Page 155 of Vengeful Princess

My jaw ticked with anger, but I resisted the urge to punch him in the face. That would not help my case. Ten minutes later, the door burst open and my father appeared with a face like thunder, flanked by his two bodyguards.

“Cassian, get dressed. We need to leave. There’s a press pack waiting outside.”

“The press?” Was this whole bullshit exercise a set-up?

“Yes. Now get some clothes on.”

Landon shot me a worried look that said,fuck, we’re all screwed, and I sent one back to sayprotect Thea with your life.

We headed back into the ruins of the bedroom to retrieve our clothes. The asshole officer hovered in the doorway, probably hoping to cop a look at Thea’s tits while she got dressed, but I kicked the door shut in his face and stood in front of it in case he tried to open it again.

“Can you get a car organized, Lan?”

He nodded. “I’ll call the car service once I find my phone.”

“Good. Take Thea with you. She can’t be seen with me.”

“Wouldn’t want to cast doubt on your engagement,” she sniped under her breath, and I inwardly groaned.

Not once had the topic of Camilla come up. God dammit. I should have realized she’d know I was engaged. She must think I was a complete bastard for fucking around on my fiancée.

“Camilla and Cass aren’t real, Thea,” Landon explained while pulling on his shirt.

“Is it a showmance, like Taylor and Travis?” she asked with a sarcastic edge to her voice.

“Not quite,” I admitted. “It’s a business arrangement my father set up. I’m trying to get out of it, but for now, the official line is I’m engaged.”

“To a troll,” Landon interjected

“Not fucking helpful!” I grumbled, even though he made a good point.

Thea’s expression softened, and I saw a fleeting flash of sympathy flutter across her face before the mask fell again. Then she sighed. “OK, even if it’s fake, I can see why being seen with me is a bad idea.”

“Yep, hence why father has gone into damage control mode.” I was in for a whole world of pain later. He’d want to know why Landon and Thea were here. What a mess.

When we left the bedroom, my father looked at Thea for way longer than was polite, his lecherous gaze taking in her barely-there dress, which Landon had attempted to cover with his suit jacket.

We picked up our phones while Thea collected her purse from the bathroom.

“I assume you found nothing?” Dad asked the lead officer through gritted teeth.

“No, sir, the room is clean. The information we were given appears to have been incorrect.” The officer glared at me as if suggesting I’d somehow hidden the stash of drugs. Not sure where, given therewereno drugs.

Lan made a quick call, and then we left the room. My father stayed silent until we stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby. Outside, hordes of photographers with cameras milled around while security staff held them at bay. A few lone hotel guests peered at our little group curiously, probably wondering whether we were famous.

One young Chinese couple twittered with excitement, pointing their phones at Landon.

“I look like that K-Pop star, Jungkook,” he explained to Thea while my father barked instructions into his phone and the police officers who’d ruined our morning left without a backward glance.

“Only if a person is extremely short-sighted,” I remarked.

“Pfft, as if you’d know. You only watch fucking documentaries!”

“Better than rotting my brain with the shit you watch!”

We bickered some more while Thea chewed her nails and stared at the floor. Landon didn’t appear to notice. Despite ourrude awakening, he seemed remarkably cheerful. At least until the elevator opened and Elaine Jordan stumbled out wearing dark glasses, looking very hungover.

I’d met her twice, both times at the whiskey awards, which Landon usually invited us to because the open bar was legendary.

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