Page 110 of The Billionaire's Royal Secret

“I cannot abandon my heart, nor pretend my feelings are fleeting. I will not. You must allow me my choice.”

The man glanced at his daughter, his features softening. Was he finally seeing the light? “I am sorry, Elena. Truly, I am. But the time for discussions has passed. You will return with me tonight. If you refuse…”

“If I refuse?” Her words came out meeker than he’d expected. Was she giving in to her father’s demands?

“I shall take the necessary steps to secure your future and the future of our kingdom.”

“That sounds like a threat,” Victoria answered. “And I–”

Elena stepped forward from his embrace, her voice shaking as she held back sobs. “I will go with you, Father,”she conceded, her voice barely above a whisper. “But please, give me a moment.”

“Make it brief,” he answered.

She twisted to face him, tears brimming in her eyes. “Nathan–“

“Ellie, don’t go, please,” he begged her. He couldn’t watch her walk away. What hold did her father have over her? Why had she given in?

“I have no choice,” she sobbed.

Victoria stepped forward. “Honey, if you need help, we have security, too.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Kingsley. But I haven’t a choice. You must know how deeply sorry I am. For everything. I…had the same misgivings you did when you gave me your fake name. But this is not how I wanted things to unfold.”

His heart broke at the words. There must be a choice.

She continued, a tear escaping to her cheek. “I only wanted someone to see beyond my crown. Please know my feelings for you are real and profound. I love you, Nathan. And I am truly sorry for any pain I’ve caused.”

He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her he understood. He wanted to assure her that their engagement was real. That she didn’t need to leave. If she was walking away because she thought he was angry, he wasn’t. “Ellie–”

King Frederick cut off his words. “Elena, we must go.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered again as she clapped a hand over her lips and hurried away from the gazebo.

“Ellie, wait!” He called as he started after her.

“Nate–“ his mother began, placing a hand onto his shoulder.

“No,” he said with a shake of his head as he shrugged her off. “No, I have to go after her. She can’t leave like this.”

He raced toward the house, tearingthrough it to the driveway out front. Elena already sat in the back seat of the car.

His eyes focused on her huddled form as he opened his mouth to call out. King Frederick stepped into his line of vision, holding up his hand. “I am truly sorry for the upset my daughter has caused. But it is time we leave.”

“No, wait. No, she–“

One of the men who had accompanied him earlier held Nate back from following him to the car. The man slid inside and another attendant closed the door behind him.

As the royal car disappeared into the night, taking with it the woman he loved, a part of Nate went with it. Emptiness settled in his chest, filled with questions, doubts and a piercing sense of loss.

His features twisted as he ran a shaky hand through his hair.

His mother’s gentle touch caressed his shoulders. “Let’s go inside.”

“No, we can’t…she can’t…”

“Nate, honey, we have to let them go. She chose to go.”

“He didn’t give her much choice.” He tugged his phone from his pocket and found her name. With trembling hands, he dialed her number and pressed the phone to his ear. It went to voicemail. The sound of her voice in his ear brought both comfort and pain.

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