Page 50 of Expecting Royal Twins!
Jules sat next to her on the ground.
Izzy shot her a sideways glance. “You’re going to get dirty.”
“That’ll make two of us.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but I don’t feel like talking.”
Jules wrapped her hands around her bended knees. “Then you can listen.”
Izzy stared at the puddle of oil under the truck. Somebody needed to fix that leak.
“Niko and I aren’t in love.”
She looked at Jules. “What?”
“It was an arranged match. My third, actually,” Jules explained. “Arranged marriages are the tradition in Aliestle, whether you are a royal or a commoner. My first match was made when I was seven, but he was later deemed unacceptable. Too bad because I really…liked him. My second was made when I was twenty-five. My marriage to Prince Richard of San Montico would have realigned our two countries after one hundred and thirty-nine years of feuds, but he was in love with someone else and married her. And then came Niko. He’s honorable. Respectful. Attractive. But I’m not in love with him.”
Izzy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “The two of you get along so well.”
“We agreed to the match. We have common goals and a similar sense of duty.”
“Duty?”
“I am a princess of Aliestle. My duty is to do what is best for my country,” Jules said. “I am sure my father will make a fourth match for me as soon as he learns what has happened here.”
“I had no idea, Jules. I’m so sorry.” Compassion made Izzy reach out to her friend. “If I were you I would have run away by now.”
Jules laughed. “I imagine you would have, but this is how I’ve been raised. Aliestle is more archaic than Vernonia when it comes to customs. But the land is rich with natural resources so we can afford to be…eccentric and backward with some of our traditions.”
“But to marry someone you don’t love…”
“I have dreamed about marrying for love since I was a little girl.” Jules sighed. “The reality is an arranged marriage to best suit the needs of my country.”
“That seems to be my new reality as a royal, and it sucks.”
“Yes, sometimes it does,” Jules admitted. “Duty and country first. But I’ll tell you a secret. Even though I’ve always known I would be told who to marry, I’ve never given up hope that somehow I’d be able to marry for love. However remote the possibility.”
“I hope it works out for you.”
“Thanks, but I’m not holding my breath,” she said.
“I know it won’t happen for me now.”
“No, but Vernonia needs you, Izzy.”
“Vernonia isn’t my country.”
“It was your parents’ country and your uncle Frank’s.”
Izzy hadn’t been thinking about them this morning. Only herself. That wasn’t the way to honor the three people who had loved her so much and given up so much for her.
Guilt over her selfishness seared her heart. She needed to focus on what they would have wanted her to do in this situation, even if it wasn’t what she wanted. “I only wish it didn’t feel so wrong. I wish…I loved Niko.”
“But you have feelings for him, yes?”
“It’s been like a roller-coaster ride since I met Niko in Charlotte. I don’t know what I feel for him.”
“Remember, just because you don’t love someone at the beginning doesn’t mean you won’t love them in the end. Love can grow over time.”
“Do you really believe that?”
Jules smiled wryly. “Well, every time my father proposes another match I hope it’s true.”
Izzy couldn’t ignore the bigger part in all this—Vernonia. People here, like people everywhere, deserved to live in peace. That was what her parents had wanted. That was what she believed her uncle Frank had wanted, too. Izzy’s dreams of car racing seemed almost childish in comparison. Even if the High Court would grant her an annulment, she might be needed here in Vernonia. “I guess I’ll have to hope it’s true, too.”
Niko stood in the king’s office. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dampened the back of his shirt. He clenched his hands, struggling to control his temper. It wasn’t working. “I can’t believe you would betray me like this, Father.”
