? Mr. Sloan is just acknowledging that fact.

Except, you have to remember he’s a businessman. Taking risks is literally what he does for a living. And if his wealth is any indication, he’s a very successful risk-taker. I actually interpret this as a very subtle way of him telling us how compared to closing business deals, he considers proposing to MC as probably one of the riskiest things he has ever done in his life hahaha.

Book 2, Chapter 17. Second proposal.

I was kidding; of course both of Mr. Sloan’s proposals to MC are better than the others! ;) If anything, his proposal in the Sahara is even better than his first one, because not only does he mention the moments they share together, he also mentions the times they don’t - and how even those form part of the reasons why he wants to spend the rest of his life with MC.

The four panels above show just how much MC has changed him, and I adore it.

But, of course, just to be fair to Mr. Sloan, we tell him this isn’t necessary. My MC isn’t here to impose anything on him, so she tells him he doesn’t have to change for her. He gives what is arguably the best response, as shown in the panels below.

Thank you, Mr. Sloan, for wanting to be that person who will dance with me in my lame black dress in a piazza in Venice. *wipes tears*

The rest of his proposal is absolutely magic, just like how he sees MC in his life.

I told myself I would let the panels above speak for themselves but ohmygod can we just acknowledge how much punch they pack because you can definitely tell that Mr. Sloan is speaking from the heart. This is exactly their love story. It’s a simple tale of two people finding someone whom they can dance in a piazza with, whom they constantly think about even when they’re far apart, and whom they’ll willingly make sacrifices for, because they put them as priority above all others.

It’s not all that complicated, but then again whoever said the best love stories need to be? ;)

BONUS!

9. This isn’t exactly a reason but I just wanted to add that Mr. Sloan planned the second proposal for weeks! Planning is his thing, okay, he’s good at that and he has plenty of money to show for it lmao. Here’s his hella cute reaction when we point this out (MC: “You’ve been planning this for weeks?”).

Dear @ god just please let me marry him already??

Also hey isn’t it funny that Mr. Sloan proposed to us in the Sahara? ahahahaha was our thirst that obvious?????

—————————————————————————

Okay, that’s it, folks! This took a while but I hope you enjoyed this because I did! Thanks for reading and please don’t hesitate to shoot me a holler if you wanna squeal about Mr. Sloan! ;)

#william x mc #rules of engagement #william sloan #playchoices #choices stories you play #reasons why marrying william sloan is the best decision of your life #i'm so fucking tired goddammit william i swear if i didn't love you as much as i do #i probably missed some points but what part of mr. sloan is perfect do you not understand #fucking finally i can focus on school because this is done ahahaha #leaving something unfinished stresses me out #seriously tho i can't wait to marry william sloan let me live pb!!#I have feelings

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alj4890 · 5 years ago

Text

A Second Chance

(Thomas Hunt x oc*Amanda)

A/N We are on our next to the last chapter! I can’t believe it. Amanda is at the royal palace talking to those she is closest to about what to do with her duchy. A decision is made that shocks everyone. Thanksgiving has come, and Thomas and Kathleen anxiously await her return, not knowing what is going on.

Masterlist

Catch up here with Chapter 8

Chapter 9

The Royal Palace, Cordonia…

“Amanda, I’ve gone through everything.” Rashad began. “There is no legal precedence that says that Kathleen cannot be named the heir of St Orella.” He grimaced somewhat. “But according to the history of the few houses that placed an illegitimate child as the heir,” He lowered his eyes, “their estates and people suffered financially.”

“The lands were reverted back to the crown.” Liam added. “Though they were able to retain their noble titles, they had nothing else left of their inheritance. Past rulers took those estates and gave them to others that they believed deserved them and granted them new titles.”

Amanda nodded in understanding. “That was what my research revealed.” She took the offered glass of whiskey Drake pressed into her hand. “I had hoped that perhaps there was something here in the royal archives that proved that one could be successful.”

Olivia continued pacing around the study. “I don’t give a damn what the other nobles think! Kathleen is the true heir and will be a better one than over half of these weak, narrowminded—”

“She shouldn’t have to fight against them.” Amanda mumbled after taking a gulp of her drink. She shuddered as it burned down her throat. “If anyone should face their derision then it’s me.” She lowered her eyes. “I’m the one who made all these decisions, not her.”

Maxwell reached over and grasped her hand. “Hey, maybe by the time that Kat inherits, the next generation of nobles will be more understanding.”

“You really expect children born from people like Madeleine and Neville to be more openminded?” Riley asked him.

Hana's brow puckered with worry. “What can we do?”

Amanda smiled sadly at her. “Nothing.” She set her glass down. “There’s nothing any of us can do to make it right.” She stood up and walked over to the window. The sight of the capital glittering at night used to fill her with a sense of peace. A sense of duty. Now she felt nothing. “I can’t fight generations of deep seeded prejudice and I don’t want her to have to fight it once I am gone.”

She let out a deep sigh and dropped the solution Lord Thurston had offered.

“NO!” Drake shouted. “You are not going to marry into that smug bastard's family!”

“How are you able to even say it calmly?” Maxwell asked. “Randolph is probably exactly like Neville!”

“Have you lost your mind?” Olivia spat. “Arranged marriages are never the solution!”

Hana remained calm and leaned forward, catching Amanda’s eye. “What about Thomas?”

The duchess ran her hands slowly down her face. “He asked me to marry him.”

Everyone smiled, ready to offer their congratulations. Then they noticed her lack of happiness and ring.

“You said no?” Maxwell whispered in disbelief.

“No. I didn’t give him an answer. I asked him to wait until I returned to discuss it.” She sank back down in her chair and finished off her drink. “I’m more in love with him than I was five years ago.” She lowered her head into her hands. "I needed to know what I could do about St Orella before I said yes."

“Then there is no possible way you can marry Randolph.” Riley decided for her. “Kathleen wouldn’t be able to inherit your duchy with him as a part of the equation. Thomas won’t let anyone take what is rightfully hers.”

“Even with Thomas and I fighting for her, it won’t matter.” Amanda explained. “I’ve spent nearly four weeks in meetings with various nobles. No one save for the ones in this room and Lord Cormery support or are willing to listen to me. Kathleen will face far worse once she is the duchess.”

Everyone sat back in their seats, pondering this problem with no solution.

“What are you going to do then? Marry Thomas and try to have another child to inherit the duchy?” Maxwell asked, unable to take another moment of the pressing silence in the room.

“No. I refuse to have Kathleen see her younger sibling take what should be hers. It will still seem like she is being punished for what I did. It might end up driving a resentful wedge between her and her sibling.” Amanda accepted the refill Drake handed her. “I’m not going to have another child just so that the duchy remains in my family. I want it to be a joyous occasion that isn’t fraught with need.”

Liam’s brow furrowed. “Then what are you going to do? Are you planning on letting it revert to the crown upon your death? Won’t that hurt Kathleen just as much?”

Amanda shook her head. “Not exactly.”

Rashad sat up straighter when she removed an ancient document from her bag.

“I brought this as a failsafe if we were unable to find a way for Kathleen to be the next duchess.” Amanda carefully unrolled it and handed it over to Liam.

He read through it and handed it over to Rashad. Both looked at her in surprise.

“You wish to do this? Right now?” Liam asked, his tone was soft and filled with sympathy.

“I do.” She replied, trying to keep her voice firm and decisive.

Rashad’s lips parted as he reread the legal document. “Who have you chosen?”

Her eyes drifted around the room and landed on Maxwell.

He looked at her questionably and then noticed Liam and Rashad staring at him. “What? What is it? Is something on me?”

Drake's impatience got the better of him. “Is anyone going to explain why we should be staring at Maxwell?”

"What is that Shahzy?" Hana asked of the paper in his hand.

Rashad laid it carefully on the table between the group. “Amanda is going to abdicate the duchy. The first Duke of St Orella had a stipulation added that the current heir can at any time do so and give it to a Cordonian noble who has no lands.”

Everyone stared with mouths agape at Maxwell.

His eyes widened. “Amanda…no…I can’t take your home and…no.” He shook his head. “It isn’t right!”

She reached over and grasped his hands. “You took care of it in my absence. When I met with some of the St Orellans , they did nothing but sing your praises. They are already loyal to you for stepping in during my time of need.” She squeezed his hands. “This is what I must do. I want to be with Thomas. The time I spent with him in California made me long for that to be my life. It was uncomplicated, and I think, I think that is what I need most. What Kathleen needs most. I want her life to be one of whatever she wants. Whether it is to continue her love of dancing, become a director like her father, or even if she wants to be a stay-at-home mother one day…I want her to have the freedom to do so.” Her lips curved proudly. “Besides, she will still inherit noble titles and lands from me from my other estates.”

Maxwell got up and hugged her tight. “You really think I’m the one you should entrust this too?”

“There’s no one else I trust more to continue the work my ancestors began.” She replied. "Maxwell, you have done so much for Cordonia. You deserve this. You brought Riley here for Liam. You helped clear her name so they could marry. You've been on more tours than I can count trying to rally the kingdom behind them. You even helped defeat terrorists! I can't think of anyone else I would be prouder of to take over my duchy."

Maxwell shook his head and tried to swallow down the emotion clogging his throat. People rarely pointed out the good things he had done, much less thought he deserved the recognition. He hugged her once more, softly saying his heartfelt thanks.

