Chapter 14
Anna’s heart constricted in her chest. Now she’d face him again. She stormed into the hall to head back to hair and makeup, but blood pumped too fast in her veins.
Leo was having a child, with Francesca.
His heart would never be truly hers. Not if he had a son or daughter out there.
As she reached the door, she turned around. Sitting in a chair while people fawned over her wasn’t going to settler her.
The past year taught her one thing. Leo was devoted to his sisters and mother. He’d be devoted to his child.
Francesca must have known that too. She must have smelled the almond from his soap that seemed embedded in Leo’s very skin.
This was why he’d never love her—she should have known better than to give her heart to him.
She couldn’t stop loving him, even now. But from this second on, she’d have to find a way to protect her heart, and she had to prepare herself for the inevitable.
He would leave her and she had no way to stop him.
She squared her shoulders and returned to the sitting room that he was using for an office. It felt like an axe was pressed against her neck and she said a silent prayer as she opened the door. “Leo… I’m ready.”
With his hands in his pockets, he looked at her with a raised brow. “Ready for what?”
He wanted her tosayit? A sigh escaped her lips as she couldn’t quite gather her thoughts of his leaving her to form words. She licked her lips, held her head high, and said, “For you to tell me that you want a divorce. To send me away so that you can marry Francesca.”
He yanked his hands out of his pockets and walked toward her. His heels clicked on the hardwood floor and echoed in her heart as he asked, “Is that what you think?”
She lifted her chin. “Am I wrong?”
Leo clasped her hands tightly. “Yeah. I’d prefer we pay Francesca whatever she’s asking and for… us… to find a family for this baby or we can raise this child… whatever you want.”
Stay. Her body buzzed as her mind raced. Part of her was happy. Part of her hated the idea of stealing someone else’s child just because she was in love with Leo. She crossed her arms and turned away as she asked, “You want me to raise your child that you created with another woman?”
He traced her lower back. “You don’t have to adopt him, but I’d like your help knowing that he’s okay. Francesca won’t want to raise him.”
“No illegitimate Aussa has ever been claimed in this country in thousands of years. Half the nobles are reputed to be hidden away Aussas.”
“They probably are, but I can’t think of my child being raised without love or not being taken care of.”
“You can’t throw the monarchy into chaos. We can… find a way to watch over this boy or girl without destroying the traditions that people believe protect our kingdom with divine blessing.”
“That’s what you want?” He placed his hands in his pockets like they were in the office again and not discussing his child.
That sounded reasonable. She lowered her arms—as long as they weren’t ripping apart a mother and child. “Why?”
He rocked on his feet but kept his head down. “Because you were right about me, in part.”
The part where he’d want his family—that had seemed obvious to her from the start, but she pursed her lips and asked mostly for him to understand, “What part?”
His voice was low and deep like he spoke from his heart, “I don’t want this child to be raised without my input or guidance.”
And if he’d known before the big impromptu wedding, would he have married her? The question paralyzed her, making it difficult for her to breathe. “But you want to stay married to me?”
His forehead was so close to hers that she breathed the same air as him. “You’re clearly fit to be the future queen, but I’d like for us to make a plan to deal with this… together.”
If only it was that easy. She wished that he loved her, but she needed to guard her heart in case he never did. Leo was acting as if this was a job, like when he’d asked her to draft his proposal on noblewomen inheriting, and he’d wanted her brain, and not her heart. She needed better boundaries. “I don’t know.”
Her voice had sounded strong, when she was on the verge of tears.
