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“A city called Des Moines, Iowa,” he said carefully. “She’s been living there for the last three years, working in Human Resources for a care facility called Westwood Crossings. It’s where her sister, Joy, lives.”
“When does the story break?”
“This week, at the latest.”
Rafael instantly understood what this meant. Somehow, some way, he needed to take control over the story and frame it to help Stolvenia rather than hurt it. He needed to meet his daughter. And he needed to save the monarchy.
“What do you need from me, Your Majesty? What do you want to do now?”
Rafael looked up from the photograph. “Have my staff ready the plane.”
1
Felicity was a prisoner in her own home.
Back when she’d fallen in love with Rafael, she’d wondered what it would be like if they stayed together, got married, built a life together as royals.
Now she knew. You had no privacy.
Not that she had any privacy now, even as just the mother of a royal child.
Those years of keeping Hope’s father a secret were over. The whole world knew. And the whole world had gathered around the small apartment she shared with her daughter, Hope, banging on the front door at all hours. They were relentless. She couldn’t walk past the living room window without them shouting questions up at the closed panes.
Felicity thought that when Rafael’s mother, the queen of Stolvenia, passed away, the fear would stop. She wouldn’t have to worry that anyone was watching her. She couldn’t believe she’d been so wrong.
Another thundering knock sounded at the door, hard enough to rattle the wood on its hinges.
“Do you think you should look at other living arrangements?” Joy asked.
“Like what?” This had been the largest apartment Felicity could afford on the salary from her human resources job, and it was a one-bedroom. She and Hope had to share, which was becoming increasingly difficult. Hope was a light sleeper, and she woke up whenever Felicity turned over in bed. Felicity rubbed at her eyes. It was Saturday, her day off, and she’d had some wild hope that the press would take the day off, too.
No such luck.
“You could tour other complexes,” Joy suggested, reaching down to pat Hope’s head that rested against her knee. “I’d donate to the cause, but—”
“Don’t even think about it.” Joy’s disability payments just covered her place at Westwood Crossings, and more often than not, Felicity found herself pitching in extra hours to cover the cost of the care her sister needed. She still suffered complications from the car accident that had orphaned them when the sisters were nine, and they’d cobbled together a tenable situation. Felicity wasn’t going to disrupt it by starting a big move.
She couldn’t go outside, anyway. They were surrounded.
“There’s no crossing the moat, Joy,” she said.
Hope picked up another teddy bear from the floor and held it up to Joy with a big smile on her face. Joy accepted it with a grin and bounced it around in a little dance to make Hope giggle. Felicity felt the familiar rush of love at the sight of them playing together. Her family meant everything to her—and she’d do anything to keep them happy and safe. That meant she’d find a way to get them through this. She just…wasn’t sure how.
They were going to have to wait out the weekend. A judge wouldn’t be able to hear her case for a restraining order against the crowd outside until Monday, and Felicity doubted she could get one anyway, since the apartment complex wasn’t technically private property. There was very little Joy could do about it. Felicity had brought her here until the afternoon after her sister had insisted on helping, but her company was all she could give.
As Felicity watched, Joy leaned forward in her chair to speak softly to Hope. She and her twin weren’t identical, and though their appearance was very similar, Joy was the prettier one by far. Her blonde hair fell in naturally gentle waves down her back and she’d always been so skilled at makeup.
Felicity ran a hand over her own hair. It was in the functional bun she always wore it in for work, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d put on makeup. It was busy in the human resources department at Westwood Crossings, and when she wasn’t in her office, sh
e was with Joy or caring for Hope.
Hope was as flawless as Joy. Felicity couldn’t resist crossing the room to make a minute adjustment to the small pink bow clipped in Hope’s hair. Her heart swelled with love. Honestly, she’d thought teething was going to be the toughest thing about this age, but it wasn’t. It was the worry. Was she spending enough time with Hope? Did she keep waking up all night because they were too separated during the day?
And then there was the matter of the crowd outside.
Joy’s transporters would be able to come and go, but Felicity herself couldn’t. The thought made her feel restless.
She leaned down and kissed Hope’s cheek, then straightened up with a sigh. On Monday, she’d have to face the crowds whether she liked it or not. She couldn’t afford to be fired for a no-show when money was so tight that one flat tire could blow up her entire budget.
