Page 80 of The Reluctant Heir

“Madeline, the guy argued with his father, the king, to give you time. If it were up to him, the wedding would be next week. He’s doing it for you.” Kaine gives me a pointed look. “As jealous as I am, I can still admit that he will be good to you. He’ll be good for you.”

He’s jealous.

Of course he is. He told me he has feelings for me. And as curious as I am after the kiss we shared yesterday, I know that Kaine is right. Damek does care for me, though I’m not sure it’s love quite yet. And he will make a good husband.

23

BELONGING

Ipace the hallway outside of my father’s office, trying to get the nerve up to knock on the door.

Dad is an understanding person—certainly he will take my side on this. If I just explain to him how I feel, he will straighten this whole thing out.

The thing is, I don’t need to be engaged to Damek right now. We could date. That’s what I want. The added pressure of being engaged is too much, too soon.

The door abruptly opens and Dad sticks his head out, leveling me with a look. “Are you coming in or are you going to walk back and forth all night?”

Right.

I forgot vampire hearing is a thing.

Back home, nobody except for me had supernatural hearing. I could’ve done this all night outside of my mom’s office and she would’ve never known.

Dad opens the door just enough for me to slip inside. He nods to the guard standing outside his office and shuts the door once I’m through.

“Have a seat, Madeline.” He slips onto the couch and pats the spot beside him.

My dad’s office is huge. He has a large desk that is currently covered in papers. His laptop is open on the top of a stack of papers. Bookshelves line the wall behind his desk with familiar looking leather bound books.

Vampire law books, I realize.

There is a large window to the left that overlooks the side of the house. From here, you can get a glimpse of the lake and the path that leads toward it.

Realizing I’m stalling, I walk over to the loveseat and sit beside my dad.

“Talk to me,” Dad says in a tone that leaves no room for argument.

I shift in my seat so that I’m facing him. “The thing is, I know that I’m a half vampire and I know there are expectations that come with being your daughter, but I’m also a half succubus. And succubi don’t get engaged to guys they’ve known for such a short amount of time.”

“Do you dislike Prince Damek?” Dad furrows his brows as he studies me.

I shake my head. “No. I like him. A lot, actually. If given enough time, I think we could be good together. But I don’t know him that well.”

“I thought you’d be happy. You’re getting a six month engagement to Prince Damek.” Dad rubs a hand on the back of his neck. “With Eden, I had less than two weeks to prepare for our marriage. I’m ashamed to admit, I didn’t even like her for the first year of our marriage. I was stubborn about not wanting to like her that I couldn’t see how great she was.”

My eyes widen in surprise.

Dad didn’t even like Eden? It’s hard to imagine that. She’s so sweet and kind. She’s easy to like. How could anybody dislike her?

“Your mother…” He pauses and clears his throat. “What happened between us was just me being stubborn. I didn’t want to be married to Eden. I resented the fact that my father forced me into an unwanted marriage. Eden didn’t want the marriage any more than I did, but I was too selfish to think of her. I was thinking only of myself. I had just found out that she was pregnant with Lucien—with a child I didn’t want yet. And your mother was… beautiful. She still is, you look so much like her.”

I shake my head. “No. I look like you.”

He puts his hand on the top of my head, giving me a sad smile. “You have my hair and eye color, but your mannerisms remind me so much of her. You even have her nose and lips.”

I do?

All my life, I’ve only seen how different I am from my mom that I never considered how similar we are.

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