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The king approaches the princess and lovingly cups her cheek. Princess Flora smiles up at her father. “That goes without saying,” he says.
Flora blinks up at her father. “Does it?”
Although I’ve never been a fan of the king, I notice the father/daughter bond between Flora and King Otto. It’s touching, even if the king is being strong-armed into it.
Finally, the king turns to Jakob and shakes his hand. “Thank you, dear boy, for saving our little girl. Let’s hope this is the only time we’ll have needed your services. That fall was quite enough for my heart.”
Jakob appears ten feet tall as he puffs out his chest. “My pleasure, Your Majesty.”
The king turns to Doug. “Doug, you’ve got this covered, haven’t you? The queen and I don’t need to be here for this.”
The two of them exit just as another staffer is about to enter. The young blonde looks spooked as she holds the door long after the king and queen’s exit. With the way Doug barks for her to stop hovering, I’m guessing the little blonde works for him.
“What is it?” Doug hisses.
I guess formal introductions aren’t happening.
“Um…Doug? I just got a call from CNN? Saying they saw something on Reddit? About Jakob? And um…Jakob’s family tree?”
What?
Doug presses his fingers into his eye sockets. “Spit it out, Nora.”
“It’s Nancy. Anyway, the reporter from CNN says he did some digging and…it’s not good, sir.”
Next to me, Jakob is still. I look over at him, and his face is stony. “Jakob,” I whisper. “What is she talking about?”
The assistant named Nancy evidently has a shred of humanity and doesn’t want to say this in front of the whole room. She takes Jakob and me aside and whispers, “This is just one media outlet, but there might be more. They’re saying…I’m so sorry, but they’re saying they think the king might be your father.”
Jakob should be saying something. Denying this preposterous claim. Laughing it off. Scoffing. Something?
But his complete lack of reaction tells me everything I need to know.
He’s spiraling. He’s not denying it, but he’s also not ready for this.
That’s when the room starts to spin, and I feel sick to my stomach.
34
Jakob
The two of us sit in the corner of the windowless conference room.
Flora is pacing and texting someone.
Uther is unbothered, standing by as always.
Doug and Nancy are beside themselves.
And Jo? Jo is confused.
As for me, I’m in shock.
And yet, something deep down tells me I should have known.
“The question is, how did they get Jakob’s DNA?”
“They didn’t. This is all guesswork,” Doug snaps.
