Page 30 of Reign or Shine

“Fuck off,” my other cousin, Simon, snaps from his wingback chair near the balcony doors. The glass of whiskey he had been staring into a while ago is now a glass of ice he’s frowning at. We’ve both really progressed over the last hour.

My mood is in the gutter. And my heart…shit, it’s hanging on by a thread.

“Wow. What a warm welcome to the club.”

From the corner of my eye I see Ambrose take a seat on the sofa across from me. At first, I don’t acknowledge him, but I can feel his stare. Something is eating at him.

Interlocking my fingers and letting them hang in the center of my chest, I turn my attention from the fascinating spot on the wall to him. There’s an annoying smirk on his stupid face that I instantly want to smack off. He may be the future king, but as one of my best friends who I think of as a brother, I had no problem bringing him down a peg or two.

“What is wrong with you? Why do you look like that?” Simon demands at his brother from across the room. Not one to be left out, my other cousin flings himself from his chair and makes his way over to us, passing the beverage cart without stopping. He doesn’t sit, instead bracing a hand on the fireplace and staring down into the low flames.

“I don’t look like anything but what I am.” Ambrose smiles. “A handsome prince with a secret.”

“You’re a gossip whore is what you are. Such an unbefitting trait for a royal.”

“Shut it, Simon. The gossip is for Henry.”

“Me? What could you possibly have to tell me?”

The room falls into silence as I wait for Ambrose to tell me what he knows. Just as the gleam in his eye turns into a manic twinkle, the door of the hotel study bursts open. Ambrose and I are sitting with our backs to the entrance, so we don’t immediately see who’s entered. Simon must think nothing of it because he doesn’t move a muscle.

Then I hear it. Her. The melodic sound of her sweet voice.

I’m stunned, frozen in place, not believing that she’s really here. I was going to give her one more day and then I was going to go get her. There was no way I was leaving without her knowing how I felt.

Yet, as she begins talking, I realize one thing. She’s addressing me but not talking to me. She’s directing her attention to Simon’s hunched over form.

What the hell?

Chapter Fourteen

Ellie

This hotel really needed to do a better job with security. This is the second time in over a week that I’ve been able to get up to the top floor and make my way toward the royal suites without anyone stopping me.

At one point I thought I had been made. A man in an all-black suit had murmured something with suspicion into his sleeve, and I had prepared myself to be swarmed, but nothing happened. I got on the elevator without any incident.

Now, here I was, standing outside the room where Henry and I had first met. I knew he was in there. I could feel him. Or maybe it was indigestion from eating too much junk and this was a bad idea.

Yeah, this was a bad idea.

I turn to leave but instead just turn in a full circle, coming back to face the door.

No, I had to do this. I needed to do this and let Henry know how I felt. Then I could scamper back to my junk food cave and eating my emotions for the millionth time this week.

You got this. You got this. You got this.

I repeated the mantra, shaking out my limbs to hype myself up. Then, with one last deep breath for courage, I tore through the doors.

I see a dark figure across the room and come to sudden standstill. He looks so sad. I couldn’t see his face, but Henry’s posture was unusual for him. Almost like he was defeated.

“Henry,” I begin, my voice coming out louder than I wanted in the large room. “I’m so sorry.”

My words hang in the air, unwelcome. Henry doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t even move from his spot. That alone crushes me.

Not because he doesn’t acknowledge me, but because I’ve reduced him to this state. I’ve broken his trust to the point where he can’t look at me.

I needed to fix that ASAP.

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