Page 155 of Once Upon a Holidate
“Think carefully, young man, about what you’re going to say. Whatever you and Bethany have going on, she is still my daughter and I protect what is mine.”
Bethany winced. Of all the things her father could have said, that was absolutely the worst. It would remind Cade of everything Lynette did and make him hate Bethany even more. But it was too late now. Still, she had to try.
“Cade, could I speak to you for a moment?”
He looked at her as if he’d never seen her before, then slowly shook his head. Without saying a word, he turned and walked out of the house.
Chapter Eight
Cade wasn’t sure how he got through his unexpected meeting with King Malik. He knew they discussed Rida and how well he was adjusting, along with the training program Cade and Bethany had developed for the horse. But for the most part, he was simply going through the motions.
He couldn’t believe it—he’d been played again. And by Beth. No, he told himself. Not Beth. Princess Bethany of El Bahar.
She’d known. That was the real killer in all this. He’d told her about his past and she’d sat there, blinking at him, when all the while she’d known. Damn her. He wasn’t sure if he was more hurt or angry. He’d trusted her, believed in her. He’d thought they had something together. He’d thought about asking her to stay. He’d been worse than a fool—he’d actually believed in her. At least Lynette hadn’t lied about who she was.
“I’m very pleased,” King Malik said as they walked out of the stables. “Rida has settled in nicely. Selling him to you was a wise decision. I hope we can continue to do business together.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
The polite response when the real one was “Are you kidding? It will be years before I can afford another horse like him.”
He thought about Bethany, then triednotto think about Bethany. He wanted to say something to her father, but what? There were no questions he could ask, nothing to be said. Not when—
He swore silently. King Malik wasn’t here because of a horse—he wanted to check on his daughter. Only he wouldn’t say that. Cade would be a moron to think otherwise.
“You came a long way to check on a horse,” he finally said, wondering if the older man would take the bait.
“I was in the neighborhood.”
“Happily Inc isn’t close to El Bahar.”
“Distance is a matter of perspective, as is much of life. Rida has left our stable to become part of yours, yet he will live on in both. At first, he would have been uncomfortable here, but now this is his home. So it is with life.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
King Malik surprised him by smiling. “I’m the king. I don’t have to.”
“I guess no one’s going to argue with that.”
King Malik surprised him again by putting his hand on Cade’s shoulder. “You have done well and I am pleased.”
Words that shouldn’t have mattered, yet somehow eased a tiny fraction of the gaping hole inside his heart.
“Thank you.”
With that, Malik walked back to his car, nodded at his driver and got in. Seconds later, they were gone.
Cade stared after them wondering what on earth had just happened. Malik had flown halfway around the world for a ten-minute visit? He hadn’t even spoken to Bethany—there hadn’t been time.
He started toward the house, only to realize that if she hadn’tleft with her father, she was still here. He stopped outside the back door, not wanting to go inside, yet wanting to see her. Only he couldn’t want that because the Bethany he’d known, the Bethany he’d started to care about, wasn’t real.
He’d understood Lynette was vain and selfish, but he’d told himself her love for him would overcome all that. He’d ignored the problems in their relationship, her willingness to sleep with him without ever talking about the future. He’d assumed she would grow up a little and see they belonged together, and he’d been wrong.
In hindsight, he’d been lucky to escape as easily as he had. If she hadn’t dumped him, he might have been tempted to hang around and try to change her mind. What a disaster if he had.
But with Bethany, everything was different. Heknewher. Knew she was a hard worker, knew she was kind and funny and determined. She was fearless, affectionate and it had all been a lie.
Maybe not all of it, but enough. He had no idea which parts of her were real and which were just a game—the princess playing at being like everyone else.
