Page 55 of Princess Bride Swap

Beau didn’t understand why that didn’t make her feel any better, but she pushed it all aside and focused on her sister. Her niece and nephew. On simple, easy love.

But was itsimplewhen she’d sacrificed herself for Zia? When Zia had sacrificed herself for Beau for years? Or was that give? And take. Hard decisions to make someone else happy. A willingness to survive the miserable, if someone else could be okay.

But Beau didn’t want her life to be what it had always been, so how could she go back to Lyon? Since there was no easy answer to that, she ignored it. She had a nice afternoon with her sister. A reaffirming evening watching Cristhian and Zia act as a team. The love they shared with each other and their children was clear.

Beau couldn’t go back to a life that didn’t look like that, so she’d done the right thing.

Of course, she didn’t know what to do about the future. Lyon would hardly grant a divorce. But, she couldn’t go back. Maybe it was her turn to disappear. Zia had gone to a little polar island for a while when she’d first discovered her pregnancy, maybe Beau could follow suit.

She would be alone, but wasn’t that better than hiding half of herself to please someone? Or being hidden away in a castle that wasn’t hers? Better to isolate herself than be isolated by others. She had always thought so, and she tended to be right.

Late into the evening, really early morning at this point, she helped Zia with the twins’ middle-of-the-night feeding. They sat together on the couch under a very dim light, Beau feeding Harrison with a bottle while Zia held Bee to her. Even in her fog of misery, this felt so nice. To be an adult with her sister. To sit here in a life that did not involve their parents or threats orkingdoms. Just late nights and quiet rooms and sweet babies.

Cristhian came in. He was dressed in dark sweats and a T-shirt, his hair sleep-rumpled.

Zia looked up at him with some surprise. “Beau helped me. You should have kept sleeping.”

But Cristhian was giving Beau an odd look, before he turned to his wife. “Zia? Can I talk to you for a second?” He nodded toward the hallway.

A secret. Beau frowned. Zia raised an eyebrow.

“I’m in the middle of something, darling,” she replied dryly, pointing to the child latched to her.

“Yes. I know. It’s only...”

Beau shared a look with Zia, because never any time had she ever seen Cristhian seem even remotely uncertain as he did now.

And then she heard a shout from somewhere deeper in the house. Both Beau and Zia straightened with alarm.

“Is something wrong?” Zia asked.

Cristhian cleared his throat. “Well. It seems the prince has arrived.”

“Who’s the prince...?” Beau began to ask, but then it dawned on her. She recognized that shout, though she had never heard Lyon shout in such a way. Her eyes widened. What was he doing here? “Oh.”

Oh.

Zia reached over, clutched her arm. “You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to. Cristhian will send him away.”

“We have tried.” Cristhian cleared his throat. “He is quite...insistent.”

“So insist him right back,” Zia said fiercely, as she transferred Bee to her shoulder and rubbed the baby’s back until a small burp sounded. “With your fist,” she added darkly, a very strange tableau.

But not as strange as Lyon being here.Here.

“I’m trying to avoid an international incident,” Cristhian replied, his voice equally as dry as Zia’s had been earlier.

“Well, I’m not.” Zia got to her feet as if she was about to go instigate such incident. But before anyone could do anything, Lyon stormed right into the room.

His hair was wild, his tie loose and one of the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned.

For ticking moments, Beau could only stare at him. He was as unkempt as she’d ever seen him. He was angry, certainly, and infrontof people. And still her heart leapt.

What an idiot she was. What a stupid thing love was. She clutched Harrison close and steeled herself for whatever he was going to say.

Because she wouldn’t go back and shrink herself. No matter what she’d done, no matter what she’d promised. She would be free.

And he could go to hell.

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