Page 56 of The King's Secret Baby

Other people have taken notice, and they abandon what they’re doing to approach me. “It’s her,” a woman excitedly tells her friend.

“Excuse me.” I try to be polite as I sidestep the woman, but another person takes her place.

It doesn’t matter what I say, anyway. My words are lost beneath the growing clamor of voices. More people are gathering now, alerted by the man’s excited shouts. Faces swim before me, a sea of eager eyes and grasping hands.

“Is it true you’re carrying the prince’s heir?”

“How long have you been together?”

“What’s he like behind closed doors?”

I shield my face as people film me on their phones, the footage probably streaming straight to every social media site there is. Terror claws at my throat. I have to get out of here.

I try to push through the crowd, mumbling apologies as I go, but there are too many of them. They press in from all sides, suffocating me with their proximity. My chest constricts, lungs straining for air.

“Please, let me through,” I beg, hating the tremor in my voice. “I don’t want any trouble.”

But they’re relentless, drunk on the prospect of a juicy scoop. The questions keep coming, each one more invasive than the last. I feel like a cornered animal, defenseless against the onslaught.

Tears burn my eyes as desperation takes hold. Where are Luca’s security teams? Surely someone must have noticed my absence by now.

I scan the area wildly, praying for a glimpse of a familiar face, but there’s no one. Just an endless sea of strangers, all clamoring for a piece of me.

A hand closes around my arm and I yelp, trying to wrench free. But the grip only tightens, fingers digging into my flesh. Panic surges through me, hot and sharp.

Luca was right; I shouldn’t have left the palace. This is a nightmare come to life, and I’m completely alone, stuck in the middle of it and with no way out.

CHAPTER 27

LUCA

The architect, a slight man with wire-rimmed glasses, points at a place of concern on his plans for the new greenhouse. “Your Majesty, if we could just finalize the placement of the?—”

Stefan materializes at my side, his face grave as he interrupts. “Sir, there’s something you need to see.”

I stare at him. Stefan isn’t known for butting into a conversation. If he’s popping up like this, it must be serious.

He hands me his tablet, and my heart seizes in my chest as I take in the images splashed across the screen. It’s Hailey, her beautiful features twisted in fear, surrounded by a swarm of people.

Anger and betrayal war within me, battling for dominance. How could she do this? After everything we’ve been through, everything I’ve done to protect her?

“There are photographers amassing outside the palace as well,” Stefan says delicately.

I thrust the tablet back at him, my jaw clenched so tight it aches. “Get rid of them. I want every last one of those vultures off the premises. Now.”

He bows his head, hastening to carry out my command. I turn away, my mind racing as I struggle to process the implications of Hailey’s reckless behavior.

The coronation is tomorrow. The eyes of the world will be upon me, scrutinizing my every move. I can’t afford any distractions, any hint of scandal.

And yet, even as fury courses through my veins, I can’t shake the image of Hailey’s stricken face from my mind. The raw vulnerability in her eyes, the way she seemed to shrink in on herself…

It tears at something deep inside me, something I didn’t even know I had. A fierce, primal need to protect what’s mine.

Because despite everything, that’s what Hailey is. Mine. And I’ll be damned if I let anyone, even her, jeopardize that.

I lock eyes with my head of security, who is standing along the wall waiting to be told what to do.

“Bring her to me.” The words are hard, unyielding. A command, not a request.

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