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)
“I might have.” I meet his gaze. “Alec does have that little torture dungeon in his basement, after all. I’m not above a little dirty work.”
Finn’s eyes darken. “Don’t even go there. It still pains me that you had to get answers out of that man by yourself. As for marrying Alec… I’m not even going to justify that with a response.”
I remove the curler from my hair and lean over, propping my chin up on my elbow as I peer up at him. “Is that a little jealousy I sense?”
“Don’t play with me, Hattie.”
“It’s okay. You’ve got nothing to worry about. Sure, Alec might have a torture dungeon, but you’ve got the crown he’s loyal to. This is the best of both worlds.”
“You.” Finn pinches my cheeks together with one hand, making my lips pout. “If I didn’t have to go soon, I’d wipe his name off your lips.”
I blink innocently up at him, unable to speak because of his grip on my face. He quickly leans down and kisses me, then sits right back up, letting me go.
“One thing you do need to be aware of is that your family… they aren’t done, Hattie. They aren’t going to let this go.”
All the good, fuzzy feelings that were just floating happily around my body die. “I thought as much. I fully expect them to attack me, one way or another.”
“They’re planning something. We don’t know what, but Marina took the evening shift the night of the party. She said there’s a lot of anger and secrecy. She’s been keeping an eye on Jasmine and Rosalyn since then, and the fact they aren’t openly discussing you at all is extremely suspicious.”
“It’s fine. I can guess their next move.” I pick up the curling wand again and return to fixing my hair. “Jasmine, at the very least, will try to use the press to attack me and my childhood. No doubt there are several someones sniffing around trying to find out where I disappeared to and what happened to me when I was gone, and Jasmine will happily fill in some of those blanks. Truth be damned.”
Finn’s jaw tightens. “When they do, we’ll stop the stories running.”
“No, let them run.” I tilt my head to the side to check the curl at the back of my head. “I want them to run. Nothing is truly anonymous, not even in journalism. Eventually, all these stories will be traced back to the Sinclair family. If the Palace tries to suppress them, it’ll just make it look like they’re true.”
“I hate that anyone might think badly of you because of her lies.”
“You said yourself that night at the hotel that someone is always going to dislike me. I’d rather be disliked for something I’ve actually done, but people will feel rather foolish if their only reason for hating me is based on a complete lie.” I put the wand down and free the rest of my hair. “So, let them.”
“Mm. I suppose.” He pauses. “It depends on the story. Some we’ll hold. There’s no way my mother will allow the press to be flooded with negative stories of you, no matter what your argument is.”
“I know.” I smile, glancing up at him. “Jasmine isn’t that stupid. She knows how to play the media—she’ll release a few unsavoury things about me that are close to the truth, like how I undercut her to become your fiancée. Hold back the things that have truth to them.”
“You didn’t undercut her. I never wanted to marry her, and I already told you that my mother refused to grant permission.”
“Oh, no, I undercut her. Once we made contact, I deliberately went behind their backs and snuck around to achieve my goal. I knew exactly what I was doing. There’s no use sugarcoating it.”
“You—”
“But nobody else knows that your mother refused to grant permission. Besides, it’ll hardly matter when the truth about her parentage comes out.” I pause at that. “By the way, did you ever tell your mother she’s my father’s biological daughter?”
Finn hesitates.
“Finn.”
“I thought she might explode if I told her before the banquet,” he admits. “For what it’s worth, I do think she has her suspicions. Especially after the way he spoke about you during the meeting.”
“Mm. Well, more fool him for that. Shouldn’t you be leaving before Oscar comes and knocks this door down?”
He checks his watch and slides off the vanity. “You’re right. And, you be careful today, all right? You shouldn’t be bothered on a private errand. Security will be—”
“Nearby the whole time, yes, I know.” I fight back a small laugh at his obvious concern. “Sophia went over everything with me yesterday. If anything happens, I’ll leave right away and not kick up a fuss, I promise.”
“Right.” He pauses again. “I don’t know why I’m worrying. You’ll be with Valentina. She’ll stop anything happening to you before security get anywhere near the situation.”