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“Don’t call me that,” she rasped, swiping angrily at the tears that were beginning to fall.
My heart fractured. “That’s what you are to me.”
“Because you are literally freaking royalty, Tristan.”
“Doesn’t that tell you how much you mean to me, Dani? I’ve known since the moment we met that you were meant for me. My princess.”
“Why did you lie, then?”
I sighed and held my hands out to my sides. “I’m used to keeping my royal status under the radar. When I meet people who don’t know who I am, I appreciate being treated like a normal guy.”
“You thought I would treat you differently?” The hurt in her voice intensified, and I wanted to beat my head against a wall.
“No, baby. I’m saying it was instinct.”
“Then why continue to keep it a secret?”
I huffed out a frustrated breath and ran my hands through my hair. “I didn’t intend to keep you in the dark this long. But then you told me how much you hated being in the limelight growing up, and I started to freak out that you would leave me when you discovered who I was because it meant being in the spotlight again. I started to tell you so many times…”
“How could you propose to me without telling me who you really are?” She was playing with the ring, but I took it as a good sign that she hadn’t yet taken it off.
“That isn’t who I am, Dani. You know the real me. It’s just a title, and even though I deal with media shit from time to time, I’m only the spare, princesse.”
One corner of Dani’s mouth lifted, and I felt the crack in my heart become just a tiny bit smaller.
“Uh, Brother,” Philippe interrupted.
I swung my gaze in his direction and shot daggers at him. I should have taken Dani back to our bedroom to talk. But I was afraid that if we were near a bed, I would try to convince her with orgasms, and she needed to make this decision uncoerced.
“We need to talk before you say anything else.” He stared directly into my eyes, and I could see how serious he was. “It’s important. For both of you.”
I didn’t want to listen to what Philippe had to say. I wanted to focus on Dani, but something in his eyes, his demeanor, worried me. “Fine.”
“I’ll…um…get going,” Dani muttered, making a move toward the door.
“No!” I shouted, grabbing her hand. “Please. Don’t leave. We need to finish this discussion.” She looked as if she was wavering, so I said again, “Please.”
After a long pause, she nodded. “I’ll go to the office and work on a paper.”
“Thank you, princesse.” She didn’t correct me, and hope trickled into my chest.
When she was gone, I turned to my brother and crossed my arms over my chest. “What the fuck is so important that you had to come here and possibly ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” I seethed in French.
Philippe stuck his hands in his pockets and swiveled around to look out the sliding glass door. “Knowing you’ve met someone makes this so much harder,” he murmured. “I can see how much you love each other.”
Dread filled me at the torment I heard in his voice. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but I knew it wasn’t good. “What’s going on?”
He pivoted once again, and his eyes were on me, but they seemed to be looking right through me. “I…I met someone, too.”
I cocked my head to the side and studied him, confused. “That’s great, Philippe. Our parents must be thrilled. Why do you look like you’re about to step in front of a firing squad?”
“Because you will probably want to kill me when I tell you the rest.” He huffed a frustrated breath and ran his hands through his hair, something we had in common. “She’s related to Nic DeLuca.”
I blanched, then shook my head, sure I hadn’t heard him right. “DeLuca? Nic DeLuca, as in the Mafia boss who owns half of Manhattan and is related to the mob princess who owns the rest?”
“Yes.”
I grimaced. “By marriage or blood?”
“Blood.”
“Distant cousin?” I hoped.
My brother shook his head. “You got half of that right, but she’s a first cousin.”
“Well, fuck.”
“Exactly. I don't care about her family, but you know our countrymen will. I’ve met Nic and most of his family,” Philippe confessed. “I truly believe he wouldn’t do anything to hurt my woman or me, or mess with the monarchy. But I can’t convince everyone in our country of that. And if someone ever wanted to take us down, all they have to do is imply that the DeLucas are influencing the monarchy.”
I ran my hands through my hair, then clenched the strands, pulling on them as if it might clear some of this shit in my head. What he’d said all ran together until it finally hit me. “You’re going to abdicate.”
