Page 52 of A Princess, Stolen
Like you do now?
I thought about all the times Dad had been not only celebrated but also attacked. He had told me that men in his position had enemies because they influenced laws and the press. Had Dad’s money, power, and private contacts in the White House led to laws being passed that had harmed these men? What did Nathan mean when he saidyour father ruined everyone’s life here? That couldn’t be true; Dad would never do something like that on purpose. I was also annoyed that I ever doubted Dad even if he didn’t agree to all the demands. I mean it was Dad, who had always comforted me and made me laugh when I was sad. Dad, who had sacrificed Mom for me.
A memory from the penthouse popped into my mind, a moment after I had been diagnosed with severe allergies and the doctors all advised against desensitization. Our cook, Ruth, and her staff sorted out all the foods that I was no longer allowed to eat as a precaution. I cried because the mountain of treats that were now forbidden to me was growing bigger and bigger. Dad took me in his arms and held me as if he never wanted to let go. “We have to be grateful that you’re still alive, Willa Mouse. You could have died! And Ruth can conjure up great sweets for you even without eggs and nuts, can’t she?” I nodded through my tears and Dad said, “We have to be careful from now on. Look at it this way; it’s like Easter, you never know where the eggs and nuts are hidden.” And then he made a game out of it; whoever found the most products with chicken egg white or nuts won—and I could laugh again. My life changed massively. The penthouse became my fortress and I was no longer allowed togo to my girlfriends’ homes. Instead, everyone had to come to me. That was basically where it all started: my fear that someone could secretly slip me nuts or egg whites to get back at Dad. My isolation from the world. The loss of contacts—except for Penelope…
I untied the ring from the bracelet and slipped it onto my finger. They were spewing poison about Dad. My dad, who often had to choose between the well-being of many and the well-being of one. They had abducted me to blackmail him. They were the bad guys. Not Dad. They had frightened and terrified me, tied me up, and taunted me when I was completely helpless. I had to be careful not to give in to the poison they were spreading.
I leaned against the cold wall and tried to sleep when I heard someone closing the hatches above the two staircases. After the last dull sound, heavy footsteps approached. I quickly rose and went all the way to the front of the bars, afraid it might be Isaac.
However, it was Nathan. This time, he couldn’t enter. He stopped in front of the bars and silently stared at me. At one point, he said, “You freed yourself with the ring, didn’t you?”
I nodded. Once Isaac came on board, it would be too late for me anyway. If the crew here refused the ring, Isaac would certainly not agree to it. Or he would take it from me and continue with his plan anyway. Nathan seemed too proud to me. He truly wasn’t interested in money.
“You don’t have to lock yourself in the cell,” he finally said, pointing to the key that I had placed on the floor in the far corner. “You could sleep in a bed.”
“Oh, yeah? Which one? Yours?” I was angry at him, angry because he fabricated stories about my father. Angry because he kissed me and now acted as if it had never happened. Angrybecause I was not indifferent to him because I could not separate the boy from his present self.
He didn’t say anything, instead, he entered the chamber across from the cell and came back with a blanket and a pillow. He laid both in front of the bars. “It’s going to be cold tonight. I hope you don’t see any ghosts, ghost girl. Maybe I should sleep in front of the bars just to be on the safe side.”
I stared at him and there was a deep glint in his eyes. They looked ice gray now. If he thought I was going to comment on my trance, he was wrong. I took a step back so he couldn’t reach me. My head was a mess, far too busy to think about ghosts right now. There was so much I wanted to know. I wanted to know why he hated Dad. I wanted to know how well he knew Isaac. I wanted to know if his authority was enough to protect me from him if necessary. “What did my dad do to you? To you personally, I mean,” I asked after thinking for a moment. In the flickering neon bulb, troughs of light and shadow flitted across Nathan’s oval face. Over the straight nose, which was not too strong but not too small either, over the grim lips, and the narrow eyes with the raven-black eyelashes. “I have a right to know,” I insisted when he didn’t answer, just looked at me as if he was far away. “I’m his daughter.”
He turned his back to me as if he couldn’t look at me. “He took everything from me. Everyone I loved. My home. Everything.” His voice sounded monotonous and maybe that was exactly why I felt so cold.
“That can’t be. My dad is a good person,” I whispered.
Nathan turned, his sea-gray eyes glowing terribly behind the bars. “Who says that?”
“I do.” My heart was pounding. I didn’t want to believe him, but I didn’t want him to leave either. I felt strange around him. Anxious and confused because just looking at him was enough to make me nervous. He awakened in me an irrepressible longingfor distance and courage. I took a step forward. “Why did you kiss me if you hate him so much?” I hoped to sound challenging, but Nathan didn’t even move his lips. Not a muscle moved in his face.
“Think of it as payment for saving your life earlier.” He sounded hard and proud. “You said I take what I want without asking. So, I like you…well, physically speaking.”
His dismissive insult hit me as if he had actually slapped me this time. “You do that with all women, right? You always take what isn’t given voluntarily?”
“Oh, it didn’t seem involuntary to me, princess. Am I right?” My cheeks heated up. “But I can reassure you, I’ve never touched a woman without paying. Anything else is out of the question for me.”
“Out of the question?” I stared at him for a moment. “You pay… You go to certain…establishments?” He could certainly have most women that way as long as he didn’t happen to hold them hostage.
Now he laughed contemptuously. “You can sugarcoat it all you want, but it is what it is. I only sleep with whores. Sex for cash. That’s all I need.”
At first, I was actually speechless. I couldn’t believe the kind of conversation I was having with him. He was obviously trying to provoke me. “You’re good at that,” I uttered at some point.
“What?”
“You’re good at hiding your feelings behind humiliation and contempt. I don’t know who taught you, but they were a master.”
He stood there motionless. “Stop it!”
“What?” This time I didn’t blink.
“Convincing yourself that I have feelings for you in some way. It was only a kiss. You and I don’t know each other. In fact, we’re enemies. We spent a summer watching each other, danced together once, and shared our grief, but we were children.” Helooked me straight in the eyes. “We have nothing in common, do you understand that? Not the world we come from, nor our character or experiences. We couldn’t be more different. You own almost half of America; everything I own I carry on my body. You get your food on a silver platter whereas I had to steal mine for a long time. You would live and die for your dad, I live and die for no one, at most, for oblivion.”
I could only stare at him with burning eyes. He was now standing very close to the bars, so close that the bars touched his face. Everything inside me was twisted. His words didn’t match his feelings. He had spoken in anger, but with a sadness in his eyes that lay much deeper than his anger. And, for the first time, I believed I understood where his bitterness came from.
“You’re still grieving. What do you want to forget? Your home, which my dad supposedly took from you?” I asked cautiously. “Coldville on Buffalo Lake?”
He snorted angrily. “I’ll kill Troy! One day, I’ll really kill him!”
“Where is it?”