“A duke.” He mumbled once he sat back down. “Nadia is not going to believe that the estate she thought was the most beautiful in Cordonia will be ours.”

“I expect to see some paintings of St Orella in art galleries soon.” Amanda teased.

“I have no doubt she will create an entire show of just renderings of St Orella and the coastline.” He smiled warmly at her. “I honestly don’t know what to say to express how grateful I am.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “I don't know how to express how grateful I am with knowing I can walk away without any worries."

***************

Thanksgiving Day, St Orella…

“Any word from Amanda?” Rachel whispered.

Thomas shook his head. “None”

They both watched as Kathleen sat on her knees, looking out the window toward the drive leading to St Orella.

“Are you getting hungry, Kat?” Rachel called out.

“A little.” She replied. “But I want to wait until Mommy comes home.”

“She might be unable to come home today.” Thomas reminded her.

“She has to.” Kathleen told him without looking away from the window. “Uncle Stephen said Thanksgiving is about being with your family.”

“Remind me to have a few words with my husband.” Rachel muttered.

“Only after I have a few.” He snapped.

The one they were wishing to have a stern word or two came into the room.

“Turkey is nearly done.” Stephen said proudly. “Now all I need is to…” He noticed the angry expressions and slowly backed out of the room. “I, um, smell something burning.” He ran out of the room with his wife chasing after him.

Kathleen sighed and rested her chin on the back of the sofa.

Thomas sat down beside her. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

"No thank you." She mumbled. "I wish we were at your house."

His brow furrowed. "You do? Why?"

"Because Mommy didn't have to work so much." She turned her head to look at him. "I miss my room too."

He smiled at her. "It is a lovely room you created. I'm sure we can turn the one here into one you like."

She shook her head. "Hudson said I can't because of the," she frowned trying to remember what he said. "History."

"Ah." Thomas nodded. "I forgot about the preservation part."

Kathleen sighed again, turning her attention back outside. "I know Mommy wants to be here. She said she would miss me."

"It would be very difficult not to miss you." Thomas told her, pulling her into his arms. He gently patted her back as she settled her head on his shoulder.

"She said she would miss you too." Kathleen added with a yawn.

He smiled softly at hearing that. "I miss her very much."

Thomas continued to hold her, knowing she was exhausted. She had awakened early that morning wanting to help with Thanksgiving dinner. Her body soon relaxed and he could feel the slow deep breaths as she fell fast asleep.

Hudson appeared with a blanket and pillow. "Sir," he whispered, "if you want to lay her down over there," he nodded toward a sofa closer to the fireplace. "She should be able to rest while you wait."

"Thank you." Thomas whispered. He followed the butler and gently laid his daughter down. He smiled when she let out an irritated huff and curled up on her side, snuggling under the blanket he covered her with.

He returned to the window Kathleen had been keeping her vigil all afternoon.

It had been three days without Amanda here. She had called each evening, talking to Kathleen, asking how her day went. Then she would talk to him briefly.

He wasn't certain what was going on, but he couldn't help but feel hopeful when she told him each time, they said goodbye that she loved him.

That had to mean she was going to accept his marriage proposal.

He lost track of time as he stood at the window, watching dusk fall over the land, waiting to see the one he loved return. Just as he was about to leave and see about dinner, he finally saw car lights turning into the drive.

Thomas glanced over at Kathleen still asleep and strode out toward the front door. He went outside and waited for the car to stop.

Amanda opened her door before her driver could and smiled at him.

Before she could greet him, Thomas yanked her into his arms and kissed her.

"I missed you too." She said, holding him close.

He took her hands and stilled when he felt the ring. It was the only jewelry on her other than her watch.

"Amanda?" He whispered, looking down at the diamonds twinkling in the light of the sconces on either side of the front door.

"I want to marry you." She whispered back. "I always wanted to marry you."

He embraced her once again, overcome that he was going to have her forever.

Hudson cleared his throat, "Pardon me, your grace, sir; but Ms. Rachel has asked me to inform you that dinner is ready.”

The couple broke apart.

"Thank you, Hudson." Amanda paused. "Before I join them, I need you and the senior staff to meet with me in the study."

Hudson's brow furrowed at such an unusual request. "Is something wrong?"

"No." She said smiling. "Everything is exactly how it should be."

He bowed and went to do as she requested.

"Should I be with you when you tell them?" Thomas asked, thinking she was going to announce their engagement.

Amanda nodded, her smile still firmly in place. "Yes, I would like you there. I know you will have a number of questions after my news."

*****************

"Your grace!" Hudson exclaimed, in utter disbelief to her news. "This cannot be-”

"I no longer have that title." Amanda corrected. "You may refer to me by the title I inherited from my mother. I am now Lady Amanda Bridgerton, Countess of Lonsdale." Her eyes darted over to Thomas. "Soon to be Lady Hunt."

Thomas was dumbfounded by her announcement. Her servants were all in similar states of disbelief. Some offered their congratulations on her engagement, but none could believe that she was no longer their duchess.

"His grace, Lord Maxwell, will be here in the morning to begin taking over my duties." Amanda explained. "I am depending on all of you to give him the support and care you have given me and my family." She swallowed as tears filled her eyes. "I can think of no finer group of individuals to help Lord Maxwell during this transition."

Hudson stepped forward. "Your grace," he refused to call her anything else, "surely Lady Kathleen will sway the other nobles."

Amanda shook her head. "The last few weeks here have proven that she can't. None of us can." She stepped forward and took his hands. "Leaving St Orella is the best way for Thomas and me to raise her. Forcing her to have a life enduring insults and shuns would be a miserable blot upon the legacy of this house."

The servants gave up their arguments and quietly filed out of the study.

Amanda walked over and wrapped her arms around Thomas. "You've been awfully quiet."

He placed his arms around her, pulling her close. "I don't know what to say."

"You aren't thinking of calling off our engagement now that I am no longer a duchess, are you?" She teased.

He frowned at her for thinking that was remotely funny. "Of course not!"

"I am still a wealthy heiress." She continued, leaning up to kiss him. "So, I'm not coming to you completely without a dowry."

"I wouldn't care if you came with nothing." Thomas grumbled. "I want you and Kathleen. Nothing else matters."

She smiled at his irritation. "That's how I feel about you and Kathleen." She pressed her lips to his once more.

"Why didn't you tell me the nobles were giving you problems?" He asked.

"Because there was no need to make you feel as powerless as I did." She eased out of his arms. "It was ultimately up to me to decide who I should leave the duchy too."

"Perhaps Hudson is right. Maybe our marriage would convince the nobles that Kathleen--" Thomas paused when she shook her head.

"They won't. Most have already withdrawn their support." She said, her voice finally revealing her sadness. "And I believe that if we tried, you would end up hating me."

His eyes widened. "I could never hate you."

"My love," Amanda smiled softly, "you would begin to have bitterness towards me if I insisted we stay here and have Kathleen go through fruitless endeavors, all for a title and estate. It is not worth forcing her to have such a life. It isn't worth the stress it would place on our marriage." She reached for his hand. "I want us to have as normal of a life as we can in California."

He looked into her eyes, amazed at the depth of love she must have for Kathleen. For him. To walk away from a world, she had been a part of since birth, he thought his heart would burst with love and pride.

"She tugged him with her toward the door. "Let's go celebrate Kathleen's first Thanksgiving."

*****************

Rachel hugged Amanda tight. "I am so happy for you two!"

"We get to live with Daddy?" Kathleen asked jumping up and down. "Forever?"

"Yes, we do." Amanda said picking her up.

Kathleen's smile disappeared. "What about your work?"

"Uncle Max is taking over that for me." She replied, hugging her before setting her back down. "So, make sure to give him an extra hug when you see him tomorrow."

Rachel and Stephen looked questionably at Thomas. He shook his head and mouthed later.

A very somber Hudson carried the turkey in. "Here we are."

Kathleen ran over to him. "Hudson! We get to live with Daddy!"

He gave her tremulous smile. "I am very happy for you, my lady."

She hugged his legs, causing the unflappable butler to tear up. "Do you want to come too?"

He gently patted her head. "That is exceedingly kind of you, Lady Kathleen. But I must complete my duties here with Lord Beaumont."

"And then you'll come?" She asked again.

"I'll see." He said, his voice hoarse. "Excuse me." He turned on his heel and quickly left the dining room.

Amanda caught the eye of the remaining footman and nodded for him to follow and check on Hudson.

"When do we get to go home?" Kathleen asked once everyone had their plates.

"Well, we still have to pack." Amanda replied. "And I have to--"

Another footman entered. "Forgive me, your grace, but you are wanted on the phone. It is the Earl of Cormery."

"Oh no." Amanda whispered. "I'll take it in the study."

Thomas noticed how pale she was with the news of who was calling. He got up and followed her while Kathleen was being entertained by Stephen's catastrophic turkey basting story.

"Good evening, Lord Vancoeur." Amanda greeted, grateful she wasn’t having this conversation in person.

"Good evening." He replied. "I was wondering if you had come to a decision yet."

Amanda had her back to the study door and did not hear Thomas coming in. "I thank you for the offer, but I will not be marrying your nephew."

Thomas sat down, shocked at discovering yet another piece of this puzzle.

"I am to marry Kathleen's father." Amanda explained. She paused. "Yes, I understand all that Randolph was willing to do, but I am in love with Thomas."

He smiled hearing that.

"And I am no longer the Duchess of St Orella." She gently broke the news to the elderly noble.

