Page 47 of Lily and the Billionaire Prince

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The next day, Henrik had some royal business to attend to, so Lily was free to explore the castle. She took her time getting to know the space, examining artwork—portraits of Henrik’s ancestors, scenic paintings, and sculptures. She gazed at the walls, remembering the story Henrik had relayed about his great-grandparents and wondering about what secrets these walls contained.

How many families, how many lives, how many stories could these stones tell? She admired the library and meandered to the built-in chapel, whose stone pews were situated in homage to a decadently carved cross hanging before an elaborate, stained-glass depiction of Christ. Her favorite room by far, however, was the conservatory.

The gardener had been spritzing water on a plant with extremely large leaves and he’d explained that the Von Frosk family had revamped the conservatory to include modern technology in the room’s plentiful windows. The specialized glass cooled the conservatory in the summer and kept it warm during Einvar’s coldest season.

Lily basked in the Florida-summer-esque warmth and admired the sheer amount of verdant growth covering practically every surface. Succulents, palms, cacti, and what Lily suspected to be lemon and orange trees, climbed and splayed, leaving a path around them for exploration. She pushed large leaves aside and plunged deeper in, imagining she really was a princess lost deep in a hidden jungle. What would it be like to have a room like this at her fingertips? She would read in here, for sure.

“I see you found the conservatory.”

Lily turned away from a plant with wide, padded leaves clustered at the base of some climbing vines reaching to the glass ceiling and found King Thomas stalking in with his hands behind his back. She chastised herself for imagining using this room if she ever married Henrik and came to live here. Could she do it? Could she accept Henrik knowing his father was so against the idea?

Unlike the other times she’d seen the King, he now had a friendly look on his face. “In the summer, many of these plants will flower with brilliant colors.”

“I bet that’s amazing,” she said, unsure how to read this interaction. What did the King mean by talking to her like this? Like they were friends? She knew he didn’t like her and didn’t want her here.

He brought his handsome smile to her. Though his lips were curved, his eyes were cold. “Too bad you won’t be around to see it.”

“Your Majesty?”

He straightened his shoulders and his friendly expression melted into sternness. “Let me get to the point. Henrik is going to become king. He has been trained for this position his entire life and the expectation has always been that he would marry a woman equal to him in status. A woman capable of handling the demands of the crown. His mother and I have pushed the position on him hoping it would get him to grow up a little bit and start accepting his responsibilities, which is why I offered him a little leeway.

“But he needs a woman who can support him in his responsibilities, a woman who can raise their children to the same standards. I had hoped by allowing him to frolic with ordinary women as I did, that he would realize this for himself. He didn’t. Lovely as you are, you don’t fit these criteria either.”

Ouch. Damon had said some hurtful things to her before, but somehow, she’d never felt quite this small. “I understand,” she said. She’d known as much, but she’d allowed hope to override that fact. “But Henrik chose me.”

“Which is why he will not listen to reason,” King Thomas said. “Henrik is a stubborn man and has convinced himself that you are worth risking his position over. That is why, if the right course is to be taken, you must be the one to do it.”

“You think I should leave.” Not a question.

“I do. I can compensate you for your time and your silence.”

Lily closed her eyes. Small and cheap. Damon had made her feel both of these as well. Was that all men like them cared about? Money? Status? The minute Lily’s family had disinherited her, Damon’s affection and interest turned to abuse.

“Your offer disgusts me,” she said. “I want nothing from you.”

If her words bothered the king, he didn’t show it. “And Henrik?”

Her lower lip trembled, but she met the king’s gaze. “He is the one who invited me here. With all due respect, Your Majesty, I’d like to talk to him about this.”

The King’s face reddened. “He doesn’t need to know.”

Lily had the desire to leave the room. She didn’t want to be alone with this man any more than she ever wanted to be alone with Damon Neeley. She opened her mouth to excuse herself when Henrik’s voice drifted in.

“I don’t need to know what?”

She rotated to find him standing in the doorway between panes of glass connected by mortar. He looked gallant in a suit branded by a red sash across his chest bearing his family coat of arms. Lily’s heart went frantic. She wanted to rush to him, to have his arms around her and have him stand between her and his father, but she stood her ground. She had adored the conservatory’s muggy heat, but now the humid air was stifling.

“Think over what I’ve said and do what’s best for him,” the King muttered before making for the door.

Lily stood like a trembling pot of water. The room was tilting. King Thomas’s words were baseball bats against the glass, hammering hard over and over again, adding cracks in the peace she’d felt moments before. She touched her fingertips to her thumb, needing a different kind of sensation to ground her.

“Was he unkind to you?” Henrik asked, stepping toward her. His hand was warm against her shoulder.

She worked to get her trembling body under control. How could she tell him what the King had said? He’d treated her like she was nothing more than a servant who’d been caught trying on the Queen’s dresses. Too late, Lily realized she hadn’t answered.

Henrik wove around to meet her gaze. He tipped her chin upward. The instant her eyes locked with his, additional heat wove through her.

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