Page 114 of Royally Drawn

“Be the parent you wanted and needed,” Odette said. “And be honest. See them and let them feel seen. That’s all kids need.”

“But we have more responsibility with the girls,” Alexandra said. “Because they are most at-risk in this goddamn fishbowl.”

“We raise them to raise hell,” I said. “And tell them to choose wisely. And to never sit down because the patriarchy said they should smile more.”

“Damn straight!” Astrid said.

“To raising our daughters to raise hell!” Alexandra said, raising the bottle she’d taken from my hands.

“To that,” I said, pretending to raise a glass.

“She never took our shine completely,” Odette said. “We thriveddespiteher—not because of her. And let’s never forget that. We love each other hard and always show up for each other. Let’s teach our girls to do that. Well, hopefully, if I ever have one.”

“You will, God willing,” Alexandra insisted. You’re going to be a great mom to a daughter someday.”

“Thanks,” Odette said.

I let out an involuntary depressed sigh.

“Tell him!” Astrid said.

“What?” Alexandra asked.

“Ingrid, tell him. Tell him you love him.”

“Yes, tell him already! Have you even spoken to him?” Odette asked.

I drank more of the bottle than I wished I had, putting it back down on the cobblestone floor with a bit of a clatter. I caught it, eventually.

“Shit, sorry. Uh… I did talk to him—not by choice. Rick released Manon into the wild, so we’d be forced to talk.”

“Cheeky bastard,” Astrid giggled.

“Indeed. He came over and apologised, but I just dressed him down in Norwegian.”

“Why?” Alexandra asked.

“Because she had a plan,” Odette said. “A petty plan in which she learned Norsk properly just to sling barbs at him. Who does that if they aren’t invested in someone?”

“Who has time?” Alexandra asked.

“I’m lonely,” I sighed. “I haven’t… I cannot just move on. It’s depressing.”

“It’s not. It’s because you love him. Like Astrid once told me, the man is an asshole, but he’syourasshole. He loves you,” Alexandra said.

“I don’t think that was the exact quote about Rick, but sure. It fits. She’s right. You still love him. He’s right here. Just tell him he hurt you; you need to see changes and love him. You’ll regret not giving him another chance,” Astrid said.

“I cannot risk him breaking my heart again.”

“If you don’t risk it, sweetheart, you’ll never know,” Odette said. “The heart is more resilient than you believe. And you’re stronger than you think. We all are. If Celeste couldn’t bring us down, no one could. But living alone forever? Is that what you want?”

“I want happiness, someone to come home to, and kids. I am not sure if I can ever trust him again.”

“Life is hard. You can’t love if you don’t risk it all,” Astrid said. “But you’ve never shied from danger, kid.”

She was right.

No Escape

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