Page 48 of Expecting Royal Twins!
I hope you aren’t suggesting we remain married, sir.
Something clicked in Izzy’s brain. The shocking realization made it hard for her to breathe. The weight of a people, a country, pressed down on her chest, on her heart.
She wanted to believe she was wrong. She had to be wrong. “There isn’t going to be an annulment, is there?”
A muscle flicked at Niko’s jaw. “The response by the Separatists this morning is similar to how the conflict began twenty-odd years ago.”
Conflict. She heard the anguish in his voice. What he really meant was war. A bloody civil war that had killed her parents and caused a nation to suffer.
“The High Court and my father will not allow an annulment now,” he added.
Vernonians have quick tempers. Our loyalty is our strength, but our biggest weakness. We will cling to our causes until the bitter end. Whether right or wrong.
Izzy trembled. She couldn’t give in to the emotions raging through her. “You mean, for now.”
Regret shone in his eyes. “I mean, ever.”
Niko’s words snuffed out her spark of hope.
No annulment. Niko would remain her husband. She would remain…here. Her life, her dreams…
She stared at the table, struggling not to lose it completely. And then she remembered. She wasn’t the only one affected by this.
Guilt at her selfishness coated her mouth. Her gaze bounced between Niko and Jules. “What about the two of you?”
“A dowry can’t stop a war. Only you can, Isabel,” Niko said as if he were already resigned to his fate. “None of us want this, but for the sake of Vernonia, will you consider remaining my wife?”
That was romantic. Not.
“This is crazy. Our marriage didn’t stop the war twenty-three years ago.” The words poured from her lips like steam from an overheated engine. “We don’t know that it will work this time or if it will even come to that. We shouldn’t be forced to give up our dreams for a what-if.”
Niko’s eyes sharpened with disdain. Tight lines bracketed his mouth. “I will not risk my country and my people so you can return to America to play with race cars.”
The abrupt change in him unnerved her, but she met his accusing eyes without flinching. “I was talking about you and Jules.”
“I’m okay with this, Izzy.” Jules sounded encouraging, but that was her nature. The princess wouldn’t show how she really felt.
“Well, I’m not.” Fighting her emotions, she stood. “The two of you are perfect together. You’re in love. You should be able to get married.”
“Isabel,” Niko said. “You should know—”
“I know enough.” The desperation in her voice matched the way Izzy felt inside. She might be attracted to Niko, but that wasn’t enough reason to marry a man who didn’t love her, a man who wanted to marry someone else. “This country is completely whacked. I want nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.”
She pushed back her chair, not caring that it clattered to the floor, and ran out of the room.
Izzy disappeared from sight before Niko could stop her.
Regrets assailed him. He had hoped she would eagerly do what was required of her, not get emotional and run away. He needed to make her understand what was at stake. “That did not go well.”
“She is young. An American.” Julianna stared into her coffee cup. “All this is foreign to her.”
“I’ll go after her.”
“Give her a little time.”
“Isabel is upset. She shouldn’t be alone.” He’d hurt her thinking she was being selfish. He needed to explain about his relationship to Julianna, too. “It’s my responsibility.”
Julianna sighed. “Izzy is not a responsibility. She’s a person. Your wife. A woman can tell if you’re there because you want to be or because you feel obligated.”
“I do feel obligated.” Frustration tightened the muscles in his neck and shoulders. “Isabel is not prepared to fulfill this role. Not the way you are.”
“Isabel is not a typical princess, but her heart is in the right place.”
“She does not want to be my wife.”
“She is upset and frightened. Your behavior only served to make her more so.”
