Page 125 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Enough to know there’s a whole spectrum of societies and values, and that Cavalonia is probably in the middle.’

His nostrils flared. ‘What business does a father have—whether king or not—to dictate how his daughter should live her life?’

‘It is the obligation of anyone born to that position...’ she trailed off, tried again. ‘Do you think he enjoyed imposing exile on his daughter? Do you think he would have gone through with it if he’d thought she would actually leave?’

‘What did he expect?’ Sebastian snapped his fingers. ‘That she would hear the threat of exile and decide to stay here, married to a man twenty years her senior who quite clearly hated her? Who treated her with contempt? Who barely acknowledged me?’

‘Yes,’ she replied simply. ‘I suppose that’s what he did expect.’

‘And what would you have done in her situation, Rosalind?’

‘Isn’t that obvious? I’m married to you.’

His eyes widened, as though he’d never considered the parallels in their situations.

‘But I walked into this,’ she reassured him, taking a sip of her champagne. ‘I chose this life—I chose this marriage—knowing you would never care for me, and that I would never care for you. Believe me, Sebastian, that’s exactly what I wanted.’

‘Because of the financial recompense?’

She shook her head. ‘You’ve accused me of that before, you know. It’s as untrue now as it was then.’

‘It just seems antithetical, to marry for money. I’m surprised any woman in the twenty-first century would choose that, especially someone like you.’

‘Someone like me?’

‘You’re smart, educated—you already had a great job.’

‘You don’t know me,’ she said with a shrug. ‘Money is part of why I agreed to this, but not money for myself. Money makes the world go round and as a princess I have at my command a small fortune to use and do good with.’ She moved closer without realizing it, drawn to him by the passion for philanthropy that had motivated her for a long time. ‘Do you have any idea how satisfying it is to wake up each morning and know that I’m making a real difference in people’s lives? Your grandfather knew what that would mean to me. He offered me something I desperately wanted. I just took it.’

‘Manipulated you, you mean?’

Exasperation tempered her emotions. ‘I suppose if you want to see the worst in his actions, you could call it that. But I don’t. I think he’s pragmatic, and he saw in me a woman who would move heaven and earth to change the world. He saw a way to give me more than I had ever dreamt of.’

‘What a shame I had to be a part of the deal. Tell me, did it ever occur to you that you could have cut out the middleman and simply married him?’

Shock turned her blood to ice. ‘Never mind that he’s almost fifty years my senior?’

‘I have no doubt you would enjoy marriage to him more than you have been enjoying marriage to me.’

‘I barely see you. So far, this marriage ticks all my boxes.’

‘Not quite,’ he contradicted. ‘But I suspect we’re going to address that soon enough.’ He was close enough now to touch her, because she’d kept moving forward, and he lifted a finger, brushing it over the soft skin of her cheek. Her body responded with a flash of awareness that was akin to lightning bolts firing in her skin.

But how could she want him even after he’d made the preposterous suggestion of her marrying King Renee?

Because this was just about desire, she reminded herself, glad for that. Because desire meantnothing. She could want him and hate him all at once, and hate held its own magical protective qualities. She was not in any danger of losing her heart nor head, even if she thought he was sexier than anyone else alive.

Still, she refused to be like one of her father’s mistresses and let the situation get away from her. Rosie was a smart, switched-on woman. She chose who she wanted in her life and on what terms. If they were going to do this, she intended to retain control.

‘We need to talk,’ she said, proud of her assertiveness even when her voice trembled a little. ‘It’s important.’

‘Sometimes action is better than words.’

‘This is about so much more than action though. We can’t just create a child then work out on the fly what happens next.’

His expression showed something she didn’t comprehend, but a moment later, he stepped away from her, moving to his champagne and taking a sip. ‘You’re a planner?’

‘With something like this? Naturally.’

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