Page 47 of Royal Catch
Chapter Fourteen
Anna
Imposter princess incarcerated!
Orphan tries to claim the throne!
Beautician turns ugly in war of royal love!
I’m not sure how long I’ve been standing here in the middle of a spider-infested dungeon, creating awful headlines for myself, but I can’t feel my feet anymore. My sundress and sandals are no match for the chilly dungeon. The sun is nearly set, only a dim creeping light slanting through the bars of the window. I’m alert to every noise, every soft swish and scratching of dungeon wildlife.
I deserve to be devoured by rats. I’ve hurt the man I love, the man who loved me back, who treated me like a jewel. My eyes sting; my cheeks flush with shame. I’ve embarrassed him while he defended me as his choice in front of the queen and Francesca. And now I’ve lost him. My lower lip trembles, and I bite down on it hard.
Heavy footsteps descend the stairs. One man. Maybe a guard has returned to bring me some gruel. I’ll send him away.
But I might need my strength to fight off the giant rats waiting to gnaw my limbs off.
Do the guards know I have a ten a.m. flight out of Paris tomorrow?
The footsteps slow and a familiar deep voice calls out, extra heavy on the sarcasm, “I’m Polly Lyon and that’s no lie.”
I wince at my own words to Gabriel the first day we met. “I felt so guilty I just blurted that out.”
He appears in front of my cell and glares at me. His blue eyes are cold in the dim light, and it’s a wee bit intimidating. “You had us all fooled.”
“I can explain.”
His lip curls. “Go right ahead. I’m sure it’ll be as entertaining as all of your other lies.”
I reach through the bars and grab his hand. “This is the truth. You and I were never a lie.”
He yanks his hand from mine, and I die a little inside. I soldier on because I need him to know why I did what I did. Maybe one day he’ll forgive me, or at least not hate me.
I take a deep breath and then I tell him everything—from meeting my neighbor princess in hiding to her arrest for identity theft and her upcoming court date. I want to lay all the blame at her feet, but I know I was a willing accomplice. “She asked me to come here and collect her inheritance in hopes of hiring a fancy lawyer to quietly help her avoid jail. I didn’t know marriage to you was on the table, and I definitely didn’t know there were going to be these insane competitions. And, Gabriel, you were sending me these desperate looks, like save me—”
“I was not.”
Men never want to ask for help. Doesn’t mean they don’t need it.
I lift a palm. “And we connected in the garden and after…” My breath hitches. “I take full responsibility for my part in this. I thought I’d be Polly’s knight-ess in shining armor.”
He hangs his head, shaking it.
I take a deep breath, hoping for forgiveness yet knowing I don’t deserve it. “Gabriel, I’m so sorry for hurting you. I wanted to tell you the truth so many times, but I feared exposing Polly, and once we connected, I was afraid to lose you. I know it’s dumb that I hung on to you knowing I had to let you go, but I’ve never felt this way before.” My voice chokes. “I just wanted to be close to you for as long as I could. I love you.”
He stares at me, his expression hard. He hates me.
My eyes well. “I wish I could be the princess you need. I’m so very sorry for betraying your trust. I just want you to know I was as much myself with you as I could be. You made me feel so special. No one has ever made me feel the way you did.”
He looks at me for a long tense moment. “Everything makes so much sense now, all of the ways that you didn’t fit the mold. In fact, I can’t believe I didn’t see through your flimsy attempts at playing princess. You are the most brash, ill-mannered person I’ve ever met.”
“But you love me anyway?” I bat my lashes at him, trying for a joking tone, but some part of me desperately hopes that he does. He said he loved me before, and this morning he chose me for a bride when Francesca would’ve been the easy choice.
He glowers down at me for a moment before his gaze drops to my cleavage and continues all the way down to my scarlet red toenails peeking out of my sandals. He jerks his head up to meet my eyes. “And you dress too sexy for a proper princess.”
“And that does it for you.” It’s not a question. We both know he’s hot for me, and I’ve been a goner since the Gabriel-fresh-from-the-shower show.
“Your accent,” he mutters, looking at the ceiling. “I thought it was from your education in the US.”
