Page 59 of The King's Fake Bride

“No, but thank you. I told him that I would see this through. He needs me. I can’t abandon him like that.” I stand up and take a slow inhale, the salt air doing little to ease my nerves. “He’s offered me outs a couple times, and I’ve never taken them.”

“So you still want to get married, then?”

I bite the inside of my cheek, holding back more tears. “I just want a family and a bakery. I could have both if I marry him.”

“You could have both if you don’t. You’re one of the most capable people I’ve ever met. You held on when you lost your family. Twice. Sure, you may have struggled, but you’ve always come out on the other side. You’ll come out on the other side of this too.”

“And what if I don’t?”

Gabby pulls me into a tight hug. “Then I’m going to be waiting for you on the other side, the same way I always have been.”

“Even if I decide halfway down the aisle to turn and run?”

“Ames, I’m here for you through everything. If you want to run seconds before you say ‘I do’, I’ll race you to the getaway car.”

Laughing, I wipe my eyes and hug her back, holding on until I hear Daphne shuffling around in the bedroom. “I think it’s time to go and get me married.”

“Are you sure that this is what you want?”

“No, but I want Xander.”

CHAPTER 21

XANDER

Maybe I should find Amy and tell her that the wedding is off.

It would save both of us a lot of heartache. She wouldn’t have to marry a man she didn’t think loved her, and I wouldn’t have to lose her at the end of two years.

I sit in my study at the other end of the castle, staring at a picture of my parents on their wedding day. They were in love with each other, and it showed. Dad looked at Mom like she was the reason the stars hung in the sky.

And then here I am.

Amy doesn’t even know that’s the way I look at her.

How can I put Katastinia above everything else when I would walk away from the crown right now if it meant I got to keep her in my life?

How can I be as devoted to Katastinia as Yorgos was when my heart is with a woman who wants to leave when our contract is done?

Am I prepared to walk away from the crown and the promise I made to my brother?

I take a deep breath as a knock at the door echoes through the room. “Come in.”

The door swings open, and Atticus steps inside, an envelope in his hand. His gaze scans over me before he nods. “Good. You’re already in your tux. I wasn’t sure that you would be.”

“Of course I am. It’s my wedding day. What’s supposed to be the happiest day of my life, allegedly.”

“If you’re having second thoughts, I can handle Jorge and Stavros.”

“Neither of them has been bothering me about the marriage or the crown recently. I think Stavros is finally ready to accept that I won’t be backing down, even if this marriage goes up in flames.”

Atticus holds out the envelope to me. “Well, as long as you’re still going through with it, I’m supposed to give this to you. Your dad wanted me to hold onto it until your wedding day just in case he wasn’t around.”

My heart stops as I take the envelope from him, my hand shaking. “Do you know what it says?”

“Not a clue. I’m going to go make sure Beatriz found the kitchen all right. You read that and then get yourself to the altar on time. You have an hour.”

He leaves the room as I stare at my name on the front of the envelope, scrawled in my dad’s familiar writing.

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