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“How did you know?”
“I am the king, Maribel. You should know better. We may not have spoken to you in years, but we’ve always known where you were.”
My gut sinks at that. “You also haven’t reached out to me in years. Why now?”
“We wanted to let you live. I know you thought we were hard on you, but we love you. We made sure you were safe from afar but never wanted to interfere,” he says, something akin to surprise filling me.
“What do you want?” I ask, needing to get to the point.
My father sighs, and I imagine him pulling a hand down his face. He always did that when he was frustrated. I haven’t seen him in years, and I wonder if gray sits where chocolate brown hair used to be.
“Tu dois te marier.”
Sorry, what? I blink and blink again, losing focus of what’s in front of me. I grip onto Idris as I try to form words. “Attends, quoi?”
“Our country hasn’t been doing well…and we need to join forces with our neighboring isle, Calis. The only way that is going to happen is if you marry the prime minister’s son, Jacques.”
My ears ring while my blood runs cold, a sense of dread consuming me. I knew this would happen, where one day he would guilt me back home. If there’s one thing I don’t want more than going back to the life of royal affairs, it’s to see my country fall apart. I may not like being a princess, but I’ve never had an issue with my country itself.
“I plead with you, Maribel, come back and marry Jacques. C’est la seule chose qui peut nous sauver, sauver notre peuple.”
“There has to be another way,” I cry, tears soaking my cheeks. “Partner with a different country. Ask Q for money—”
“Your brother chose to leave us. I will not ask him for a thing,” my father spits, hatred coating every word.
“But he would do it. You know he would,” I try to convince him.
“You’re coming home to get married. End of story.” His tone is final.
Idris takes the phone from my hand. “What if she doesn’t, Your Highness?”
“Well, then that boyfriend of hers will never play baseball again.”
I yank my phone back, my voice icy as I threaten, “Don’t you dare even think of hurting him.”
“You know violence is not my thing, dear. I’d simply make a few phone calls and ensure he’s never drafted. Not even by a minor league.”
“We’ll think about it and get b—” Idris starts, but I cut him off.
“When?”
Idris mouths, “What are you doing?”
I ignore him and listen to my father’s answer. “You’re set to be married in two days. I’d like you here as soon as possible.”
“I’ll be on the next flight out.” My voice is devoid of emotion, numb as I hang up on him.
Idris sets his hands on my shoulders, shaking me. “Cami, what are you thinking?”
“There’s nothing we can do, Idris. He’s won.” My tears are now free-falling down my face.
“I’d like to make sure everything he said is true. It’ll take some time to hack into their systems again, so just give me a day.”
I shake my head. “We don’t have that time. If I’m not there within the next twelve hours, who knows what he’ll do.”
“I don’t like this.” He began to pace. “Let’s call your brother and figure out a plan, okay?”
I nod, but my mind is set. I know what I need to do. Let’s just say it won’t be the first time I give Idris the runaround.
