Page 55 of Royally F*cked

“Never said, Willow. Never.”

Jude opens a few more gifts and then sends Oscar off to put the packages in the car while we say our goodbyes.

“Nan, thank you so much for tonight. I hate to rush out of here but…” he says as he hugs his grandmother.

“Say no more,” she kisses his cheek. “I love you, Julius. Don’t you forget that.”

When she turns her attention to me, I curtsey, and she shakes her head. “There will be none of that when we’re among family,” the queen immediately wraps me in a hug. “You’ll be good for him. I know it. Don’t let my husband try to break your spirit either.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Nan, before we go, I should mention to you that I plan to ask Charlie’s parents to leave your service. It’s only right as Charlie will be my wife. I know this will prove to be an inconvenience for you.”

“I understand. You will see to it that they are taken care of though. And they are always welcome here as our guests. Once you are king, you can decide if they’ll join you here as residents.”

“I owe you one,” he tells his grandmother.

“Nonsense. Make it up to me by being the man your father raised you to be.”

“Always,” he nods.

I can’t even be upset with Jude for not looping me in on his plans for my parents. We already agreed he would take care of them, but I think everything changed tonight when they were first excluded from dinner. It’s a thought that I don’t think crossed either of our minds.

“Again, thank you everyone for being here tonight,” he tells his family before we leave.

Ozzy follows us to my parents’ living quarters but waits outside the door when they invite us in.

“Your Highness,” my mum tries to shake his hand.

“Jude,” he replies and hugs her instead. “Thank you for joining us tonight. I apologize for the tension and awkwardness though.”

“Nonsense,” my mum waves him off.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, I would like to speak with you both for a moment.”

“Yes, of course. Come and sit,” Mum directs us to the intimate sitting area. “Can I get you anything?”

“No ma’am. Thank you,” Jude rubs the back of his neck. “I have an offer for you both that I hope you’ll consider. I do not wish to offend anyone either. After tonight, I realized a major problem and I wish to resolve it. You see, I’m not just marrying your daughter. I hope to join your family and I will not have any member of our family serving us. You both deserve a seat at any table that we are at.”

“Oh,” my mum gasps.

“I have already set up a retirement account for both of you. Shall you choose to resign from your posts within the royal household, you will be taken care of. This includes any medical needs as well.”

My father narrows his gaze at Jude. “You want to buy us. Is that what this is?”

“No, Sir. Not at all. When reviewing some of the palace financials it came to my attention that both you and Mrs. Wilson are being grossly undercompensated for your years of service. No offense, but you both should be looking toward retirement and should have been given those options before now. I’m simply hoping to rectify an oversight.”

Mum is holding onto Dad’s hand and crying while my dad takes a minute to think about it.

“And let’s say that for some unforeseen reason you and Charlie part ways, where does that leave us?” he asks.

“We will all still be taken care of. Jude has already seen to it,” I answer.

“I will also make sure that there is minimal fall out with my grandfather. My grandmother is already on board and understands the circumstances,” Jude adds.

“Tonight, when she invited me to dinner and lent me one of her dresses, she spoke about this and said hoped that if you came to us that we would accept,” Mum tells us.

“I don’t take handouts,” Dad grunts.

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