Page 40 of The Cinderella Prince

I laughed and shook my head. “You are rich. Do you know that? I don’t have to do anything you tell me.”

Alexander waited. It was a particularly potent trick he had. Whenever he didn’t speak immediately, he made me question the things I had said. Did I really not have to do anything I was told?

Sighing, my brother stopped me from thinking too deeply about my freedoms. “If you wish to be that way, let me make some things clear. Your latest infatuation is irrelevant to the agreements we have in place. The Marchioness de Beaumont is unlikely to protest your extramarital activities, considering they bring nothing but their name and hergood image into this relationship. We need an engagement, but Élodie needs the marriage to secure her family’s position.”

“Madeleine must be so happy,” I squeezed through clenched teeth.

“It will surprise you, Cedric,” Alexander said. “I am not as heartless as you imagine, but that is beside the point.”

“Have you ever loved anyone other than your duty?” I snapped. The fact that I was getting nowhere in this conversation cornered me and made me desperate.

“What does it matter if I love or not?” Alexander asked, genuinely exasperated. “If you must know, I love Madeleine, but I fail to see how that is relevant.”

“Because it just is,” I practically shouted.

“Mm.” Alexander dismissed me so lightly. “Very well. You think you are in love. And what of him?”

“What do you mean?” I asked. Something clenched my heart and tightened my chest. Some ominous feeling shadowed my soul. He wouldn’t hurt Tristan. Even if he was as evil as that—which he wasn’t, not like that—he wouldn’t risk the outrage.

“Do you really think a common chef has a place in our world?” Alexander asked. It filled me with rage, but he spoke calmly and without a pause. “You might be willing to throw away your royal duties for this…Tristan, but what about his future? Think about it. Once the media gets wind of your affair, Tristan will become the target of endless scrutiny. Every mistake he’s ever made, every private detail of his life will be dragged into the spotlight. His career will be over before it even begins. No restaurant will hire him; no culinary school will accept him. He will be hounded by paparazzi and ridiculed by the public, and his dreams will be shattered all because of you. Do you want to ruin the life of the man you claim to be in love with? Do you want his name to be synonymous with scandal and disgrace? End it now, Cedric, before it’s too late. Protect him by letting him go.”

“That wouldn’t happen,” I whispered, the horror unfolding clearly before my eyes. “Do you think people here care about us? They don’t even know we exist.”

“Imagine if they found out,” Alexander said flatly, but it sounded far more threatening this time.

“You would destroy someone’s life to put me to heel?” I demanded, a sob welling in me so quickly and so hugely that I feared I would explode.

“The question is, would you destroy someone’s life because you couldn’t let them go.” Alexander let the line stay open for another heartbeat, then hung up. He didn’t need to say more. The game was set. The pieces were all in place. I had far fewer moves left, and Alexander had every advantage.

My eyes were wet before I realized. My vision blurred, and my mouth opened, but no sound came.

Exactly one minute later, a text message appeared on my screen. It simply said that Agent Duval would have the car ready at the intersection of Washington Street and Perry Street.

Rage boiled in me, but I tightened the lid. I wouldn’t let it spill, even if it consumed me instead.

A storm raged through my mind, wiping out every possibility of a clear thought. I hated myself. I hated mybrother. I hated the wretched life I was born into, and I hated the man I would be tomorrow.

I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned against the brick-and-mortar wall of the building behind me. I dropped the paper bag containing the gifts, dropped my phone on the sidewalk, and let the weight of it all push me down until I sat on the ground, dirty and devastated, holding my legs tightly together, my head pressing hard against my knees.

I can’t do this, I thought.I can’t just go back. I can’t. I won’t.

But the future was clear. In the hell of emotions that existed inside my head and heart, I could see our lives perfectly. Everyone loved a good scandal. If the paparazzi got a whiff of a dirty story, they wouldn’t care that I was a spare prince of an unknown country. They wouldn’t care that my family was nobody to their readers. They’d make us infamous, and Tristan would be at the heart of that storm.

CHAPTER 13

Confrontations

Tristan

I cleanedup my station after the class and headed home. The dusk glow was fading away, and the streetlights were taking over the job of keeping us safe from the dark. As I walked back, I ticked off all the things I needed to do. I needed to shower, I needed to buy some wine, and I needed to tell Cedric about Mama Viv’s offer. Something in me glimmered with nervousness and excitement at the prospect. Cedric would be thrilled. I knew that, but I was surprised at how hopeful it made me feel.

Mama Viv had hinted that Millie was thinking seriously about relocating to Chicago to be with her long-distance girlfriend, and there would be a vacancy. “Surely, darling, you’re ready to take over,” Mama Viv had told me.

“Ah, I’m not sure I’m the right choice, Mama Viv,” I’d replied hesitantly, but the thought remained with me for the rest of the day. I couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like. I could be in charge of my own kitchen. I could letmy heart go wild with creativity whenever Mama Viv wanted something mad.

But I had to tell Cedric first. I had to tell him and see what he thought. Was I ready? Was I good enough to be in charge? He would know the answers.

Oakley was in the kitchen when I entered the apartment. “Hey,” he greeted me, his voice thin and soft, just like everything else about Oakley. Although I’d seen him bristle at Lane, so he wasn’t as gentle as he appeared. He was a cute guy, short and with a mop of windblown black hair, big blue eyes, and lips that were so red that his naturally pale skin appeared even paler.

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