Page 34 of The Royally Broke Billionaire
Cole lifted a remote control to play the video. The colorful butterfly fluttered its wings as it hovered over the milkweed.
“See, it’s just a butterfly,” Mo bugged her eyes out as if Cole’s video was proving her innocent.
“Just wait,” Cole teased them.
When the muffled audio began, Cole held up his pointer finger indicating that they should all listen closely.
Piper strained her ears, but she couldn’t make out a single word of the recording they were listening to.
Cole paused the video. “Seems innocent enough, right?”
Heads bobbed from around the room. “Now, listen to what my audio guys, and evidently some over-exuberant, royal-watching member of the press, were able to pull from that garbled audio.”
After Cole pushed a button on the remote, Piper was horrified to hear her own voice coming over the speakers. “The royal family will want to put their own spin on Liam being the official heir to the throne of Isle de Monsail.”
“From that, it probably only took a couple of phone calls to figure out who Liam was, and the story was out.” Cole lifted his hands as if his solving of the mystery resolved all of their problems.
Mo covered her mouth with her hand as she tried unsuccessfully to hold back her tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she mumbled through her hand.
Before anyone could move to comfort her, she dropped her hand and wailed, “I guess I’m just not cut out to live my life in the spotlight. It’s like we’re living in a fishbowl that the whole world is watching, and I keep doing belly flops. I’m not fit to be a royal.”
With that, she ran out of the room.
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Pierce followed quickly in his wife’s wake. The queen yelled after him that he should make sure Mo knew they didn’t blame her for what happened.
The king broke the silence after Mo and Pierce’s departures. “So, the leak was just an unfortunate accident. I must admit I’m relieved to hear that none of my trusted advisors secretly have it out for me.”
Turning to Finn, he added, “Speaking of that, I’m terribly sorry for ever thinking for a moment that you might have had anything to do with this. It was an enormous error in my judgment. Please accept my sincerest apology.”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Finn bowed his head in deference to his monarch.
“You must move back into the royal residence at once,” the king announced.
Finn’s eyes darted to Piper’s before he said, “Actually, if it pleases your majesty, I would prefer to remain in the royal steward’s hut. The roof needs some repair work, and I’m still airing out the musty smell from it being closed up for so long, but I’m finding that I rather enjoy the next door neighbors.”
The king gave his steward a knowing smile. “As you wish.”
Queen Tess brought them all back to the most pressing business at hand. “While it’s wonderful that we don’t have a rat in our midst, we are still facing the very real possibility of impeachment today.”
All levity left the group’s faces as they pondered that harsh reality. As if thinking about it had summoned it to them, Geoffrey entered the room and rushed to announce, “Your Highnesses, it’s time to go to the High Council tribunal.”
Nodding solemnly the king and queen locked arms and staidly followed the butler out of the room. Unsure what else to do, the others trailed behind them. All of their footsteps were heavy on the marble tiled floors, as dread for how this might turn out weighed down their shoulders.
Pausing before the giant double doors of the grand hall, the king purposefully straightened his spine and brought his shoulders back. The others followed his lead. They might already feel crestfallen, but they weren’t going to look downtrodden upon arriving to meet their fate.
To call the proceedings dramatic would be the understatement of the year. It felt like the king was on trial as personal questions about his private, intimate moments were asked in front of a room full of judgmental people.
Both monarchs held their heads high as the king responded to questions about his night with Piper. As tempting as it was to run from the room in shame, Piper followed their stellar example and handled the humiliating situation with as much grace and dignity as she could muster.
She felt like a hussy as the room full of the island’s highest officers openly discussed her one scandalous night. She cringed when the leader of the High Council’s unwavering, judgmental gaze found her as he referred to ‘unsavory, loose morals’ that were unbefitting a king.
It felt like Piper was on trial as the holier-than-thou gathering of the island’s Parliament members openly chastised and judged the king, and by association, her. She felt like shouting at them that this wasn’t fair. She doubted if there was one person among them who hadn’t done something similar, but the occasion felt too solemn and monumental for an outburst from her. She feared it would end up doing only harm to the king’s slim chance of retaining the throne.
While she hated how the room’s open judgment made her feel, King Sebastian was the one facing the harshest consequences. If he didn’t see fit, as the ruling monarch, to defend their actions, it certainly wasn’t her place to do so.
In the end, it was the queen that spoke in her husband’s defense. Lifting her chin and glaring at the scowling, gray-haired tribunal spokesperson, she said, “The king’s singular lack of judgment on a night long before he was married or anointed as the king has nothing to do with his ability to rule this kingdom with fairness, grace, and dignity.”
