Page 40 of Duchess Material

“How? Sweetheart, that’s not a thing… I don’t think.”

“I think it is now.”

“What happened? Can you tell me everything?”

“He was being very sensitive about the press. He was wondering if I would release a statement, I wasn’t cheating on him with Olav or that we hadn’t broken up or whatever. Of course, I’m not. I am with Ed. I’ve never cheated on a boyfriend. I don’t intend to. I explained to him we don’t do that, but he wouldn’t let it go.”

“Oh, sweetheart, you went nuclear?”

Natalie nodded.

“You shut down?”

Natalie nodded again.

“Oh, sweetheart,” her mother sighed. “It’s not over. I promise you. It’s possible to apologise and fix it. I promise you. This happens sometimes. Your father does it. I hold him accountable but… it happens. You’re spinning your wheels.”

“I don’t even know what I am. Maybe it’s for the best? Putting him out of his misery? Because he deserves someone normal. He can’t handle the heat?”

“Do you believe that is best?” Vanna looked doubtful.

“I love him.”

Vanna straightened the hair on Natalie’s shoulder. “It’s not best. You know best what you need but you shouldn’t speak for Ed. You’re very good at protecting us. However, Ed is plenty wise. He can make his own decisions. You need to talk to him and work through it. You don’t need to protect him. Because by making those choices for him, you’re removing his agency. He loves you. Let him love you and make his own choices. He’s not a baby.”

“I know, I know. But if this bothers him now—”

“You two haven’t been up to this long. Did he ever, at any point, just say ‘I can’t do this’ or ‘I won’t be able to do this, Natalie’?”

“No, but Carson knew he couldn’t from the onset. It was fine back then because I wasn’t Princess of Wales. It was all good. Carson and Ed are different. If he has any doubts, it won’t work. That’s what I know—”

“Any doubts ever?” Vanora laughed. “Oh, my God! Natalie, if only you knew.”

“What?”

“Sweetheart, I wasn’t convinced I wanted to marry your father because of the job. I did it because I loved him too much to run off. For the first six months of our relationship, I was holding back. I ran away three weeks before the wedding because of something your grandmother did. Ran away. Left. Didn’t indicate if I would come back.”

“What!?” Natalie was appalled.

“I loved Daddy, so I came home. I got over it. He let me have my freakout and loved me even more for choosing him. It hasn’t always been easy. In fact, it has never been easy. It is easy to love your father. It is not so easy to love the fishbowl.”

“But then why do you do it?”

“Because I love your father. The rest of it… meh. He protects me. Fiercely. I know it won’t destroy my life. If he were less assertive or wishy-washy at all, I’d have run. You can’t make it work.”

“So, you think if I am that person… he might survive?”

“Oh, sweetheart, yes. I can’t promise he will stick around anymore than I could have promised I would have been here thirty-three years ago. But you need to give him the chance to love you.”

Natalie groaned.

“What does he mean to you, sweetheart?”

“Everything right now. He’s so wonderful. I miss him when I’m away. I want to crawl into bed with him just to be there. The sex is… so mind-blowing. I don’t think I have ever experienced such chemistry with anyone.”

Vanna smiled. “Then you know what you have to do, don’t you?”

“Grovel?”

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