Page 16 of Will You (Not) Marry Me

Finn had already snuck out this way once before in the last forty-eight hours just to get away. It couldn’t be a good sign that he was needing a break from the woman already.

“Come on,” said Tobias, already walking briskly down the alley. “We’ll go to my place, then you can tell me everything.”

* * *

“I think she might actually be insane,” said Finn, reclining back on his friend’s sofa like he was in some sort of therapy. Which maybe he was. He felt like he needed it after the last forty-eight hours.

Tobias’s apartment was large and breezy, with bookshelves lining every surface, every volume read at least twice. He handed Finn a glass of whiskey and sat down opposite him in a plush armchair, eyes thoughtful behind his glasses.

In the moment it looked so much like some corny psychiatrist scene from an old movie, Tobias sitting there with steepled fingers, that Finn had to laugh. Even to his own ears, he sounded a bit deranged. Tobias raised an eyebrow, and Finn forced himself to sit up, running fingers through his hair.

“It’s like she’s messing with me,” he started. “That or she’s just manipulative in general. I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it.”

“What’s she doing?”

“She’s rude, careless, and thinks she’s the most intelligent person to ever grace the earth. But she won’t actually share any of the knowledge she’s so smug about, so frankly I think she’s making it all up. She is single-handedly the most difficult person I’ve ever attempted to have a conversation with. If she even bothers to answer my questions, then it only turns into a fight from there. And she’smessyand chaotic. Maybe that’s petty of me, but just because we have servants doesn’t mean you can actively make their jobs harder. She has no common decency whatsoever.”

Finn could feel himself rambling, but once he started listing things off, he couldn’t stop. He’d had to bottle it all up, pretend everything was fine, all in an effort to maybe,somehow, make this work.

“I never like to talk badly about a lady,” said Tobias. “But in this case, I will. She sounds awful.”

“I don’t like to talk badly of anyone either… but, yes. I think she’s been sent personally from hell to test me. Like some sick cosmic joke.”

Tobias settled himself more comfortably in his chair. “I’m usually very knowledgeable on the intricacies of the rules you have to follow, but I might be missing something. Is there a reason why you can’t just say that it’s not going to work out and call off the engagement?”

It was certainly an option. Finn hated to admit defeat, but he’d thought about it more than once.

“That’s where her beingat bestmanipulative and at worst insane comes in.”

“She’s not boiling bunnies, is she?”

Finn snorted. “Thankfully, none that I’ve seen.”

“Then what makes her crazy?”

“She only behaves that way aroundme. In front of everyone else, she’s… well, maybe not an angel, but definitely pleasant. Unconventional but pleasant. Then once she’s alone with me, it’s like her true colors come out. Like I’m some toy that she’s playing with. So, say I go ahead and call off this engagement because I say I don’t like her. Not only willherfamily be insulted…”

“Your family will be furious.”

“And God knows what relations with Skärov will be like, especially when I’ll be taking over the throne sooner rather than later.”

Finn let out a huff, glad that at least Tobias could see what a bind he was in. But now his friend was looking at him very gently.

“Your father’s that bad, is he?”

Finn looked down at the rug beneath his feet. “Like I said. I’ll probably be on the throne sooner than most people think.”

He looked up at Tobias, who simply nodded. He didn’t try to offer any false hope. Didn’t try to offer any useless advice at all. He simply nodded and understood. Finn hadn’t realized quite how much he’d needed that until now.

“I’m assuming there are rumors going around,” said Finn in an effort at humor.

Tobias shrugged. “There are always rumors. About everything. And people know there’ssomethingailing His Majesty. But no… I don’t think anyone’s caught on to how bad it really is if he’s actually talking about abdicating.”

Finn folded his hands together, weaving his fingers through one another. “It’s good at least that no one has cottoned on to that part yet. Father would hate for people to pity him.”

They sat in silence for a little while, the only sound the distant bustle of the city street below.

“I don’t want to go home,” Finn admitted, feeling utterly defeated. “I don’t want to have to deal with this crazy princess for another second.”

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