Page 76 of The Reluctant Wife

"And I fucking love how spirited you are, you know that?"

Her features soften. "You make me feel like I don’t have to apologize for who I am."

The wistfulness I see in her expression gives me pause, "Why would you do that?"

Her smile is tinged with sadness. "I grew up with a stream of nannies trying to tell me how I should dress and behave like a proper lady. After all, I'm the Princess. I'm the example for all little girls to look up to. I'm the epitome of their dreams. I'm Disney royalty, come to life."

"Only, that made you feel restricted?" I hazard a guess.

"I was upset that, while I had to take lessons in etiquette and go to finishing school, my brothers didn’t have to do the same.” She smooths down the fabric of her dress. “Viktor was off studying for his MBA at Harvard while Bran took a gap year.”

She locks her fingers in her lap.

"To be fair, Viktor tried to reason with my father and his advisers. He tried to point out that the image of the docile princess dressed in pink and glitter was outdated. He wanted me to have the option of working in my father’s administration. My father was open to it, but his team of advisers felt it would project the wrong signal to the 'Royal marriage market.'" She makes air-quotes.

When she sees the question on my face she clarifies, "The Royal families in Europe tend to look to each other to find a match. We belong to different countries, but our goals and values are often the same." She shuffles her feet. "It’s not that I’m complaining… Well, not too much, that is. And it’s not that I was interested in studying further, but it would have been nice to have the option."

"And if you’d had a choice, what would you have done?"

"An MFA in writing. Or perhaps, a course in entrepreneurship." She half laughs. "I’m not saying it would have come in useful. I realized, no matter how much I fought the inevitable, I couldn’t escape the fact I was born into the Royal Family of Verenza. I also learned about the financial troubles my country was facing. I wanted to help, and it seemed inevitable that a good match would bring money into the country, and I would be fulfilling my duty."

"I admire your sense of responsibility." I cup her cheek.

She seems taken aback by my praise. "It was never a choice to shirk it. Not when I could single-handedly make such a difference to my people. It was the next best thing to being the head of the state."

"And now, you’re getting married to help your father and your people." I scan her features. "How do you feel about that?"

She purses her lips. "It could have been worse. I could have had no choice but to marry Gavin."

"Don’t make the mistake of stroking my ego," I say wryly.

"It’s already big enough." She looks at me from under her eyelashes.

I can’t stop myself from smirking. "And with good reason,"

She lets out an exaggerated sigh, but her eyes spark with humor.

"Feeling better?"

She tilts her head. "Was that to distract me from how turned on I am?"

"Is it succeeding?"

She hesitates. "Not…really."

"Good." I chuckle.

She slaps at my chest. "Stop it."

I place my hand over hers. "Never."

Our gazes hold. The chemistry between us, which always simmers under the surface, sparks. The air in the room heats. She sways toward me. I pinch her chin and lean in for a kiss when there’s a knock on the door.

"Ryot?” Tyler’s voice reaches me. “Arthur and the king are here.”

I’m tempted to tell him, and them, to fuck off. But given this is Arthur’s study, that might be tricky.

I have no doubt, he will agree to my proposition, but it doesn’t hurt to play nice until the investment agreement is signed. And I want that for my Empress.

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