Page 54 of His Hidden Royal Heirs

“You have time,Princesa. There is no rush. I thought I knew how it should all go to make it exactly right. I suppose, in a way, I’ve been searching for exactly right since I lost my parents. I have tried to control you, because I thought it was best.Right.But there is no exactly right. None to be had. So we will take whatever time we need to make every next step. Perhaps not all the right ones, but if we put our children first, they will be right enough.”

He took her hand, kept saying these words that seemed to tear down all the protections she’d so carefully hung up over the years. They’d started crumbling when Beau had told her to make choices for herself, and now there was nothing left.

He’d taken it all away.

“I have not been the same since you walked into my life, Zia. I thought I could put that into a neat little order, control it all, make it be what I wanted. That is how I am used to dealing with my life being upended.”

“Mylife was upended.”

“Yes. We both have been forced to face the consequences of our actions. I’m not sure either of us handled it as well asperhaps we should have, but we have not done irreparable damage. We have done our best, and now we’ll do better.”

“Bynotmarrying?”

“By choosing, Zia. On my end, I choose you. I have fallen in love with you. Your strength and protective spirit. Your beauty and your wit. But regardless of my feelings, I think we can raise these children mostly on the same page. And that is what I vow to do, regardless of what you choose for yourself.”

“Cristhian...”

“So you take your time. You think on whatyouvow to do. For yourself.”

At some point, you have to face yourself, Zia. Not me. Not your babies. You.

Cristhian watched over her for the next few days, barely leaving her side, but he did not push the matter. The doctor gave her the all clear to leave bed rest, but she was cautioned to listen to her body, to watch for signs she needed to rest.

He gave her space then. They ate dinner together, but unless she requested his presence, he stayed away.

And she found it didn’t take long at all to miss him. At first, she convinced herself it was just the company she missed. She was lonely.

But Beau called her every day. She wouldn’t give too much away about her new life as a married woman, but she didn’t seem upset or unhappy. She seemed very much herself.

And still, Zia longed for Cristhian. There was something comforting about his presence. In so many different ways.

“So,” Beau drew out, making Zia realize she’d zoned out of their conversation. “I take it you haven’t decided what to do about Cristhian.”

“I am still living here, aren’t I?”

“That’s not a decision, Zia. That’s staying still hoping someone swoops in and makes the decision for you.”

She wasn’t hoping for that. She didn’t think. “How am I supposed to justdecideif I love him, or if I could? They are feelings. Not decisions. Not math facts.”

“I am learning all sorts of fascinating things about being married to a man I barely know. One of them is this. I do not question whether or not I love Lyon. IknowI do not.”

“It isn’t that simple,” Zia insisted. How could it be? She had a relationship with Cristhian. It wasn’t just taking on an arranged marriage.

“Hmm,” Beau replied.

“Itisn’t. I’m confused because... He says he loves me, Beau, but how could he? Why would he? We only barely know each other. I have nothing to offer him, really. I can’t do any protecting, play some role in his life. I am simply the mother of his children.”

“Nothing to offer... Zia, it’s not atransaction.”

“No, but...”

“Zia, you don’t have to be useful to him for him to love you. You know that, don’t you?”

“I don’t think...” But she supposed, in a way, she didn’t understand why he would claim love when there was nothing she was really giving him, beyond birthing their children.

“It doesn’t take Psychology 101 to determine that’s a warped thought no doubt brought on by how our parents treated you as heir. I love you regardless of what you’ve done for me.”

“You’re my sister.”

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