Page 110 of The Billionaire's Royal Challenge

He stormed to his suitcase, still open on the bed, shoved in the remaining clothes unceremoniously,and flopped the lid closed before zipping it shut. With a groan, he tugged it from the bed and dragged it to the door.

A knock sounded at the door as he reached it with the bag. He pulled it open to find his mother on the other side. She eyed the suitcase in his hand. “I see you’re ready.”

“Yep. We can’t get out of here fast enough.”

She fluttered her eyelashes, her eyebrows shooting up. “Nate–”

“Don’t,” he said with a shake of his head. “I don’t want to hear about how I should talk to her. Or say goodbye. Or give it one last chance. I’m finished with this.”

“Wow, okay. I just…don’t want you to have any regrets.”

“I don’t.”

Victoria licked her lips, shifting her weight from one hip to the other. “I talked to her. Ellie.”

“Good for you,” Nate said, dragging the suitcase into the hall and pulling his door shut behind him. His heart pounded against his ribs at the simple action, but he wanted to close the chapter on this mistake in his life and move on.

“Where is all this sudden bitterness coming from? I know you had a fight, but–“

“She’s marrying Prince Eric,” he burst, the words tasting bitter on his tongue.

“What?”

“Yeah. I guess she didn’t pass the good news along, huh?”

“She didn’t mention it, no. Are you sure? Where did you hear this?”

Nate set his hands on his hips. “Prince Eric himself took great pleasure in informing me, then telling me that I was the thorn in his side he was thankful to have removed.”

“Oh, Nate, you can’t believe anything that man says. He drugged you. He’s probably saying it just to get at you.”

“Caroline practically confirmed it when I saw her just now. Ellie is marrying someone else. No, wait, Ellie ismarrying the man she ran away from, and she agreed to do it mere milliseconds after our breakup.”

Victoria’s features pinched as she studied him. “Do you think it’s a reaction to the breakup, maybe? She seemed…very upset when she said goodbye to us. She was in tears.”

Nate fluffed off the information, determined not to deal with it.

“And did Caroline confirm it or not? You said practically. So, did she say it was true or didn’t she?”

“Not in so many words, but I’m certain it is. She said something about her being determined to make her life miserable.”

“Well, she certainly seemed unhappy when she said her goodbyes to us. Maybe you ought to–“

He sliced a hand through the air, his nostrils flaring with annoyance. “Don’t say talk to her. Caroline said the same thing. I don’t want to talk to her. We said everything we needed to say. And her so-called reaction to our break-up is speaking volumes.”

“Nate…she’s in a tricky position. She has to–“

“I don’t care. It’s her life, she can live it however she wants. I just want to get out of here.”

Victoria shrugged. “What’s the rush?”

“I just want to put this behind me, that’s all, okay?”

“All right. I’ll go get Maddie and your dad.”

“What about Stephen?”

“Stephen left earlier, took a commercial flight. He’s getting a divorce from Chloe. He didn’t want to face the rest of the family just yet.”

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