Page 113 of Royally Benevolent

“You just denied we were a couple on the record.”

“I had to. I couldn’t reach you, and when Alex told me he’d been chased at drop-off, I couldn’t hold on to that release. I had to do it to protect Theo.”

“So what now? How in the fuck do I see you? What was the game plan!?”

“Wyatt, please stop shouting.” Her voice grew tiny. Odette cried, “Please. I love you. Stop shouting at me.”

I felt terrible. I was a monster. This affected her as much as it did me.

“I don’t understand why you would do this, Odette.”

“Because I love you and Theo,” she sobbed.

“Clearly, you do not!”

“I do, I do. Wyatt, you make me so happy, but… this is a normal thing in royal circles?—”

“I cannot deal with all of this.”

She took a moment. I heard her crying and gave her time to speak.

“I know,” Odette sniffled. “I suppose that’s it then.”

“What is?”

“If you cannot deal with it, Wyatt, I don’t deserve to weigh you down.”

“Odette… that’s not what I meant.” My throat tightened. Tears crept into my eyes again.

“I… I don’t want to be the reason you cannot sleep at night. I don’t want to terrorise Theo. You deserve so much better than me.”

“Oh, Odette, no, please don’t say that!”

I regretted everything at that moment. I should never have called her whipped up over Isla. I took my anguish out on the woman wholoved me so purely and adored Theo so much she’d deny herself the ability to tell the truth. IknewOdette longed to go public, but she put Theo above all else. Odette hated lies. She’d never deny our relationship forfun. She was doing the right thing for him. Or at least, she was doing what shethoughtwas right.

“I loved loving you,” Odette’s voice broke. “I loved everything and want to love you even now… through this… but that’s selfish. Thank you for loving me. Please find someone better.”

“Odette, please don’t say that! Don’t hang?—”

The line went dead. She was gone.

65

RECOVERY

ODETTE

“Odette, you need to talk to me,” Elisa said.

“I’m fine,” I protested.

“You’re not. The way you cradle Grieg and aren’t interacting with me at all says everything,” Elisa said.

“I don’t know what to say. I did the right thing. And now, I’m depressed. I wish I’d never fallen in love with Wyatt. Because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here in so much pain.”

After hanging up on Wyatt, I had to address a group of seniors in Dutch, my most unreliable language. I went through the motions, then came home to sleep. My tour was hailed a complete success by the general public. However, in private, I was a mess. I stayed in bed for a week, barely allowing Alex in. Rick kept bringing me food and treats for Grieg. I was catatonic for the first few days. It felt so painful that I couldn’t get out of bed.

“I’m sorry it feels so raw,” Elisa said. “I know how much you cared about Wyatt and Theo. I thought things were going well.”

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