Page 44 of The Heir
“No, but I think our different reaction to him comes down to the difference in how you and I were raised.”
“Surely not when you and I were raised by the same parents.”
She leaned back and watched me. “We might have the same parents, but they raised us for different roles. You were always pushed forward to lead and be in the spotlight. I was raised to direct the spotlight at you and make sure you looked good in it. I learned that it wasn’t about me and to keep my ego in check. I’ve practiced finding contentment in the impact I have without necessarily getting the praise for my contribution.”
“But you should have praise and recognition.”
Freya was quiet for a moment and then she asked me a question. “What’s more important to you? The positive outcome or the praise you get for it?”
“Is that a trick question? Obviously, I want both.”
Searching my eyes with a concerned expression, Freya said, “Thor, I worry about you?”
“Why?”
“Because your ego has been stroked by everyone around you since you were a little boy and it’s made you dependent on praise and recognition.”
I snorted, “Dad never stroked my ego, that’s for sure.”
“Of course he did. Every time he called you his heir and pushed you into the public eye for people to admire your sharp jawline and thick hair.” Freya’s insider joke lightened the atmosphere a little. She was referring to an article from the time that I was fourteen that had detailed my features, describing me as handsome, and started all the speculations about what woman I’d end up with eventually.
“Oh, damn, I forgot about that.”
“Remember how we teased you for weeks?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Look, it was nice of you to defend my honor today at the meeting, but without wanting to, you’re setting off one of my triggers. I’d like to speak for myself and not be treated as a child. Dad, Uncle Magni, you, and all the other strong men around me always think it’s their duty to protect me as if I’m incapable or fragile. I’m tired of others assuming they know me better than me, and I’m trying to break free of the golden cage I have lived in my whole life.”
“Then why didn’t you tell Victor he was being an ass?”
She jerked back a little. “Come on, Thor. I’ve been telling him that since I was fifteen and he was eighteen. This is our seventeenth summit, and no one here has any doubts that I find Victor to be an ass. Least of all him.”
“That’s because it’s a proven fact.”
Freya rubbed her eye while speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. “Victor isn’t so different from you, Thor. Maybe that’s why I argue with him all the time.”
I smacked my hand to my chest. “Me? Did you just compare that clown to me? I’m nothing like him.”
She smiled. “You’re both sensitive men walking around with inflated egos, hiding your emotions behind a shield of arrogance.”
“Don’t ever compare me to Victor.”
Freya tilted her head and lowered her brow. “Do I have to point out the obvious to you?”
“What?”
“The reason you two despise each other is that you’re recognizing your own weakness in each other. You see through his bullshit and he sees through yours. People have placed you in boxes of pressure and expectations and there’s no room for you to be anything but what you’re told to be. Victor was a young child when he was raised to celebrity status and became the hope of his nation. You’ve never known anything else than the pressure of an entire country expecting you to grow up and rule them one day. Millions are watching both of you closely, judging your every action.” Freya’s voice dropped. “Sometimes I argue with Victor simply because I see the loneliness in his eyes.”
I swallowed, holding back my need to say that of course he was lonely and that no one wanted to be around an arrogant bastard like him, but my sister’s words were beginning to penetrate my hard shell. “You think Victor is lonely?”
She nodded. “How could he not be? There’s no room to play on a pedestal. The French culture is shallow and fast flowing. Victor understands that we foreigners have access to something deeper and more profound, but he can’t leave his country and so there’s a sense of grief in him that translates to anger.”
“Huh. You think he’s angry with us for having the freedom to love?”
Freya nodded. “Not that he would admit it, but yeah.”
Biting my lip, I pondered out loud. “It’s weird that he’s lonely when he can sleep with a new woman every night. You saw how they lined up to dance with him in the club.”
