My father stood, as this was the end of our audience. “Of course.”
She took the folder under her arm and we headed out. Once in the corridor, she whispered to me, “Ryder, we have a problem.”
I motioned with my finger not to talk here. So we headed back to the room where I’d intended to toss her on the bed earlier. Once the door closed, I crossed my arms and asked, “What’s going on?”
She flipped open the contract and pointed to page three and said, “This says my blog, my social media, and everything I intend to publish needs royal approval first.”
Our deal was over, then. She’d been adamant about controlling her own social media avenues that she earned a living from.
Without that, I had nothing to offer her that she wanted. I rubbed my temple and said, “I will speak to him.”
She reached out and grabbed my wrist. “I don’t want to walk away from you over this.”
I kissed her cheek. She was sweet, but I understood this could be a deal-breaker. I said, “Right. We had a deal. Give me time to speak to my father.”
“Of course.”
I left our rooms and rushed back. Who knew what my father might do next? I squared my body to confront him.
If he forced this, then he stopped our lives. I didn’t wait for his handlers to signal him I was coming, but headed straight back into his office. I caught my father on the phone and waited for him to finish discussing a trade deal for more rice and flowers. Once he hung up the phone, I leaned against his desk and said, “Father, the requirement for royal approval is overreaching.”
He glanced up at me like I was still a thirteen-year-old boy he could order around. “We need to ensure our image is perfect.”
I pressed my hand to my heart and said, “And you need to trust us.”
He stood. “It’s not just me, Ryder.” He widened his stance and said, “There is nothing I can do.”
Adrenaline coursed through me. I lifted my chin as my heart raced. “You never once considered my feelings over this.”
He stared at me, and when I was a child, that piercing, blue-eyed gaze would have had me shaking in my shoes. He said coldly, “You’re a prince, Ryder, and I didn’t understand until my advisors explained the details of her work about the potential dangers to the throne. She needs to stop blogging and sharing pictures of her life once she becomes a royal.”
I wasn’t a child anymore. I was about to marry to break free of all this. I waved my hand and turned toward the door. “No. I quit.”
I reached for the door and my father said, “You can’t.”
I shrugged and said only, “Goodbye, Father.”
No more arguing.
This was over. The only saving grace was the law that said if I married without royal approval, I was kicked out.
Gio had stopped me from marrying a stripper, but if Nicole agreed, she’d save me and get the story of a lifetime for her blogs and online life.
We’d have to talk, alone. I ignored the guards and stormed back to her room. Once I’d shut the doors in her bedroom, I said, “He refused. Nicole, let’s pack and get out of here.”
She massaged her neck and stared at the contract she’d tossed on her bed. “He’s not budging?”
I walked over and took her hands. “No, and I quit.”
Her eyes widened. “You quit?”
I headed to my room to grab a bag of necessities and said, “I … we had a deal and I won’t have my father controlling our lives forever. If I marry without royal approval, then I’m kicked out anyhow, and you get a story that helps your social media profile soar. So let’s get out of here.”
Her face paled, but she started packing. I finished with my one bag of essentials and tossed it over my back. She filled her rolling bag and kicked it like she’d roll it as she said, “Let’s stay at a nearby hotel for the night. Tomorrow, let me have my lawyers talk to his lawyers.”
She wasn’t ready to give up. Part of me wished I had her drive, but instead I took the handle of her bag to carry it, and asked, “You have hope this will change?”
She nodded, then opened the door and held it for us. “I hate to see you walk away from your family.”