Thomas could hear the man exclaiming from where he was sitting.

"I can't have another child take what is rightfully Kathleen's nor will I let her watch it go back to the crown upon my death. Since she would be powerless to do anything, I am saving her the heartache and leaving now."

She turned around and let out a surprised gasp at the sight of Thomas. "My Lord, I understand that a noble's duty is first to his people." Her gaze turned tender as she looked at Thomas. "That's why I'm giving it up. Thomas and Kathleen are my most important people."

She nodded then wished him a good evening, cutting off his plea for her to reconsider.

"What else have you left out?" Thomas asked once she placed the receiver down.

"If I were to marry and have another child, then that child could be chosen as the heir to St Orella. He or she would then have no problems with the other nobles and could continue to help the duchy flourish." She sat down on the edge of her desk. "But I don't want Kathleen to experience that type of shame, nor do I want our trying to have another child as a job. A requirement."

Thomas stood and gently cupped her face, smoothing away the lines of stress with his fingers. "I am very grateful you are the mother of my children."

Tears she had been holding back spilled down her cheeks. "You mean child."

His smile formed as he kissed her. "I said exactly what I meant."

*****************

Kathleen climbed into bed and smiled when her parents kissed her cheek. "I can't wait until we’re back home." She said with a yawn. "I miss my twinkle lights."

Amanda chuckled, smoothing the unruly curls off her daughter's forehead. "I can't wait either."

Thomas slipped his arm around Amanda. "Goodnight sweetheart."

"Goodnight." Kathleen hugged her red panda and turned on her side, eyes already closing.

The couple walked out of her bedroom and paused in the dim hallway.

Amanda looked around, surprised at the calmness she felt with leaving her ancestral home. Perhaps her years away had helped soften the blow.

"Do you feel like returning downstairs and explaining it all to Rachel and Stephen?" Thomas asked.

She shook her head. "Not really." She looked up at him. "I'd much rather be alone with you."

He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close. "So would I."

"Then why don't I go change into something more comfortable while you make our excuses to your sister?" Amanda stepped out of his arms. "I'll meet you in your room."

Thomas did as she suggested. He went through a brief explanation of why the servants were depressed and the reason behind Maxwell coming to take over.

"She gave it up for you and Kathleen?" Rachel placed her hand over her mouth. Then her eyes narrowed. "If you screw this up a second time, I will never let you live this down."

Thomas glared at her for even thinking it. "I won't."

"You better not." Rachel huffed and elbowed her husband. "Right, Stephen?"

Stephen roused from his turkey coma long enough to nod in agreement with his wife. "Yes. You are absolutely right."

Thomas rolled his eyes and bid them a goodnight.

***************

When he opened the door to his room, he felt a cool breeze blowing steadily. He glanced toward the balcony doors and saw Amanda.

He joined her outside, pausing when he noticed she had on a silk robe. "Aren't you cold?"

"A little." She admitted. Her lips curved as she lowered her eyes. "Having someone hold me might help with that."

He moved behind her and held her against him. "Better?" He asked, kissing the spot behind her ear.

"Some." She shivered when a stronger breeze blew past. "Maybe we should continue this inside."

He dropped his arms and followed her back into his room.

He sat down on the foot of his bed. "Should we discuss when we want to get married?"

Amanda shrugged as she untied her robe. "I will marry you as soon as you wish. I don't need a big wedding or anything that takes too long to plan."

She let her robe drop and heard Thomas's sharp intake of breath. His eyes touched on her clothed in a nightgown of just lace. The firelight behind her, revealed that it truly was a layer of black lace separating him from seeing her skin.

Amanda stood there nervously, wondering if she should have discussed this with him beforehand. After his sweet proposal and remembering how it felt in his cellar, she wanted her last night as mistress of the home she grew up in to be one of a memory of Thomas.

He lifted his eyes to hers and stepped forward. His hands cupped her face while a wry grin formed on his lips.

"If I had known this was waiting for me, I wouldn't have spent so long with Rachel and Stephen."

Amanda's laughter was smothered by the heat of his kiss. She lifted an eyebrow in question when he abruptly broke away and went to the door.

He locked it and returned to her. "We are not getting interrupted tonight."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck as he resumed kissing her.

Words of longing and love were whispered as their hands helped the other out of their clothes. The feel of the other's skin soon made speaking impossible. Their lips met over and over again when they finally made it to the bed.

Thomas paused, looking into her eyes. Amanda stilled, gently placing her hand on his cheek when she noticed the intensity there in the dark depths.

His lips parted, yet he could not think of the words to adequately express what he felt for her.

Sensing his struggle, she pulled him down to her, whispering her love for him, then kissed him.

He immediately made them one as her passion consumed him. His voice was hoarse as he repeated her heartfelt words, lips moving over her skin.

In the aftermath, they held each other close. Hands drifted in lazy caresses as each was lost in thoughts of the future.

"I know you are no longer a duchess here." Thomas whispered. "But will you still be a part of the court?"

Amanda shook her head. "All those rights go to Maxwell." She propped her chin on his chest. "We will be invited to balls that those closest to me host, but there is no political reason for me to be invited to anything else."

His brow furrowed. "Do you have any other residences here?"

"No." She pressed a kiss to his neck. "This was my only one."

"Would you like us to buy a home here?" He met her lips in a tender kiss. "That way whenever you want to visit, we will have a place all our own."

Amanda smiled at him. "That would be nice."

He moaned when she moved on top of him, continuing the kiss he had started and led them both to a passionate end.

*************

The next morning…

"Uncle Max!" Kathleen ran into his outstretched arms.

"There's my favorite Kit Kat." He picked her up, squeezing her tight. "Hey? I need to ask a favor of you?"

"What is it?" She asked, her smile making his own bigger.

"Nadia and I need you to be our flower girl in our wedding." He leaned closer to whisper. "You're the only one who appreciates sparkly dresses around here."

She giggled and nodded.

He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "I knew you wouldn't let me down." He tossed her giggling over his shoulder and carried her along to greet everyone else. "Where's your mom at?"

"She's in the study with Daddy and Hudson." She answered between giggles.

"I hear you, but I can't see you." Maxwell teased, spinning around with her. "Where did you go?"

"I'm right here!" She squealed, patting his back, when he spun around again.

"Oh! There you are. I forgot you were back there." He grinned and lifted her to sit on his shoulders. "Alright little lady, let's go see what your parents are up to."

***************

"It is entirely your decision." Amanda explained. "But I do wish you would consider becoming the butler at Lonsdale Castle after Lord Maxwell is settled."

The stoic butler’s face broke into a smile. He had enjoyed his time there. Part of it was being able to oversee Amanda and Kathleen's care. The other had been due to Mrs. Fitzgerald, Lonsdale's widowed cook. The widow and he had become close and spent most of their free time hiking through the misty mountains.

He would not have to settle for letters and phone calls to continue his courtship and he could continue to keep watch over the Bridgerton ladies.

"I accept, your grace." Hudson bowed to her. "I already have the perfect candidate to take my place here. Rogers took over as butler while I was at Lonsdale with you. He and Lord Beaumont handled things quite well while we were away."

Maxwell and Kathleen entered at that moment. "Hey. Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all." Amanda replied, smiling. "Hudson has agreed to be butler at Lonsdale for me. Rogers will be promoted to butler if you approve," her smile grew, "your grace."

Maxwell faltered at hearing himself addressed in that manner. He audibly swallowed at his first decision. He straightened his shoulders and tried to think how his brother, Bertrand would speak. "After working with Rogers, I witnessed firsthand that Hudson's training had made him a highly capable butler." He smiled at all of them. "I approve."

Hudson bowed to him. "Thank you, my--your grace."

"Before you leave, Hudson, I have a surprise for the Hunt family." Maxwell chuckled when Kathleen leaned over and looked at him upside down. "All of them." He stated for her benefit. "And I would like your input."

"Of course, sir." Hudson stepped out and waited on him.

"What is this about a surprise?" Amanda asked.

Maxwell lifted Kathleen off his shoulders and set her down. "Give me one hour." He winked at them and left.

"What do you think it is?" Thomas asked.

"I wouldn't even begin to guess with Maxwell behind it." Amanda replied.

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bloomingnightskty · 5 years ago

Link

These all sound amazing!

Utopia Falls

It's not every day that we get a sci-fi drama series about young people in the future discovering hip hop and using it as a tool for freedom, but in 2020 that's exactly the kind of out-the-box programming coming to CBC Gem. Utopia Falls is the brainchild of R.T. Thorne, the award-winning filmmaker behind a ton of your favourite music videos (and episodes of Degrassi). With Boi-1da serving as executive music producer and choreography by the iconic Tanisha Scott, this is an Avengers-level assembly of Canadian talent, and I for one am super excited to see their collective vision manifest. It begins streaming on CBC Gem Friday, Feb. 14.

The Negroes Are Congregating

First of all: amazing title. Second of all: if you're in Toronto in March, you should make time to see this play. Written by Natasha Adiyana Morris and celebrating its world premiere at Theatre Passe Muraille in March, The Negroes Are Congregating is a poetic yet scathing deep dive into racism in Canada and around the world. I had a chance to see a workshop production and I'm telling you, this play asks certain questions that will stick with you long after the curtains close.

