Page 53 of Lily and the Billionaire Prince

“What are you doing here?” she asked. Had Snow said something? Even if she had, how would Damon have ever known she would be here at the train station? Unless he’d just gotten off a train that had brought him to Einvar…

“That obnoxious friend of yours tried to scare me off. She said you were engaged to a prince.”

Why would Snow tell him that? Lily could picture her friend, tired of hearing Damon knocking on Lily’s door, tired of hearing his yells, opening her door and telling him to step off. Of course, Damon wouldn’t accept that. He’d never liked being told what to do. Lily had never suspected he would come after her so quickly. He would have to had to leave immediately after talking to Snow.

Lily should have been better prepared to handle it. So much of this situation with Henrik had thrown her completely off course. Why—why hadn’t she had a better backup plan?

“Let me go,” she said.

“If what Snow said is true, you’ve got a prince in your pocket,” Damon said. “How else did you get all that money to me in such a timely manner?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been saving up. I gave you the last of my savings.”

Damon went on, rubbing his goatee as if he didn’t hear her. “If he was willing to help you once, I’m sure that prince will do it again.”

Grip tight around her arm, he pulled her away from the waiting train. She tried to wrench free. “Stop it,” she said. “I’m not going with you.”

He dug his hand into his pocket. She half expected him to pull out a gun, but he only put his phone to his ear. “Share the first email,” he said to whoever was on the other end. “Yeah, right on the prince’s social media feed.”

“No, Damon. Don’t!” Disgust collided with waves of defeat. She’d been so close to freedom, so close she could taste it. Yet, now that freedom slipped through her fingers one dreg at a time. She jabbed her elbow into Damon, knocking hard against his ribs. Stymied, he released her, and Lily ran for the exit.

He was faster.

He gripped the back of her coat and jerked her against his chest so hard her teeth clacked together. His arms snaked around her stomach, keeping her against him. “Don’t do that again,” he said into her ear. “Or I’ll have him send another one. You saw how easy it was. Oh look, there it is.” He held up the phone. Prince Henrik’s profile picture was evident on his social media page and there, right in the middle of his feed, was a picture of the first snatch of private correspondence she’d shared with Patrick Billingsworth’s agent, though this had been tampered with. The wording now sounded as though Lily had made improper proposals to the celebrity to get him to agree to become King Toothpaste’s spokesman. The caption read, “The Prince’s new girlfriend will stoop to any level to get what she wants. Is this how she is with Henrik too?”

Lily cursed herself. They made it sound like something more than just business interactions had gone on between her and Patrick Billingsworth.

Damon’s grip on her arm turned into a vise. He leaned in close. “Don’t test me,” he said.

Lily succumbed to a sense of loss. Several people passed, watching them with concern.

“That’s a good girl,” he said, pressing his mouth to hers as people passed with nosy glances. She tore her mouth away. “Wouldn’t want to cause a scene, now would we? Kiss me like you mean it. Ease these people’s minds.”

Hating every inch of herself for giving in, she did as he bid.

“Now,” he said intimately, pressing his forehead to hers. “Take me to this prince of yours.”

19

Henrik had had plenty of arguments with his father, but this particular one ranked up there with the “You’re a Disappointment speech of 2019” and the “You Will Marry Who I Say You Will of last summer.”

“You didn’t hear the full explanation,” Henrik shouted. “You didn’t see the pain in her eyes.”

“She made illicit offers to that man,” the King shouted, wielding his phone in Henrik’s direction to display the screenshot he’d taken of the image that showed up on Henrik’s feed. He’d ordered their security team to ensure the image was deleted immediately. No one should have been able to post directly to Henrik’s page without permission, yet this person had hacked through.

“Lily would never do that,” Henrik argued. “You were hoping for something like this to pop up so you could get rid of her.”

Father released a defeated sigh and rubbed his temples. He was fully dressed now rather than in the night things he’d worn when he called Lily amediocrity.“I don’t see why you want to keep her so badly.”

“That’s something you’ll never understand,” Henrik said.

“What does that mean?”

“Come now, Father. I know all about your situation with Mother. You both hated being in an arranged marriage, yet you insisted on subjecting me to the same torture. I’m no fool. I’ve watched you my whole life. You despise each other. I swore I’d never do that to my wife. I swore I would marry someone I loved, not just someone you think would be best for my image or this kingdom.”

“And this trollop—”

“Don’t. Call. Her. That.”

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