Page 46 of Impossible Heir for the King

‘I don’t need protection.’ She stilled with the strangest, most sudden certainty.

She felt oddly free from fear of her father. She could—would—hold her ground and she would not let him destroy what she had with Niko. Even if it were only for now. There was nothing he could do to herpersonallynow.

‘Maybe I want to be there only to make sure your father doesn’t instantly die from the daggers in your eyes.’ Niko finally smiled. ‘It won’t be easy but I promise I won’t interrupt. But I would like just to be there.’ He drew a deep breath. ‘But it can be Williams if you prefer.’

She didn’t particularly want Niko there but she infinitely preferred him to Captain Scary-silent. ‘You can stand at the back.Quietly.’ She turned. ‘I’ll see him off now.’

She would get it over with before this rush of confidence left her. But oddly it didn’t. She was calmer than she would ever have imagined she could be when facing her father and openly defying him for the first time in her life.

The ruddy-faced man glared at her as she walked in but it wasn’t her he addressed.

‘You have to marry her. You’ve ruined her.’

Maia saw the glint of avariciousness in her father’s eyes and knew she was nothing but a pawn to him—a possession. A thing to be bartered and to make money from. Because it was always all about money with him. Money and control.

‘What century do you think we’re living in?’ she asked coolly. ‘I wanted to leave the boat and King Niko graciously enabled me to do that. He’s shown me nothing but kindness and generosity and you’re to stop the rubbish interpretation you’re spreading around town. It’s not true.’

Her father laughed. ‘As if you’re not warming his bed every night?’

She held her head high with sheer grit. ‘I’m a free woman and I’ve no intention of marrying anyone at this stage of my life.’

‘So you’re happy to be his whore?’

She saw Niko’s involuntary step forward out of the corner of her eye and lifted her hand in a quelling gesture without taking her attention from her father. ‘Don’t try to slut-shame me. I’ve done nothing wrong. Certainly nothingillegal.’ She paused for effect before asking him coolly, ‘Can you say the same?’

His eyes narrowed and he walked closer to speak directly to her. ‘Are you not going to try to take advantage of this situation, you stupid girl?’ he hissed sharply. ‘Don’t you understand what we could achieve here? I’m trying tohelpyou. At the very least you could get money—’

‘May I advise you to stay out of Piri-nu waters, Father,’ she said firmly, overriding his attempt to convince her. ‘I think the stakes in some of your games might exceed the laws here. I’d hate for you to be caught out by that.’

‘You wouldn’t—’

‘And I won’t. If you leave right away.’ She made herself smile. Made herself believe that this didn’t matter.

‘You’re even more useless than your mother.’

‘Goodbye, Dad, I don’t expect we’ll see each other much in the future.’ Maia turned her back on him to walk from the room while she still could.

‘Maia!’ He yelled her name the same way he’d yelled it her whole life. ‘You can’t walk away—’

She paused. ‘Actually, I can.’

‘You’ll regret not taking my help,’ he sneered. ‘He’ll tire of you. You have nothing. You are nothing and you’ll end up with nothing.’

At that she turned to look at him one last time. ‘And you offered me so very much more?’ She shrugged. ‘I have more than you right now. I have the one thing I’ll never let myself lose. Myintegrity.’

The one thing her father had never had in the first place.

She would be true to herself. She walked out of the room, no longer caring who heard, whether Niko was with her or not. She marched straight back to the suite she’d shared with him last night.

Five minutes later the door opened and Niko entered the room.

‘Are you okay?’ He walked slowly towards her as if wary of her mood.

‘Did you threaten him?’ she asked.

‘No more than you already had,’ he replied. ‘He wasn’t interested in sticking around to talk to me. I think he was surprised by you.’

Because she’d always been so compliant. Because she’d never stood up for herself before. For so long she’d simply accepted her fate.

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