Transcendent Kingdom

Yaa Gyasi's debut novel Homegoing took the literary world by storm. Transcendent Kingdom is the follow-up to that bestseller, and it tells the tale of a Ghanaian family living in Alabama as they cope with depression, addiction and grief. The protagonist, Gifty, is studying neuroscience at Stanford University, trying to understand the source of her family's troubles. But when science can't provide the answers, she turns to faith. I'm excited to snuggle under my covers and read this one.

Flags of Unsung Countries

The Art Gallery of Southern Manitoba recently made a commitment to prioritizing the work of Black Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) women artists in the Prairies, and they have an exciting lineup on the way. It begins with an exhibit by the brilliant Liz Ikiriko, a Saskatchewan artist now living in Toronto. Flags of Unsung Countries originated at the Dunlop Art Gallery in Regina but will make its Manitoba debut January 16.

Initiated as an attempt to understand the journey of her father — a Nigerian immigrant living with mental illness in the Prairies — this photographic installation explores questions of migration, ceremony and the concept of home. Ikiriko's work as an artist and curator is constantly inviting viewers to question the relationships and systems that we so often take for granted and this exhibit promises to do much of the same.

Zola

In 2015, the internet was introduced to one of the greatest Twitter storytellers to ever grace the platform: Aziah "Zola" Wells. In a string of 148 tweets, she told the epic tale of a road trip to Florida that includes sugar daddies and pimps, stripping and prostitution, murder and a suicide attempt. Super serious topics, I know, but as told by Wells, it was an edge-of-your-seat social-media thriller that boasted famous fans like Ava DuVernay, Solange Knowles and Missy Elliott. The film version is coming to Sundance later this month. Directed by Janicza Bravo (who's also directed some of your fave episodes of Atlanta and Dear White People) and written by Bravo and Jeremy O. Harris (the man who shook up Broadway with 2018's Slave Play), this movie promises to be a hell of a ride.

Lovecraft Country

Produced by Jordan Peele, you say? That name is all it takes to spark my interest, but this new television series also has a number of other factors in its favour. It stars Jonathan Majors (one of my new favourite actors) alongside Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Aunjanue Ellis and Michael K. Williams, and is a drama-horror that takes place in the 1950s Jim Crow American South (definitely a period ripe with material for horror). Misha Green is the showrunner, and if you ever watched Underground (which was tragically cancelled after just two brilliant seasons) you'll know why this is a very, very good thing. It comes to HBO later this year.

Controlled Damage

Viola Desmond's story deserves all the treatments: novel, major motion picture, rap songs, poems and, of course, the stage. Andrea Scott's play Controlled Damage has its world premiere at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax this February. What better way to celebrate Black History Month than by reliving a Canadian Civil Rights hero's courageous act of bravery?

Love is the Message the Message is Death

Condensing 400 years of history into a seven-minute looped video scored by Kanye West's "Ultralight Beam" sounds like an impossible task. But under the purposeful eye of Arthur Jafa, one finds a collage of images that showcases the nuance, pain, joy, sexuality, spirituality, mess, love and grief of Black life in the United States of America.

Hearing Kanye sing, "This is a God dream, this is a God dream, this is everything," while watching Jafa's meticulously edited array of images is an experience you don't want to miss. The installation is on now at the Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal to March 3.

Untitled Fred Hampton Project (formerly known as Jesus Was My Homeboy)

If you don't know the story of Fred Hampton — the young, charismatic Black Panther activist who was identified as a threat by the FBI and assassinated in his home by the police — please do some research before this film drops. His story is one that is both inspiring and tragic, enraging and mobilizing. It needs to be told and seen on the big screen.

Directed by Shaka King (a member of the dream team behind Random Acts of Flyness), produced by Ryan Coogler (oh, you know, just the genius who gave us Black Panther, Creed and Fruitvale Station, no big deal) and starring LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya, I am counting down the days until this film arrives. (It's scheduled for August, but since it still doesn't have a name...who knows!)

Soul

Seriously, Disney: can we get an animated movie with Black characters who get to stay human beings for the entirety of the film?

As skeptical as I am, I'm going to give this new one a chance, only because it boasts a cast filled with so many of my faves, including Jamie Foxx, Questlove and Phylicia Rashad. The start of the trailer also hints at some great jazzy numbers and a storyline about following one's artistic passion (I'm always a sucker for narratives like that). It comes to theatres in June.

Corrections

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Boi-1da ccomposed the score for Utopia Falls. The composer is Nikhil Seetharam.Jan 13, 2020 11:55 AM ET

#blackhistorymonth #black history month #black history #black history in canada #CBC #cbcarts #blackmedia #blackhistoryevents #blackshows #blackcommunity #fortheculture #mustsee #utopiafalls #blackhistory365 #blackpride #bhm #Canadian

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pug-bitch · 5 years ago

Text

That’s not why I’m going (38)

Keep it together

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake Walker x Amara Suarez

Rating: some foul language, some extremely suggestive. This is absolutely NOT appropriate for people under 18.

Word count: around 5,000 (oops) (I am on the app right now on my iPad and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to add a ‘keep reading’! If anyone knows, that would be super helpful, if not, I’ll add it when I’m on my desktop :))

Notes: This picks up pretty much where we left off, the day of the Decision Ball, starting with Drake’s POV.

*****

Drake watches Amara as she frantically tries different pairs of shoes to go with her red gown. She looks so beautiful in this color, her dark hair down on her shoulders, curls everywhere. He can’t help but smile.

‘What?’ she asks, grinning too.

Drake shrugs. ‘You’re beautiful. Can’t help it.’

She smiles a little wider. ‘You’re beautiful too. I can’t believe you got ready so fast. I’m already a record breaker, but you have me beat!’

He runs his hand through his hair, his smile stuck on his face. He wishes he could stop time, right now. Just be with her now, and for always.

But she’s right. They have to face the world. She has to show them that she won’t be broken. How could she be, she’s Amara Suarez! Detective Badass.

A knock on the door pulls Drake away from his thoughts. As Amara applies her lipstick, he walks towards the door and unlocks it.

‘Hey guys,’ Maxwell says with exaggerated caution, his hand on top of his eyes and a smiley Michael behind him. ‘Just checking in to see if you’re doing alright. Are you decent?’

Drake rolls his eyes and gives Michael a shrug as if to say Sorry man, he’s always like that, gotta get used to it. Michael laughs. Drake says, ‘Max, uncover your eyes, I wouldn’t open the door if we weren’t decent.’

Max obliges and comes into the room. Upon seeing Amara in her red gown, he gasps. ‘OMG babe. You’re gorgeous! And that hair… As Bertrand would say, Yass Kween!’

Michael chuckles. Maxwell looks at him in all seriousness. Michael’s eyes widen. ‘Wait, you’re serious? Bertrand says Yass Kween? Your brother Bertrand, with the long swimming shorts?’

Amara lets out a throaty laugh that makes Drake’s heart flutter. She says, ‘He saw the light when he discovered Queer Eye, but his closet didn’t get the memo.’ She turns to Michael. ‘You look amazing, Michael. Max’s tux suits you!’

Maxwell beams. ‘Right? I told him he can keep this one. He pulls it off better than I ever did. He gives out some James Bond vibes.’

Michael blushes. ‘Oh please. You all look great, by the way. I feel so intimidated right now, you’re all so comfortable with all this fancy stuff…’

Drake leaps in right away, ‘Oh, don’t be fooled, Mike. I’ve been at court basically my whole life and I’m still super uncomfortable in any fancy setting. It’s just a lot better when you have loved ones around you, to help you through it.’ He glances at Amara. ‘Hey guys, maybe I could take a picture of you to send Amara’s dad? He’d probably love seeing his daughter look so regal and happy, and of course, seeing you two together.’

Maxwell’s face lights up. ‘OMG how have we not thought about it?? Let’s show Jorge how hot his daughter is.’

Amara grimaces uncomfortably. ‘Not sure it’s the point, Max. Plus, it’s a little gross, when you say it like that. But it’s a great idea, Drake. Michael, what do you say?’

Michael’s grin can’t lie. ‘Let’s do it.’ He places himself right next to Amara while Drake takes out his phone. ‘Let’s do the prom pose,’ Michael says. ‘Plus, it’s a nice callback to your actual prom date, who was also a gay man.’

Amara gasps in mock shock and nudges Michael’s elbow. ‘How dare you talk about Adrian?’ She says in an exaggerated manner. They both laugh. ‘Well,’ Amara adds, ‘at least I look less like a cream puff than I did on my quinceañera…’

Drake glances at Maxwell and they share a knowing look, both happy and relieved to see Amara and Michael reunited, and acting like siblings. ‘Alright guys,’ Drake says, ‘smile!’

*****

Jorge is busy painting with his granddaughter, and he barely hears the ping of his phone. Callie is growing up so fast, and she looks so much like her father, that Jorge wants to soak up every second with her. The little girl is not one for staying inside the lines, but Jorge is a patient grandpa. He shows her how to follow the curve of the puppy drawing with her crayon, again and again, until she’s happy with what she’s colored.

‘Jorge!’ Nancy cries out. ‘Your phone is beeping!’

He rolls his eyes in an exaggerated manner, making Callie laugh. ‘Grampie, your eyes are crazy,’ she says through giggles.

He sighs and gets up, his back bothering him slightly. ‘Alright, let me go see what’s going on, sweetheart!’

He meets Nancy halfway and she hands him his phone. ‘I think it’s Amara,’ she says with a wide grin.

