Page 54 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

She sucked in a breath, her lips parting as realization dawned on her.

“Charles Kingsley is my father. He owns GenoTech. I’m a vice-president there. I’m not…a lab assistant. I just…Chloe manipulated me because she wanted the money. She just wanted an easy ride, gravy train. I was so afraid that would happen again, I wanted to make sure you liked me for me.”

He glanced at her, trying desperately to guess her emotions. A flicker of something crossed her eyes, but he couldn’t read it.

“So…”

“Ellie, I am…so sorry. I didn’t intend to mislead you. I just…wanted to make certain you really liked me. The real me. Not just my money. And I…the deeper I fell in love with you, the more this weighed on me. I couldn’t go forward without you knowing. Please don’t hate me.”

Ellie’s gaze fell to the floor of the car as the Ferris wheel swept them around again.

His heart thudded against his ribs as the silence stretched. She finally licked her lips and glanced at him. “Outside of your last name…and your bank account balance…have you been honest about everything else? About how you feel? Your personality?”

“Yes,” he said as he grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Yes, Ellie. You saw the real me. At every turn. The good, and the bad. Everything you saw is real. I just…didn’t want you to know I had money. That’s it.”

She offered him a fragile smile. “Well, I suppose then this isn’t an issue.”

His heart skipped a beat. Had he heard her correctly? “Really?”

“Should it be?” she asked.

“No,” he said with a vehement shake of his head. “No, it’s not an issue. It’s the furthest thing from an issue. Actually, it just…it means I can take care of you the way you deserve.”

“That’s a ridiculous statement,” she answered. “Love isn’t about money or fancy things. It’s about connection. Your honesty means more to me than anything. Ifell in love with the man who laughs at my jokes and stands by me, not the name on his bank account.”

He huffed out a breath, his lips curling. “And that is why I fell in love with you. You are an amazing woman. And whether love is about fancy things or not, you deserve the world, Ellie.”

Her eyebrows pinched at the statement, and she flicked her gaze to the floor.

“Ellie?”

She glanced up at him, a slight smile crossing her features. “I’m okay. I just…there is something I should say, too.”

Before she spoke again, the ride slowed to a stop and their door slid open. Elena sucked in a sharp breath before she shifted from her seat and exited the car. He stepped out next to her, sliding an arm around her shoulders tentatively, testing the waters as they strode away from the ride.

“Now, what were you–”

“Ellie!” Maddie’s voice called. He spotted his sister waving as she made her way toward them. His parents meandered behind her.

“Hi, Maddie!” Ellie said with a grin as she reached to wrap the girl in an embrace.

“Are you enjoying the fair?”

“I am, yes,” Ellie answered.

Maddie rubbed the teddy bear clutched in Elena’s arms. “Aw, did Nate win this for you?”

“Yes, he did,” Ellie said as she gripped his arm. “Isn’t he darling?”

His parents reached them, his mother offering him a questioning glance with her raised eyebrows. He offered her a tight-lipped smile and a tiny nod. “Ellie, I wanted you to meet my parents, Charles and Victoria Kingsley. Mom, Dad, this is my girlfriend, Ellie Greenfield.”

She smiled sweetly at them as she thrust her hand forward. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley.”

“It’s lovely to meet you, too, Ellie,” Victoria said as she shook her hand. “Well, we were just about to get a funnel cake. We’d love for you to join us, but if you prefer to be alone, of course, we understand.”

Ellie glanced at him as she lifted one shoulder with a smile. “I don’t mind at all unless you had something else in mind.”

Nate shook his head. “No, umm, no, we could take a break for funnel cake.”

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