Page 65 of The Reluctant Heir

I wipe my face. “Kaine, I don’t want you here right now. Please leave.”

He doesn’t even attempt to leave though. Instead, he steps closer to my bed. “What’s wrong?”

I sniff. “Nothing.”

He raises an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t be crying in your room if it were truly nothing.”

“I don’t need you making fun of me,” I tell him. “I don’t want you telling me that you were right. I just…” my voice breaks, “I just want to be alone.”

He sighs, stepping forward again. He doesn’t stop until he’s right beside my bed. I wonder what he’s doing when he takes a seat on the edge of my bed. “I heard what happened tonight.”

I wipe my face. “So you wanted to come tell me that you agree with Queen Rune and her assessment of me?”

He levels me with his gaze. “I would never take her side over yours.”

I sit up so that I can face him. “Because I’m currently heir to the Scott Clan throne?”

Kaine shakes his head. “No. Because I know you. I’ve spent the past six weeks training you and in that time I’ve gotten to know you. You have a good heart.”

“My heart wasn’t in question.” I bite my lip and look down at my lap. I knit my fingers together, wanting something to do with them. I’ve never felt so exposed before.

“Madeline,” Kaine says.

At the sound of my name, I look up.

He called meMadeline. Not Princess Madeline. Not Princess Scott. But Madeline. Which means that he’s not here as my advisor or as a favor to my father. He’s here as my friend. And I’m not quite sure what to make of it.

“She was lying,” he says simply. “You know that, right?”

I shrug one shoulder. “I know that in theory. But the other part of me is reliving every single time my cousins told me I was ugly. You can’t even imagine how horrible it is to grow up in a family surrounded by beautiful people. I was the ugly duckling. The scar on the otherwise perfect family line.”

Kaine sighs, running his fingers through his hair. “I wish you could understand just how absurd what you’re saying is. You’renotugly, Madeline. You’re beautiful. Sometimes, it hurts to even look at you, you’re that gorgeous.”

My breath gets caught in my throat.

He looks away. “It’s part of the reason I hated you so much when you first came. I knew that you didn’t have anything to do with Lucien’s disappearance. I’vealwaysknown. But when I saw you for the first time, I knew that there was a possibility I could develop a crush on you or even fall for you. And no matter how beautiful and nice you are, I knew you could never be mine. You’re not mine to keep. So I was rude to you and I pushed youaway. I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me. Because you have the ability to annihilate me.”

My heart thumps a little faster at his proclamation.

Kaine thinks I’m beautiful.

And more than thinking I’m beautiful, helikesme.

My brain is in overdrive as I process what he’s telling me.

Does Kaine really think so highly of me?

I lick my lips and dare to meet his glacier blue eyes. “Thank you.”

He raises an eyebrow. “For what?”

“Take your pick.” I scoot closer to him. “Thank you for coming in here tonight and telling me that. I know it can’t have been easy to say. Thank you for being rude to me because if you hadn’t been rude I probably would’ve fallen for you the first day I met you. Don’t let it go to your head, but you’re beautiful too.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t have to compliment me. I didn’t say all that to get you to say nice things to me.”

“I’m not just trying to be nice.” I put my hand on his forearm. “To be honest, it wouldn’t take much for me to fall in love with somebody. I’ve wanted love my whole life. I had it from my mom, but I’ve missed it from my dad. And, even though I’m twenty three, I’ve never had a boyfriend. I’m always trying to convince myself that I like being single and I am thankful for the time I’ve had to figure out who I am, but I want a boyfriend. I want a husband and a family. I want to be loved. So, that’s why it’s good you weren’t nice to me. Because I probably would have had a major crush on you and I would’ve been very disappointed when I learned I had to choose a royal as a husband.”

He chuckles darkly, shaking his head. “You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

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