Jorge puts on his reading glasses, forced to admit that they do help him see better. He opens his texts.

Papi, Michael surprised me in Cordonia! All is well, we talked, we love and miss you. Give our love to Callie and Nancy. Attached is a picture of us, getting ready for a ball! Xo Amara and Michael.

Before he knows it, a light sob escapes his body. He didn’t mean for it to come out, he really didn’t. Now Nancy is looking at him worriedly. Fat tears are forming in his eyes as he stares at the picture of his kids who have forgiven each other. Unable to say anything yet, he gestures for Nancy to come look at the picture too. She gasps.

‘Honey, they look adorable. This is so great!’ she says, tears in her eyes.

Jorge takes a deep breath and kisses his wife on the cheek. How blessed is he? His Sergio must be so happy, watching over them. ‘Callie, sweetie,’ Jorge finally says. ‘Wanna see a picture of Daddy and Auntie?’

*****

Amara is sitting in the back of Bertrand’s car, with Drake next to her, and Hana in the front. Olivia is riding with Maxwell and Michael.

‘Is everyone doing ok?’ Bertrand asks, probably perturbed by the silence.

Hana responds first. ‘I’m fine, thank you Bertrand. Just anxious to see the end of tonight!’

Amara is too. She nods and turns to Drake, who offers her a smile. They agreed to stick around Ramsford and possibly the cabin in Portavira once the evening is over, for a few more days, while Michael is still in Cordonia. Then, they’ll keep a low profile and travel around Europe, away from the spotlight, the time for everyone to forget all about her and any impact she ever had on Liam. They will try to find Savannah. Then, when things have calmed down, they will resurface and tell Liam about their relationship. Drake told her earlier that he’s not sure there’s anything to salvage in terms of his friendship with Liam, but Amara doesn’t want to jeopardize it. After all, they have been friends for a long time, there’s always something to salvage.

After all, she didn’t think there was anything to salvage between Michael and herself. Look at them today.

Amara silently hopes Hana will stick around, too, although she’s pretty sure her friend will be headed to London to see a certain someone again.

As much as Amara is happy that the competition is almost over, a bittersweet feeling invades her. What if it’s the last time they’re all together, here, bitching about the court and its politics?

She shakes her head. No, this isn’t helpful. Her eyes meet Drake’s again, and he gives her a reassuring smile, as if he’d been in her head, reading her thoughts. She takes his hand, briefly, and squeezes it.

‘Here we are!’ Bertrand proudly announces.

Amara takes a deep breath and gets out of the car, after one last longing look shared with Drake.

*****

‘Holy shit,’ Michael whispers. ‘It’s even more opulent than yesterday.’

Maxwell smiles. ‘Yeah, they really went all out for the Decision Ball. Hey, have some champagne!’ He hands a flute to Michael, and one to Amara, before swiping one for himself.

Amara drinks hers nervously. She should mingle, but her heart’s not in it.

‘Hello, Maxwell,’ she hears an unknown voice behind her. ‘Long time no see, you old bitch!’

Maxwell’s eyes widen. ‘Leo! Hi! I had no idea you were here!’ The two men hug. Amara has heard so much about Leo, Liam’s older brother, that she feels like she should have recognized him solely from the way he greeted Max. Also from his looks - Leo seems to be chiseled from bronze, from head to toe. Wavy golden hair, sort of like a young Hercules, and a smile that has probably made a lot of panties drop.

Leo pats Maxwell on the back. ‘I heard about your coming out. It was really badass, man, congrats!’

Maxwell smiles. ‘Thanks, Leo. I appreciate it. Hey, let me introduce you--’

‘Amara Suarez, right?’ Leo interrupts, offering her his hand to shake. She complies.

‘Um, yes, nice to meet you.’

He brings her hand to his lips and kisses it. Amara has to stop herself from grimacing. ‘VERY nice to meet you,’ he says in a voice that is supposed to be sexy. ‘My brother did not lie about your beauty. You’re stunning.’

‘Hi, I’m Michael,’ Michael says, holding out his hand. Leo takes it.

Amara grins. Michael is obviously nervous and overwhelmed by the Palace and the whole thing, but he’s in big brother mode right now, sensing that Amara needed rescuing from a creep. The three men exchange pleasantries that Amara does not pay attention to, until Leo changes the subject. ‘Where’s Walker?’ he asks.

Maxwell stops in his tracks for a split second, and responds, ‘He’s over there with Rashad. Why do you ask?’

Leo smiles broadly. ‘I haven’t seen the son of a bitch in a while, so I want to say hi. If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen.’ He turns to Amara and winks at her. ‘And lovely lady. I hope to see more of you later.’

He walks away. Amara frowns. ‘More of me? What does he mean, more of me?’

Maxwell grimaces. ‘Ew. He has become even sleazier, and I didn’t think it was possible. Little Blossom, I have some Purell for your hand if you want. He almost licked it.’

Michael snorts, ‘So I’m not crazy, right? For a second, I thought it was a local custom and I wondered, should I have kissed that woman’s hand when you introduced me? Then I thought, no, he’s just a creep.’

Amara shakes her head. ‘I guess Liam doesn’t seem so bad now...Why do you think he wants to see Drake?’

Maxwell puts a reassuring hand on Amara’s arm. ‘Honey, it’s fine. He just wants to say hi. Besides, Drake can hold his own.’

*****

‘Father, can we talk?’ Liam whispers to Constantine, who is helping himself to a seltzer water.

Constantine sighs. ‘Sure, son. What is it?’

Liam smiles nervously. ‘I’ve thought long and hard about it. I’ve made my decision. I’d like to run something by you, now. Can we go outside?’

Constantine reluctantly agrees. He tries to limit his amount of walking in public, to avoid being perceived as sickly. He can’t control his movements as well as he could, just a few weeks ago. He can feel himself become weaker physically, and he can’t stand it. He certainly doesn’t want his subjects to see him as weak. But his son insisted, so now he’s wobbling around, trying to keep it together until they’re out of the ballroom.

‘So?’ he asks Liam impatiently.

Liam clears his throat. Constantine has always hated when he does that. ‘Father, you’ll be pleased to know that I’m going with your suggestion.’

Constantine can feel his whole body relax. Finally, his son has heard the voice of reason. Maybe he can even cancel what he had planned for later. Maybe it’s no longer necessary. ‘Good,’ he says, remaining completely calm and trying not to appear too excited. ‘I’m happy you changed your mind, Liam. This is the right decision.’

Liam gives him a weak smile. ‘That’s not all, Father. I have a non-negotiable condition to this.’

The King has to make a superhuman effort not to roll his eyes. What, now? And to think he was this close to being proud of his son’s decision. Now he’s about to ask for something. As if it wasn’t enough to have to watch his other son running around the ballroom, winking his way through all the ladies present. King Constantine loves his sons, but he wishes he could punch them sometimes. He sighs. ‘What is your condition, Liam?’

Liam adjusts his ascot. ‘Father, I am making this decision for Cordonia, because I am aware that I can’t follow my heart on this one. But I don’t want to give up on true love.’

True love. Constantine can’t believe his ears. But he has to keep listening, after all, Liam is meeting him halfway by making the right decision. ‘What do you propose we do, Liam?’

He continues. ‘I want to give Valtoria to Amara.’

Constantine’s face falls. Valtoria? To a Mexican whore? Over his dead body. Which, for the record, might happen sooner rather than later. ‘That’s preposterous,’ he whispers, outraged.

Liam stands his ground. ‘Well, whatever you may call it, it’s non-negotiable. I have feelings for her, Father, and I know she doesn’t...yet. But if she can’t stay close, she’ll leave without having given us a chance. At least, if she stays in Valtoria, she’ll be able to get to know me. It will be a lot less scandalous if I have a Cordonian arrangement with a noblewoman. Plus, she has made a great impression on the press, she has made a lot of effort to learn about Cordonia and our history, and let’s not forget that a lot of the nobles have already taken a liking to her, even Olivia—‘

‘Oh, you mean the woman who fornicates with her servants? What a great endorsement.’ Constantine spits out.

‘Father,’ Liam says calmly, ‘I’m not asking for the moon. I’m asking for your approval. The duchy is unclaimed, it would just mean that I have to make her a Duchess. It’s been done before.’

Constantine remains silent. It’s worse than he thought. And to think he was about to call off what he’d planned for after the ceremony… No way he’s doing that now. Not a chance in hell. His son needs to see for himself what he really wants to bring to court. He shakes his head vigorously. ‘Liam, this is ridiculous. Everyone will see through this, everyone will see it’s a whim.’

‘Valtoria needs a Duke or Duchess, and I found you one,’ Liam says firmly. ‘I don’t think it’s that much to ask for you to just say yes. Once you pass over the crown to me, once I choose a spouse, we can work through the details. Like I said, it’s non-negotiable.’

Constantine snorts. If he says no, Liam might not honor his end of the deal. So, for now, he has to make it seem like he’s open to it. ‘If you say it’s non-negotiable, then let’s leave it on the table. We’ll talk about it again after the ceremony.’

Liam beams. ‘Thank you, Father. I can give you more compelling arguments later, too.’

Oh, so can he. He smiles and walks away from his son, slowly but surely. Bastien is standing near the door, waiting for Constantine to make his way back to the ballroom. As he passes his bodyguard, the King whispers to him, ‘Please make sure that what we planned happens after Liam has chosen his spouse. I want it out there for everyone to see.’

