Francesca pressed her hand to her still-flat belly. “I told you on the phone I was pregnant.”
Right. If she showed weakness, the price went up. Her stomach was in knots but she couldn’t show how tight she was inside as she said, “Yes, and His Highness confirmed it with the hospital.”
Francesca placed her hand on her hip and her painted red lips almost glistened in the sun as her makeup melted though she said, “Interesting that you don’t call him by his name.”
Francesca was pregnant. Anna walked to the side corner and poured two glasses from the pitcher of ice water that the staff must have set up. She handed Francesca one and said, “He’s still very much my boss and I’m the one to speak to if there is a monetary concern.”
Francesca gulped the water like she’d been parched. Once she was done, she set the glass down on the table that Anna had sat at with Leo just this morning. “That’s very sad really. Didn’t you want to marry for love?”
Score one for the model. Not flinching or reacting was stamped out of her in her job with paying off his affairs, but inside it was a direct hit. Anna sipped her water to show that she was unaffected. “What I want doesn’t matter.”
Francesca reached out and squeezed her arm. “Well it should. I was hoping our wants matched.”
No touching. Anna circled away from her and poured another glass for the woman who was pregnant. Leo would want a healthy baby. She handed her a second glass and asked, “What do you mean?”
Francesca held the glass in her hands and lowered her lashes. “I want my child to have his father, and for Leo to leave you and marry me.”
Boom. There it was, her worst fear. Francesca had no idea how close she was to getting exactly that. If the woman truly loved Leo, and wanted to raise a family with him, then Anna would step aside. Leo’s words, that he’d chosen to marry her, wouldn’t remain true then. For now she did as she was ordered and dug for the truth.
Anna picked up her glass and twirled it in her hand so she could study every reaction from Francesca as she said, “I asked His Highness before you came if he wished an annulment to marry you, and he said I was to negotiate your silence. I also have the backing of the queen. So you have twenty-four hours to name the price of your silence as the Aussas will never accept you as one of their own.”
Francesca tossed her blonde hair. “And the child?”
Weights piled on her shoulders as she imagined walking into the hospital and walking out with someone’s baby. She’d never want anyone to be so cold with her if their situations were reversed, but this was the plan and so she didn’t blink. “That will depend entirely on your price and we’ll negotiate from there. But I have the full backing of the royal palace to haggle the cost of your silence.”
Francesca let out a sigh like she was hurt, which seemed pretty low key. If Anna was in the other woman’s shoes, she’d have been a disaster, demanding to see the man she loved. But Francesca just nodded and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Business. No words of desperation or love. Anna left her glass on the table for the staff to clean up and did her best impression of being royal when she said, “Yes, at the palace in Avce. His Highness and I will be returning home shortly.”
Anna turned to enter the castle, emulating the years of decorum she’d witnessed, but Francesca called out the moment she turned, “The honeymoon ending so soon?”
The ice in her spine was the only thing keeping her from losing her cool. Anna turned to answer over her shoulder, “It’s time to get back to our lives.”
She took a step toward the door, but then Leo appeared like the saving prince here to rescue his princess.
Which of them was he here for? Anna’s eyes threatened to tear up. So much for being unemotional and a good business asset, never mind a proper queen. Leo’s hand ran up her arm as he stared at Francesca and said, “Anna. Francesca. I came as soon as I heard we had an uninvited guest.”
She ignored the goosebumps that grew where he touched and turned around to bid them both goodbye. “I’ve told Francesca what you told me… that you wish to negotiate her silence. I told her to give me a price tomorrow. You are welcome to stay here and tell her yourself.”
“Anna,” he said, but she lifted her head and went inside without either of them noticing the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks.
Once she was inside, she closed the door and she knew that the tears would ruin her airbrushed face. Everyone in the palace would see her, and gossip this soon in a royal marriage was bad form.
She ducked into the side sitting room and closed the door.
At least if she was alone, no one would see how un-queen like she actually was. She collapsed on a chaise lounge near the window.
A few tears spilled over and she reminded herself that real princesses didn’t snort.
Her ears burned when she heard Leo say, “Francesca…”
She sat up and realized that the window was partially open to catch the ocean breeze.
Anna pressed her lips together to stifle her cries. Francesca said, “Your bride still acts like your secretary.”
Her skin burned. This wasn’t good. No one needed to ever see how she cried now when she hadn’t cried for anything or anyone since her parents died. The salty tears washed her face reminding her that Leo had just broken her heart and she wasn’t tough, at all. She wished she could settle down as Leo said, “Anna’s my wife and will be the queen.”
No. She wasn’t cut out for either position.
