“Queen Delilah isn’t going anywhere,” he added, looking at me, his blue eyes blazing.
“Yes, I am,” I shrugged. “In 30 days the annulment will be final. Then you can choose whichever one of them you want. Or a third contender. Or do a whole rotation thing.”
Shutting my laptop, I got up, and Alexander did, too.
“Don’t go!” he growled in a low tone. “This annulment is nonsense. I’m not going to allow it. Your uncle told me virginity was very important in Gesaint culture and that I dare not even try to have sex with you before marriage.”
I couldn’t help grinning at this. “He was pulling your leg.”
Alexander groaned. “You mean we could have been having sex that whole time?”
I looked at him in surprise. He must be worried about the PR if he was so against the annulment.
“The whole country knows you cheat on me,” I said. “It’s not going to be a scandal that we annul our marriage.”
“But I don’t want to annul the marriage,” Alexander said, striding around the table. “Didn’t you see all these flowers? Where are they now?”
“Oh, those?” I asked. “Those are gone. Your note is right there, though.”
He looked down at the torn-up pieces on his plate for a moment, then up at me.
“That’s just the beginning of how I plan to show you I’m sorry,” he said. Look here.”
He pulled a little box out of his pocket and opened it in front of me.
“I got it pulled from the royal vault. It’s from the 18th century.”
It was a delicate bracelet, thickly clustered with more sparkling diamonds and emeralds than I’d ever seen in my life.
He thought he could fix everything with his money, didn’t he?
I held out my arm and he slipped the bracelet quickly on. Holding it up into the light, I twisted it this way and that, pretending like I was admiring it.
“It looks gorgeous on you, Delilah,” Alexander said eagerly. “I’m really sorry about what happened, sweetheart. I won’t do it again.”
I took two steps over to the garbage can and flicked my wrist. The bracelet fell into the trash with a loud clunk.
“No, thank you,” I said, watching with a vicious satisfaction as his face fell. “It’s not my style.”
“And where’s your wedding ring?” he growled.
“Oh that? I think it’s on my dresser,” I said airily, pushing my chair in. “Don’t worry, I can give it back to you right now.”
“I don’t want it back, Delilah,” Alexander said angrily. “Why aren’t you understanding this? I do not want you to leave. I want you to be my queen.”
“Over it,” I said, dabbing my lips with a napkin. “Well, I’ll leave you to your breakfast. I’m going to go pick a few blackberries from the garden to make tea.”
But the King rushed over to follow me out the big French doors into the garden.
“I know you love me,” Alexander said, putting a hand on my arm. “Let me make it up to you. What do you want? I’ll get it for you. Anything.”
“I want a husband who doesn’t fucking cheat,” I answered, shrugging him off. “So just accept that we’re over.”
He made a low, jagged noise deep in his chest, but I was already out the door.
He followed.
“I’m sorry, Delilah,” he gritted out.