Bastien nods curtly. ‘Yes, Your Majesty.’

Constantine gets back to his original spot, silently seething. Yes, he will show his son how terrible his judgment is.

*****

Drake sips his whiskey slowly, next to Leo. Sure, it’s nice to see him again, but he can’t help but think that Leo’s excitement over spending alone time with him rings a bit false. Like he’s trying to milk him for information on behalf of Liam.

Leo’s known for a lot of things, and subtlety is not one of them.

‘So,’ Drake risks, ‘How was your trip?’

Leo gives him a dashing smile. ‘It was awesome! I went all around Europe on a cruise, and since it’s ended, I’ve been in Morocco, and then Brazil… Just having a lot of fun.’

Drake nods and takes another sip. ‘That’s awesome. It’s nice of you to come back for your brother’s ball.’

Leo’s smile falters. ‘Yeah, I gotta say, I’m a bit worried about this little bastard.’

Here it is, Drake thinks. This is a lecture on friendship. Oh well, he’s not all innocent in this whole thing, so the least he can do is stick around and listen. ‘Oh, really?’ Drake asks in a falsely nonchalant tone.

Leo nods. ‘Yeah. You know he’s completely fooled by Madeleine’s newly found niceness, and he feels very isolated from everyone. The pressure of being King is getting to him, and believe me when I say I understand why.’

Drake bites his lip, trying not to say what he wants to say, along the lines of Leo, you are the very reason why Liam has to go through this pressure. But this wouldn’t help anybody right now, so he just nods. ‘I get it. But you gotta know that he’s been hard to support, these days. The Liam we both knew is difficult to see, through the mask of Courtly Liam.’

‘Drake, can you blame him? He has new responsibilities, and for God’s sake, our father is sick! Liam needs friends and support right now, not the cold shoulder.’

Drake takes a deep breath. ‘So, I take it you’ve heard that Liam and I have had tough times, huh?’

Leo shrugs. ‘Yeah. He told me that you didn’t like the way he acted with this woman, Amara.’

Drake has to try really hard to remain expressionless. ‘Yes, well, Amara is a friend, and I don’t like to see women being preyed on by entitled men. That’s all. If you had seen the whole thing, you’d understand.’ Maybe, he thinks. He would probably not understand, but it was worth saying it.

Leo raises an eyebrow. ‘You’re telling me you’re picking sides, and you’re choosing a chick you barely know, over your best friend?’

Drake sighs. Of course he didn’t get it. ‘No, Leo, that’s not what I’m telling you. It was just the starting point of our differences, but there’s more to it than that.’ He stares into his glass. ‘Plus, I don’t think you understand the whole ‘picking a side’ thing. If I see someone doing something wrong, I’m gonna call them out on it, whether they’re my best friend or a complete stranger.’

Leo nods. ‘I guess. But Liam needs you. Now more than ever. Think of all he’s done for you.’

Drake’s heart sinks. Of course he thinks about it, all the time. Of course it kills him. Of course he owes Liam so much… But is it a reason to close his eyes on the different person he’s become? Is it a reason to let go of the best thing that’s ever happened to him? Once again, he can’t count on Leo to understand. ‘I know,’ he says sadly. ‘I owe him everything.’

Leo’s stare hardens. ‘Yes, you do. He took you in, Drake. He includes you in everything. Hell, he considers you as more of a brother than me. Don’t forget that.’ He pauses. ‘He needs a brother.’

Drake frowns. ‘Got it. Good talk, Leo.’ He walks away, a knot in his throat.

*****

‘Hey guys,’ Drake says as he approaches Max and Michael.

They both smile, and Maxwell greets him warmly. ‘Hey Drake, where did you disappear to? We’ve been looking for you! Come have some of these amuse bouches, you’re gonna love them.’ He hands Drake a tray of little canapés.

Drake smiles. ‘Did you swipe that from a staff member?’

Maxwell nods enthusiastically, his mouth full of puff pastry.

Drake and Michael chuckle. ‘I just had a chat with Leo,’ Drake says. ‘He came on really strong. Told me I need to be there for Liam. It messed with my head.’

Maxwell sighs and smiles. ‘Don’t let him get to you. He basically licked Amara’s hand like a cartoon wolf, earlier, right, Michael? You can’t trust a guy like that. Don’t humor him.’

Drake nods. He’s still painfully uncomfortable, but he did the right thing coming to Max. The guy’s crazy, but he has a way of supporting his friend like Drake has never seen before. Even the way he immediately took Michael under his wing is remarkable. ‘Thanks, Max,’ he says as he pats his friend on the back.

‘Oh shit,’ Maxwell says, ‘speak of the devil, here comes Liam, everyone smile!’

Drake turns around, and sure enough, Liam is coming towards them, his fake smile plastered on his face.

Michael whispers, ‘Should I bow? What should I do?’

Maxwell whispers back, ‘Relax. Follow our lead, I’ll introduce you.’

‘Hello, gentlemen,’ Liam says enthusiastically. ‘How is everyone doing on this fine afternoon?’

Drake has to force himself not to roll his eyes. ‘Good to see you, Liam,’ he manages.

Maxwell chimes in, ‘You probably remember Michael Hansen-Suarez. Michael, this is Prince Liam of Cordonia!’

Michael awkwardly curtsies, which he probably has seen on The Crown or some other show. ‘Pleasure, Your Highness,’ he says, his head bowed down.

Liam holds out his hand. ‘Nice to meet you, Michael. I’m happy to see you back here again, I feel terribly about the way that you were introduced last night! Please accept my most sincere apologies.’ He does not even wait for Michael to respond, and turns to Drake. ‘Drake, do you have a second? I want to talk to you about something.’

Drake nods, looks at Max and Michael and excuses himself.

Once the two men are out of earshot, Liam’s smile drops. ‘Jeez, this is stressful,’ he says.

Drake nods understandingly. ‘I can imagine. How are you holding up?’

Liam nods. ‘I’m ok. Not completely happy about my decision, but it’s the best I can do, with what I’m given at the moment.’

Drake raises an eyebrow. ‘Don’t tell me—‘

Liam shrugs. ‘What am I supposed to do, Drake? Father is dying. It’s his wish.’

Drake remembers Leo’s words. He needs to be supportive right now, especially since he may disappear after the ceremony and not be there when Constantine actually dies. ‘I understand, Liam. I just hope you can find happiness in any way you can. Honestly.’

Liam gives him a sad smile. ‘Leo talked to you, huh?’

Drake chuckles. ‘Yeah. He made me feel like shit, which I probably deserve. I—I didn’t mean to abandon you. At all. I was just really put off by some things. You know me, I don’t change my mind easily. I should have supported you more.’

Liam sighs. ‘It means a lot, Drake. Thank you. For the record, I didn’t ask Leo to come to you. He told me he might, and I told him not to.’ He snorts. ‘Ironic, huh? My notoriously flaky brother, giving you shit for not being there? It’s fucked up.’

Drake chuckles earnestly. ‘I guess. But you know you can count on me, right? Even if we’ve had our differences…’

Liam smiles. ‘I know. Plus, I’ve come to realize that you were truly right about how I behaved with Amara. And this whole thing with her brother-in-law...how is she doing, by the way?’

Drake nods, stunned that Liam is asking him that when he hasn’t checked on her once since last night. ‘She and Michael talked, she’s doing ok.’

Liam smiles. ‘Good. Let me tell you, something wasn’t right with that speech I was given. I need to look into it. Between this and the way I’ve behaved with her...I owe her, now.’ He clears his throat. ‘Which is why I negotiated with Father, and I’m going to offer her Valtoria.’

Drake tries to speak, but the words are stuck in his throat. ‘Wh—what?’

Liam gestures to stay quiet. ‘Shh, no one knows yet, and no one will until after this is all over. But she’s been a great person through and through, she has made a lot of connections here, and I just thought as a symbolic gesture—‘

‘You are giving her a duchy?’ Drake’s head spins. What’s Liam’s angle? Does he simply want to keep her close? Is that his way of apologizing for trying to fucking grab her?

Liam nods excitedly. ‘Yes. Well, if she accepts. But, from what I gather, she doesn’t have much to tie her to her life in New York. So… Fingers crossed.’

*****

Amara has been hanging out with Hana and Liv, safely away from all the drama around. The three women are enjoying light chit chat and beverages, all three of them choosing to remain blissfully ignorant about the rest of the world, and the rest of the evening.

‘What do you mean you’ve never been skinny dipping?’ Olivia says, a frown on her face.

Hana shrugs. ‘No I haven’t. I’m not saying I’m opposed to ever trying, but I have to say, I don’t see the point.’

Liv snorts. ‘True. Unless there’s someone in the crowd you’re trying to see naked, there’s no point at all.’

Amara is looking at her two friends, a goofy grin on her face.

‘What?’ Liv spits out.

Amara laughs. ‘Nothing. I’m just enjoying the banter. You guys are the best.’

Hana squeals. ‘Aww, you’re the best, honey!’

Liv chugs her drink. ‘You girls are gross.’ She turns her head towards Drake, who is walking towards them. ‘Walker, long time no see! Where did you put Domvallier? Wasn’t he with you?’

Drake gives her a faint smile. ‘He had to take a phone call, but he’ll be back. He said he wants you to save him a dance.’

Amara smiles broadly at the thought, and is about to tease Olivia about her budding romance, when she notices Drake’s pale face. ‘Drake, are you okay?’ She says worriedly.

