Page 7 of Take My Throne

Chapter Three

Safely back in our rooms, Lucas turns to me, a worried look on his face. He brushes my hair out of my face, wanting to get a good look at where my father had hit me.

“Are you okay? Ivy, I’m so, so sorry. I had no idea he was going to do that.”

“I know.” I wave him away. His fussing irritates me. “And I’m fine. You don’t need to stress about me. I can take care of myself.”

“But you don’t have to.” Exasperated, Lucas runs a hand through his hair. “That’s the whole point. That’s what I’ve been trying to get through to you. You’re not on your own anymore. You can rely on me. I’ll look after you.”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” I shake my head. “I don’t want or need you to look after me. I was never one of those girls who imagined a white wedding, a prince swooping in to rescue her from her life. I saw what my mother was like after she left my father. I swore I would never let a man affect me like that. If I can’t stand on my own two feet without a man propping me up, then I’m a pretty sorry excuse for a woman. So if you’re serious about making this marriage work, you’ve got to start giving me some space to make my own decisions.”

“But what about--”

“My father?” I humourlessly laugh. “Don’t worry about him. I know how to keep up appearances. Years of sneaking out of foster homes taught me a lot about leading a double life. I’ll make sure he has the good little Archaic girl he wants me to be. But he doesn’t get to control me, and neither do you. I’m going to do what I want and you can either support me in that as the husband you claim you want to be, or you can go telling tales to my father, in which case I’ll know you’re the spineless wonder the boys say you are. It’s your choice. Now I’m going to take a shower. It’s been a long day.”

Lucas leaves me alone as I head off to the bathroom. I turn the water up as hot as I can take it and stand under it without washing. Letting the water cascade over me in a vain attempt to stop my mind racing at a thousand miles a minute.

It never gets any easier. It seems that everyone is determined to make my life as complicated as possible.

After the water begins to cool, I pick up the soap and scrub myself down. Sometimes it feels like a shower is the only time where I get any privacy...room to think. Shutting off the water, I put my PJs on. It’s still early, but it has been a long day and I want nothing more than to flop into bed and binge some Netflix.

“You okay?” asks Lucas, who is already stretched out on the bed. “Want me to get some food brought up?”

“No.” I sigh. “I’m not hungry. You get something if you want.”

“No, I’m fine. Besides, it would be rude to eat in front of you if you’re not having anything.” He pats the bed beside him. Even sitting next to him feels like a betrayal. However, he did protect me and a part of me knows he isn’t the bad guy.

“Anything in particular you want to watch?” Lucas asks. “There’s a new game show where people have to figure out a way round a maze while dressed up like rats. Looks silly but fun. Or we can check out that zombie survival drama if you like.”

“I don’t mind. Whatever you want.”

Lucas points the remote at the TV mounted opposite our bed and flicks through Netflix to find Where’s My Cheese? The game show is as daft as it sounds, and just what I need to take my mind off everything that has happened.

After a few episodes, Lucas puts on a thriller. I’ve seen it before, so I close my eyes, listening to the sounds of a father desperately trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter before time runs out and her attackers kill her. If only my father would do something like that for me. My life would be so different.

I’m so comfortable I end up drifting off to sleep out, worn out and exhausted.

????

When I wake up, it is dark and Lucas is asleep, the movie long since over. I throw on a pair of black jeans and a black polo neck jumper. I pull on a black beanie and carefully make my way across the room.

“Where are you going?” Lucas sits up in bed and I nearly scream.

“I just need some fresh air,” I lie.

“Do you want some company?”

“No. I need some time out if that’s okay.”

“Sure.” Lucas lays back down and rolls away from me. “Don’t let the guards catch you and be back before sunrise.”

I should have known he’d guess what I was up to. Still, it is sweet of him to let me go without making a big deal about it.

There are no bars on the windows of our apartment. Unlike when I lived here before, I assumed my father trusts Lucas to make sure I ‘behave.’ The window slides open quietly and easily, and I shimmy down the drainpipe to the ground floor. Staying close to the building, I make my way round to the back where the cars are kept. This is the most dangerous part of the building-–there are more cameras because of the many expensive cars my father keeps in his garage. But if you know where they are, which I do, it’s easy to stay out of their line of sight until you get to the other side. From there it is a straightforward run to Romy’s.

I debate calling a cab, but decide it isn’t worth the risk of word getting back to my father that I’ve gone over to the Navarres. Instead, I jog, making sure to keep to the shadows and backstreets so no one would see me. Fortunately, there is no one around at this time of night, so it isn’t long before I am at the outskirts of Romy’s estate.

Romy has taken me round his estate many times when I lived there, so I knew the places where he and his siblings used to sneak out at night when they were younger. It was an open secret between them and the guards, and everyone turned a blind eye as long as no one got into serious trouble.

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