Page 10 of My Dark Prince
“You won’t leave her in Switzerland alone. I’ll take her.”
“Like hell you will. And create a scandal the size of Russia?”
I couldn’t believethat’swhat she cared about right now. Briar Rose must’ve gotten her brains from Daddy, because her mommy had none.
Rivers of blood snaked in and out of my fingers. Briar Rose collapsed against my palm, sobbing into it. They’d hear her if I didn’t stop her tears. I racked my brain for ideas.
“Just be honest and admit it.” Cooper’s voice fell to a whisper, “You want to get rid of her because you’re jealous of her. Because her exquisiteness outshines yours. Because you see someone good and pure, and you know that you are neither.”
Philomena snorted. “I am not jealous of my own daughter, you fool.”
“You are. You cannot handle her beauty and grace. You’re banishing her from your kingdom to feel better about yourself. Quite sad, really.” He paused. “You’reMaleficent. Ferocious. Vindictive. Past her prime.”
“I—” Philomena stopped. “What was that?”
Briar Rose.
Weeping into my palm.
A breath away from full-on sobs.
Shitfuckdamn.
Philomena gasped. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
Shit. I had to do something. I didn’t have a choice. Before I could second guess myself, I removed my hand from Briar Rose’s face, rocketed forward, and crashed my lips onto hers in an urgent, suffocating kiss.
It wasn’t hot, or steamy, or skilled. Neither full of desire nor the love snowballing inside me for the last couple years. No, this kiss bore the angry signs of desperation, and angst, and worry. Of an attempt to suck away the pain from my favorite person in the world and swallow it as my own.
The coppery tang of my blood passed from her lips to mine. She choked into the kiss but didn’t break it. Instead, she grabbed my shoulders, pulling me in, clinging to me like she was dangling from the edge of a cliff and I was the rock keeping her alive.
“I don’t hear anything.” Cooper snorted. “Pathetic. Every time I manage to track you down, you do anything to get out of this conversation—”
“Speaking of, the next time you show up where we are, I’m slapping your ass with a restraining order. You don’t have the balls, nor the funds, to fight me on it. Donottest me. It won’t end well for you.”
“And you think this charade will end well for you?” He gestured wide, his shadow consuming the wall as I shifted Briar Rose until she no longer had a view of it. “I know your weakness, Phil. You and that criminal husband of yours.”
“My god. You think she’ll want you, don’t you?” Philomena’s sarcastic claps filled the barn, and I hoped badly that Cuddlebug was too occupied by our kiss to hear them. “She’s weak. Incapable of speaking up for herself. Yesterday, I swapped my burnt steak with her perfect one. She didn’t say a thing.”
What a fucking …
“Monster,” Cooper finished for me.
I squeezed Briar Rose tighter, searing our lips together, pressing them so close that she couldn’t budge if she tried.
“And you’re out of options. Leave Briar Rose alone.” Philomena’s heels click-clacked against the concrete. “If you don’t, she’ll lose what she has. The money. The pedigree. The reputation. You have nothing to offer her. You’re here as aservant.”
“I’m honored to work a blue-collar job if it means getting a glimpse of my daughter.”
“Yes, well, Briar Rose is used to a certain type of lifestyle. Don’t ruin it for her. She won’t be happy if you enter her life. No sane person wants to live off ramen and tap water in a grimy apartment their deadbeat dad can barely afford.”
With that, Philomena stomped away. Cooper cursed, flipped the middle finger at her retreating back with both hands, and kicked at the dirt-coated floor before trudging along the pathway back to the castle.
As soon as he left earshot, I unlatched my lips from Briar Rose’s. Rather than the sleepy, hazy expression girls usually donned after being kissed by me, her eyes remained wide open and sharp. She fisted her dress, peering around like she feared the shadows would return and consume her. At Sebastian’s sudden, obnoxious snore, she nearly toppled over with fright.
“Oh, god.” She clamped her hand over her mouth, fresh tears springing to her eyes. She didn’t even register the kiss. “Ollie, what am I going to do? It feels like the sky is falling.”