He nods. ‘I’m fine. I’m just—thrown for a loop. Can I tell you guys something and we all remain calm? I don’t want to attract attention by going outside—‘

Hana puts a reassuring hand on his arm. ‘Of course. Tell us, Drake, don’t worry.’

*****

Drake feels slightly better after telling the ladies about what Liam just announced. He had asked him to keep it to himself, but it’s impossible. The thought of Amara being stuck at court because Liam wants her close… he doesn’t know what to think, how to react, but his gut instinct is sadness. Court always had made him feel inferior. It’s full of sharks. Of people like Madeleine, like the new version of Liam, like the Duke of Karlington, and so many more people who thought commoners were lesser than. Of course, on the flip side, there’s good people like Maxwell. Bertrand. Even Liv. Rashad. But would that life make Amara happy? He’s too afraid of studying her face to see the answer. He stares at his feet instead.

Olivia is the first to speak. ‘Okay,’ she says softly, but firmly. ‘It’s obvious that Liam is doing that to keep her at hand, huh? So the intention is already...not fucking great. But…’ she trails off. ‘I mean… that would give you an opportunity to stick around, and it could be your out,’ she says to Amara. ‘You manage the duchy for a while, you’ll be near Drake and near...us.’

Hana chimes in, ‘You don’t have to accept, though. If you want your freedom over the title and the rest, you can absolutely say no, and I’m sure Maxwell and Bertrand will find a way to have you stay in Cordonia, if that’s what you want. Amara?’ She asks her friend, who is still silent.

Drake finally raises his eyes to her level. God, she’s so beautiful. Her face looks just as lost as his own, which somehow reassures him. They’re on the same page. He wants to take her hand so badly, and out of habit he almost does, but stops himself.

‘This is nuts,’ she says, a nervous smile on her lips. ‘I do love being here, I love you all, but doing it this way…’ she chuckles. ‘It’s fucking crazy. I’m not a noble, I’m a cop, and I’m a bartender.’

Olivia laughs. ‘There’s a first for everything.’

Amara shakes her head. ‘No, if he really does offer it to me, I’ll have to turn it down. Let’s stick to the plan.’

Drake can breathe again.

*****

‘Shit, look at these flowers,’ Michael whispers. ‘And these picture frames. And do you think the sword over there is real?’ He asks Maxwell.

Max laughs and nods. ‘Yeah, it is. I opened a bottle of champagne with it once. I can vouch for its sharpness.’

Michael smiles. He has to make a true effort in order to keep his shit together and not squeal. He wonders how Amara does it. He’s been observing her all day, and she is right in her element, she looks like she was made to mingle with nobles.

He smiles wistfully as he thinks back of the young woman Amara was when he met her, ten years ago, when she was just graduating high school, ready to go to college and take on the world.

Nope, not the best way to keep it together.

‘You okay?’ Maxwell asks, concerned.

Michael takes a deep breath and tries to will the tears to go back to where they came from. ‘Yeah, just overwhelmed.’

Maxwell smiles. ‘I get it. You have your sister back, and you’re in a foreign court, it’s a lot to process.’ He pats his back. ‘Take your time.’

He’s about to open his mouth and thank Maxwell yet again for understanding him so well, but he’s interrupted by a change in the music. There is, all of a sudden, a violin solo coming from the orchestra, which silences everyone, until the King is the center of the attention.

‘People of Cordonia,’ he says, ‘The time has come for my son, Prince Liam of Cordonia, to make his decision.’

*****

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jovialyouthmusic · 6 years ago

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Charlotte’s Choice

A Royal Romance AU Fanfic

22 All’s Fair in Love and War

Constantine fights to keep control under Anton’s roof. Brad and Hana assist.

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22 All’s Fair in Love and War

The shooting party disbanded after the King’s guardsman had been found badly wounded, shot in the chest. The air ambulance came to take him away and all the guests went back to the Castle. The birds were retrieved and taken either to the kitchens or to the gamekeeper’s shed to hang. The evening dinner was still to go ahead, along with the King’s announcement of the next two suitors to be dropped. The guests were told to stay in their rooms before the dinner so that an investigation could be made into the accident. Anton’s security guards roamed the corridors, and no-one was allowed to move around without Anton’s approval.

At first Charlotte was invited into Anton’s suite, but the King insisted that she be allowed to go to keep him company. He also insisted that Bastien’s men be allowed to move freely and assist with the investigation. Anton personally escorted her to Constantine and tried to go in with her, but the King made it plain that he wanted only Charlotte to enter and called for Bastien too.

‘Are you alright my dear?’ he asked as she entered, pale and shaken. He sat at his desk, the paperwork from last night sitting there, either finished or yet to be looked at. Although it was late summer, a fire burned in the grate of the elaborate fireplace, a small fire that gave out a little heat.

‘I – Yes Father, just a little shocked. It’s terrible, poor Martin. He’s in a serious condition and hasn’t regained consciousness since Bastien was with him’

‘I daresay Severus will clear it all up’ he said calmly ‘Accidents happen at these shoots’ Quietly he handed her a piece of paper. Written on it were the words the walls have ears. She looked at it and he gestured to the fire, so she screwed it up and threw it into the flames.

‘Tell me what happened’ he commanded, indicating that he was going to write more, and she went over the events of the morning. He paid little attention, writing and occasionally interjecting neutral comments. She went on until he finished writing, and he handed over the paper, saying ‘let me get you something to drink my dear’ He busied himself clattering teacups and bringing out a tin of biscuits while she read.

Have gone over papers. He understands very well but cannot support all he approves. Some matters must be sacrificed to make a good balance and stay within budget. He does this to appear generous but could not sustain the country like this. He tries to impress me, but I see through him. He would be a despot. Charlotte’s eyes widened and he gestured for her to throw that into the fire too. Eagle eyed, he noticed her bracelet.

‘That’s a pretty piece of jewellery my dear, have I seen it before?’ He asked

‘It is beautiful isn’t it?’ said Charlotte ‘Anton gave it to me, he said it belonged to his mother’ The King scribbled again He means to impress you. Be wary.

‘It’s a fine piece, he must feel affection for you to give you something so beautiful’ but Constantine shook his head as he spoke. Whatever I say is the opposite when I shake my head. I nod for the truth. ‘Lord Severus has made a fine job of the official papers, he would make a good ruler my dear’. Again he shook his head.

There was a knock on the door, and Bastien entered. The King raised his hand to him and made a gesture that meant nothing to Charlotte but was obviously some sort of code, as the guard nodded. She threw the notes on the fire and watched the two men holding a conversation with hand gestures and nods while talking about something totally neutral. Her mind boggled at the complexity, realising that they were well practiced in their code.

Charlotte elected to stay with her Father as she was sure Anton would find a way to keep her company otherwise. She was genuinely frightened as Constantine would not tell her all the details of his assessment of what was going on, and Bastien left to do whatever damage limitation was necessary. She wanted to send a message to Drake but surmised it was too dangerous. The afternoon dragged on but an hour before the dinner was due to begin, security was lifted, and Charlotte went back to her room to change.

Earlier, Bastien talked to his second in command out in the open away from listening devices and spies.

‘Just how did Martin manage to get injured during the shoot? Did one of the guns go off target?’

‘It wasn’t a shotgun wound Sir – whoever shot him was using a handgun. The sound may have been masked by the shoot’

‘Do Anton’s men have this information?’

‘I don’t know Sir, they are not being very co-operative’

‘They will probably find out from the hospital. I trust you sent a team to guard his room?’

‘Of course Sir, we had two men go from the team at the Palace so we’re not short of manpower here’

‘Apart from Martin’ said the older man grimly ‘He did manage to pass on a memory stick before he lost consciousness and told me the password. It has an up to date floor plan of the castle, as far as I can tell, but why that was worth him getting shot, I don’t know’

The dinner went remarkably smoothly considering there had been a nasty accident and everyone had been questioned. Constantine looked better than he had for some time, thought Charlotte. It seemed that he thrived on intrigue and conflict. He announced that Milo and Rashad were the two suitors to be dropped from the race, leaving Maxwell, Anton, Brad and Drake. Only the last two remained to be tested as to their attention to detail with official paperwork, and it was Brad’s turn that night. Up until the time Charlotte retired to the study next to her bedroom, Anton was especially attentive. Charlotte did not get a chance to talk to anyone else without him hovering at her shoulder, and she felt stifled.

Anton escorted her back to her room and kissed her hand on the threshold. At last with a huge sigh of relief she shut the door on him, leaning against it, sliding to the floor exhausted. She had only managed a few glances at Drake and missed him more than she thought she could – all she wanted was to feel his arms around her, bury her face in his shoulder and weep tears of tiredness and frustration. She pulled herself together and changed out of her evening dress, wearing jeggings and a t shirt with a soft cardigan. She had not been able to wear the chain Drake had given her, instead tucking it inside her bra, and now hung it around her neck, holding it in her palm and feeling its warmth. It was not long before there was a soft knock on the door and Brad entered. She immediately felt comforted by his presence, his broad shoulders and square jaw inspiring feelings of stability and ease.

‘Hey Princess, how are you bearing up?’ he asked, concern in his pale blue eyes that seemed so much warmer than Justin’s, a little crinkle at the corners showing his temperament. She sat in the swivel chair, face in her hands scrubbing at her own eyes with weariness.

