Page 47 of Expecting Royal Twins!
“Oh, dear.”
She smiled. “That’s exactly what the queen said. After my third mistake, Queen Bea was laughing along with King Dee and wondering if she was using the correct fork or not.”
“Laughter makes everything better.”
Niko stormed into the room with a stack of newspapers in his hands. His lips were pressed together, his eyes dark. “We have a problem.”
Izzy had no idea what sort of problems could put so much worry on a prince’s face, but it couldn’t be good.
Jules set her fork on the plate. “What has happened?”
Niko opened one of the papers and showed them the front page headline written in English.
Princess Isabel Zvonimir Kresimir Lives!
Jules gasped. She covered her mouth with her hands.
Izzy stared at her name with a strange sense of detachment. It almost seemed surreal to see herself called a princess and her first name paired with two different last names. “What does the article say?”
“It’s a complete biography of you, including your return to Vernonia.” He handed the paper to Izzy. “Whoever leaked this information to the press will pay.”
“It’ll be okay.” Izzy wanted to put a positive spin on things. They had a plan. They didn’t need to get distracted. “We knew my identity would come out at some point.”
“We wanted to control when that happened.” Niko tossed the rest of the papers on the table. “Read the article.”
Izzy did. Each time she read the words wife or bride, she squirmed. The details in the story made the knot in the pit of her stomach grow. “Whoever leaked the information must have overheard my conversation with your parents last night.”
Niko frowned. “We have never had any problems with the staff before.”
“Some of the article is word for word what I said. It’s also kind of strange.” Izzy scanned the article once more. “There’s very little about my life before I arrived in Vernonia. Your parents and I discussed my job, but nothing is mentioned. This article makes it sound like I was living the life of an exiled royal hiding out in North Carolina, not a mechanic working at a garage to make ends meet.”
“That is good,” Jules said. “People will only see you as a princess.”
Izzy straightened. “There’s nothing wrong with being a mechanic.”
“No,” Jules admitted. “But as King Dmitar said the other night, there’s a perception.”
Niko’s frown seemed permanently etched on his face. “I would have rather they called you a grease monkey than my wife or princess bride.”
Izzy winced. Okay, that hurt. “Why don’t we head to the High Court now, then you won’t ever have to hear that about me again.”
Jules shot her a compassionate look. “I don’t think Niko intended his words in that way.”
His hard gaze met Izzy’s and softened. His cheeks reddened. “No, I…I did not. I apologize. But the wording, especially the usage of husband and wife, suggests a closer, more intimate relationship than what we have.”
“The article is slanted that way,” Izzy agreed. “But once the annulment—”
“Jovan is at the royal offices in town,” Niko interrupted. “People are assembling. The Separatist colors are flying in support of you. The people want you to be the next queen.”
Her mouth gaped. “The people just found out about me.”
His jaw thrust forward. “Word travels fast.”
“You need to talk to them.” Her eyes implored him. “Tell them Jules is going to be your wife. Explain how I’m engaged to Boyd.”
Jules’s gaze met Niko’s. Some unspoken communication passed between them. “I cannot,” he said.
The sudden silence increased the tension in the room tenfold. Izzy felt clueless. She struggled to put the pieces together.
The Separatists have wanted your bloodline to rule their portion of Vernonia.
Your father believed that a union between the two royal families would appease the Separatists and avoid war. His goal, our goal really, was to unite Vernonia with your marriage.
History has shown a marriage between rival sides can ease the strife and lead to peace.
