Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
He turns to me and holds up the bottle, wordlessly offering me one. I refuse with a gentle shake of my head, and he replaces the whiskey before taking a seat on the sofa next to Rosalyn who’s just poured her and Jasmine a glass of wine without so much as a glance in my direction.
Wise.
There’s a chance I’ll end up throwing it over one of them in this conversation.
“So, the wedding,” my father says the moment Jasmine pauses to catch her breath. “Has Her Majesty set a date?”
“I believe we’re looking at late September,” I reply, clasping my hands in my lap. “As soon as she’s finalised it with the government, she’ll contact you.”
“Very well.” He nods once, and a heavy silence falls over the room.
He has more questions.
Ones he doesn’t want to ask.
Ones he knows he needs to ask.
“Have you thought this through, my dear?” Rosalyn asks, her face the picture of concern. Her tone is sickly sweet; the same one she always uses when she’s trying to show my father she cares. “It’s a great deal of responsibility, and I fear it’ll be too much for you.”
Ah.
So, this is the angle she’s going for.
“Yes,” I say, swinging my gaze to meet hers. “I have a great deal of support in the palace. Both Lord Oscar and the Duke of Kilon have been guiding me, as well as the Royal Family, of course. I’m not concerned.”
“That’s good.” Her smile doesn’t meet her eyes. In fact, it barely registers on her face, but she’s trying.
Impressive, given how she got that angry little jaw tick when I mentioned Alec.
“You’re so delicate, that’s all. What with everything you went through… All those panic attacks… I do worry.”
Jasmine fights back a smile as she dips her head.
“Yes, I’m sure you do.” I keep my tone measured. “So you’ll be pleased to know that since I moved to the palace, I’ve had less panic attacks, and Finn is looking into other avenues of support for me. I’m doing better than I have in a long time.”
She clenches her jaw before she catches herself and forces yet another smile.
“That’s good. Excellent news, darling,” my father says. “I had the same fears, I won’t lie.”
“What about you, Jas?” I ask innocently, turning to her. “I know you’ve been struggling lately, especially since I last saw you.”
She freezes, then slowly spins to meet my gaze. “What are you talking about? I’m fine.”
“Oh, you just seemed stressed when we ran into each other at Lammens,” I say breezily. “You know, when you hit me. I understand that Finn getting engaged to me instead of you was quite the shock, and I never really got a chance to apologise for keeping everything quiet the way I did. I wondered if you needed to speak to someone about everything going on.”
She presses her lips into a thin line. “You know exactly why I hit you. You provoked me with that saccharine bullshit act of yours.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“That!” She throws her arm in the air. “You’re sitting here acting like you’re all innocent as if you didn’t ruin my life, but when we were at Lammens, you were griping in my ear about how I’ll never compare to you.”
“Oh.” I frown. “I’m sorry if you took my words that way. I didn’t mean that at all.”
“You outright said it!”
“Girls, girls,” Dad says, holding up a hand. “What happened, happened. It’s time for us to move on.”
Ah, if I could laugh, I would.
No apology needed from your sweet little girl, eh, Dad? But if it were me…
“Indeed.” Rosalyn sips her wine. “But, Hattie, dear, have you considered that this wedding might not be the best choice for you?”
So much for us moving on.
“Not at all,” I reply. “Why would it not be?”
“I’m worried you aren’t prepared for the public scrutiny. I’m very glad you have support, but you see how people reacted to your incident with Jasmine. You weren’t without criticism,” she says. “Jas can deal with it all. She’s had the necessary upbringing and has developed a thick skin. You… haven’t.”
I look at my father.
He’s staring into his glass, steadfastly ignoring her words as if his ears are blocked and he can’t hear a thing.
Typical.
As if I needed more confirmation that he’s a spineless piece of shit.
“Yes.” I wriggle my toes in my shoes for something to focus on. “That tends to happen when one is ripped away from their family as a child and forced to grow up in unimaginable circumstances on the other side of the world.”
He flinches.
Rosalyn, however, is unbothered. “I wonder if you shouldn’t call this whole thing off and marry someone more suitable. A quieter life after what you’ve been through.”
“Why? So, Jasmine can step up and fix Finn’s broken heart and take her rightful place?”