‘I feel terrible’ she admitted ‘Anton has barely let me breathe – he’s so charming but I feel stifled.’ She looked at him ‘Have you heard how the investigations have gone?’ He shook his head.

‘Not really, Anton’s men haven’t been very forthcoming and now they seem to be playing it down, saying he must have been hit by a stray shot. I don’t even know if he’s regained consciousness’ Charlotte sighed.

‘Well there’s not a lot we can do, and we have these papers to go over before I can get to bed.’

‘Here’ let me take a look’ said Brad, and started to shuffle though the files. The next hour or so was spent sifting through and analysing. Although he wasn’t familiar with a lot of the subject matter, he was able to see some of the diplomatic problems with a fresh eye, and had a very practical approach to financial matters and a keen sense of how to balance the books. Charlotte looked at him with surprise.

‘I can’t begin to imagine how you manage to understand some of this without being familiar with it’ Brad shrugged.

‘It’s a question of being objective to start with, then considering how it might affect the people in question. I’ve had a variety of jobs over the years and I guess it’s made me well rounded’

‘Well I’m sure Father will be impressed, but you really should have made an effort to mess things up’ she smiled ruefully. ‘The reality is I think you’d do well as Consort’

‘But you want to follow your heart, and I have no wish to be responsible for running an entire country’ he said, smiling sadly ‘To say nothing of my – involvement with Olivia. There’s not long to go, do you know how you’re going to handle your announcement?’

‘If I did, I wouldn’t be saying it out loud to anyone’ she said ‘I’m in a difficult position as you know. The next week is going to be crucial to Cordonia’s future.’

‘Well changing the subject, I’ve heard a lot about the parties at the Beaumont estate – it looks like we’ll get to have some fun before it gets serious’

‘I hope so’ she said wearily. ‘Thanks for helping me tonight Brad, I really should turn in now’ As she stood, Brad cast an eye over the vase of flowers on the windowsill.

‘Those have a really heavy scent’ he said ‘It makes my head hurt just sitting in the same room’ Charlotte looked at him in surprise.

‘That’s interesting’ she replied ‘There’s an even bigger arrangement in my bedroom, and I woke up with a thumping headache this morning’ Brad frowned, his brow furrowing and his dark blonde eyebrows crinkling.

‘Can I see?’ he asked, and Charlotte led him into her room. He stood next to bouquet and inhaled, instantly recoiling ‘Wow that’s strong’ he said ‘I would move these into the study before you go to sleep’

‘It’s rather heavy’ she said ‘I don’t think I could move it on my own’ Brad put his hands to it and lifted cautiously.

‘I can do it – open the study door and I’ll take them through’ Charlotte did as he suggested, and he moved the flowers with some effort. ‘I would crack the window a bit to air the room out too’ he said. He thought for a while, and went over to the desk. He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to the Princess. Just in case it’s deliberate, have security move the flowers back in to your room in the morning. Charlotte’s eyebrows rose as she read it, and her hand went to the cartridge hanging rounder her neck, holding it for comfort. She nodded, and Brad held out his hand for the paper, crumpling it up and putting it in his pocket. They embraced, and Charlotte relaxed into him, grateful for the comforting contact, feeling the solidity of his broad chest, the warmth of his body. He was not Drake, but he was reassuring nonetheless. He squeezed her tightly, sensing her need. They broke contact and he smiled at her.

‘Thankyou Brad, she said wearily ‘I think I’ll sleep well tonight. See you tomorrow’ she briefly kissed him on the cheek and he left, bowing slightly.

Charlotte woke to a soft tapping noise, and blearily rubbed her eyes to look at her phone to see that it was 5am. She realised that the noise came from the window, and went to see what was causing it. In surprise, she saw Hana on the balcony, finger pressed to her lips. She quietly opened the door and let her in. Swiftly her friend led her to the en suite. She turned on the shower before speaking.

‘Lottie, I’ve come to talk to you privately and liaise with Constantine. I had to be sure we aren’t heard’ Charlotte nodded and Hana continued ‘Your father thinks Anton will try to discredit Brad and Drake in some way, so be prepared. One of his aides was seen tampering with the papers Brad worked on. Tell me, how did he do?’

‘Very well’ said the Princess ‘I was impressed, he’d actually make a good job of it – but he doesn’t want to be Consort’ Hana nodded.

‘As long as we know what he’s capable of that’s all that matters. Tell me truly Charlotte, who do you want to rule with you?’ she looked into her eyes searchingly ‘You can tell me Lottie, I’m on your side – more than your fathers’, though he’s more sympathetic than you might think, darling’ Charlotte drew a deep breath, tears coming to her eyes.

‘Oh Hana, I daren’t. I daren’t say it until I’m in front of the Court, I can’t risk it, not for anyone – not even for who I want’ She bent her head sorrowfully and Hana took her hand, supporting it palm up. Charlotte looked up to see her looking at her intently, then back down at her hand. Hana traced the letter D on her palm, and the Princess burst into tears, nodding vehemently. Hana drew her into her arms and held her tightly until she quietened down.

‘I have to go Lottie. I’ll keep your secret – from everyone, nobody will hear it from me’ she said earnestly ‘We’ll find a way, I promise. I have to go now – take care my sweet friend’.

With her early awakening, Charlotte was able to dress quickly and go down to breakfast before Anton could intervene and serve it in her study. She had no trace of a headache and remembered to ask the member of the King’s guard in the corridor to move the flowers back into the room, tidying up a few fallen petals afterwards. She also left a window open in both rooms and left the adjoining door ajar. Anton entered the dining room to see her already there, sitting with Olivia and Hana. She caught the merest trace of annoyance on his face as he entered, but he quickly recovered and came up to greet her.

‘Good morning Charlotte’ he said, reaching out as if to take her hand, but although she put down her fork, instead of taking his hand she picked up a napkin and wiped her lips, taking just enough time that his hand hung in the air awkwardly before he took it back ‘I trust you slept well, Princess’ he bowed slightly and she smiled.

‘Thankyou Lord Severus, I did’ she replied ‘I feel refreshed. I was telling Olivia about the wonderful ride you took me out on yesterday. I hope to show her and Hana how beautiful the countryside is here. Would it be possible to take a couple of mounts out this morning?’ Anton looked surprised at Charlotte’s boldness in taking control of the situation, but he couldn’t turn her down.

‘Of course, I’ll join you if I may’ Charlotte put on an apologetic expression.

‘Oh Anton, I was hoping to catch up with Hana, have a sort of ‘girls only’ outing’ she said, pouting slightly. She saw him stiffen, but he bowed again.

‘But of course. I’ll send word to the stables. I do think you would be wise to take a member of security with you though, I would be only too pleased for one of my men to accompany you’

‘I wouldn’t think of putting you to the trouble. It would be just as easy to take one of the King’s Guard, and we have I have a female guard in mind to keep the theme of girls’ outing’ Charlotte said sweetly. Anton’s face darkened briefly.

‘But of course, whatever makes you comfortable’ he replied ‘But all the same I feel I must insist on having a member of my security detail follow – at a discrete distance out of earshot of course’ Charlotte sighed.

‘It’s very thoughtful of you Anton’ she ‘and of course security is very important after the unfortunate events yesterday. If you can assure me your guard will stay at an appropriate distance, how can I refuse?’ Anton bowed and walked away, leaving Charlotte to talk to her friends.

Drake chose Brad’s company that morning, knowing he had managed to have some private time with Charlotte the night before and wanting to know how she was. They walked out in the formal gardens, cautious to be out of earshot of Anton’s staff. The Englishman told him of the flowers with the heady scent.

‘It may be nothing, but I suspect Anton of trying to lower Lottie’s resistance to his charms’ he said wryly. ‘You’ve seen how he’s monopolised her company. She did well to get out and away with Hana and Olivia this morning’

‘Yeah’ said Drake ‘It’s my turn to go help her with paperwork tonight – how did that work out for you?’ Brad made a wry smile

‘Better than I thought I would, it’s not difficult I think. I would say you should find your own way of coping with it, there’s no absolute right or wrong way to go about it. As long as you balance the books and keep as many folk happy as possible you’ll do just fine.’

‘Thanks my friend’ replied Drake ‘I wasn’t sure about you when Olivia first brought you over, but it’s been a pleasure getting to know you. You’re a man of many talents and handy to have around in a crisis’ Drake was referring in part to the accident the previous day ‘Bastien told me Martin’s not regained consciousness just yet. He’s got a couple of the King’s Guard outside his room in case anyone tries anything suspicious.’ Brad grinned at the Duke’s praise, then his face fell when he heard about the guardsman

‘What do you think of it all?’ he asked ‘Why and how did he get shot? I could see it wasn’t a shotgun wound so why are Anton’s men insisting it was?’

‘I don’t know, and Bastien’s trying to get to the bottom of it all’ replied Drake ‘I don’t trust that man an inch’

‘Did you know Anton much before all this?’ asked Brad. Drake shook his head

‘No, he didn’t have much to do with Court when he was younger, his father kept him away. He around the same age as Charlotte, Olivia and I, but we never got to know him.’

At that moment, Drake saw Bastien making his way toward them. He hailed him, and Bastien got close before he spoke.

‘Walker, Lord De Montfort, there’s been a development. You’d better come with me, I need to show you something’

#charlotte's choice #the royal romance #choices the royal romance #choices trr #trr drake #trr fanfic #trr choices #trr

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