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I seek out Ivy’s reaction, and she’s trying to make funny noises for Kendrick. The discomfort this conversation creates is in her hard smile, almost ghostly and fraudulent. Kendrick doesn’t mind that Ivy uses him as a distraction from the conversation I’m having with his mom. He enjoys the attention.
“If she agrees to such a proposal, I want to own Ivy eventually.”
Ivy’s gulp is audible.
“Again, I apologize for my bitchiness. Valentina can write a book on how rude I can be. It’s the Aram Wraith in me. On some days, I can’t shake it off,” Kamila says, her hands reaching for her belly. Absentmindedly, she caresses it.
“You’re protective of him,” Ivy blurts out. Somehow, Kendrick’s eyes flutter shut. He leans against Ivy’s chest. “I respect that. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Kamila grabs one of the cookies from the coffee table, and she gulps down some of the water. Down the hall, one of the guards speaks into his earpiece. Ivy twitches at the strange masculine voice speaking in code behind her back, seemingly forgetting about the guards’ presence in her home.
“I never stopped trusting you,” Kamila adds. She rises from the sofa, stretching from left to right. “I only said it to see what your reaction would be. You’ve been loyal, Ivy. I’m truly sorry that I hurt you.”
Kamila picks up Kendrick, who fell asleep on Ivy. “We have to go now. I expect you both to come over tomorrow. We’ll do it right this time.”
The guards escort my family out of Ivy’s apartment, and once they’re gone, I feel lighter.
“Kendrick’s… Adorable,” Ivy comments.
“He fell asleep on you. He likes you,” I tell her, and my little doe blushes at me, biting her lip.
“I’m glad she came over,” Ivy says, scooting closer to me. Her hands wrap around me, snaking in my body closer to hers. “I didn’t like how we left things.”
A sigh doesn’t suffice. For once, my family interfered with my business instead of the other way around.
The betrayal fades, and what’s left is a touch of sweetness. Payback is like candy, bad for your health but oh so tasty.
I want nothing but for my family to be united once more.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
FELICITA
Jordan’s absencefrom the palace makes me hollow inside. Our co-dependency after Travis’ death is unhealthy, to say the least.
My babies are next-door. The rest of my family is inside the palace. Everyone but Jordan’s on this property, and it messes with my head. I cling to the past like it’s running from me, but the reality is that the past vanished a long time ago. I’m late, and I’ll remain stuck if I don’t get a grip.
Kamila promised that Jordan will bring his new girlfriend over for dinner tonight, and I cried out of joy. Yesterday, I spent the entire day cleaning up the house. Luckily, the babies didn’t need me for the day, so I could work on my house unbothered. Naturally, I prepared my meals overnight—this time, without the help of the staff. I took the car, and I purchased my groceries on my own.
It felt lonely, but… I had to do this simple task. I can’t force my brother to watch over me or the palace’s staff to babysit me.
Jordan needs to start anew. I want to be supportive.
Quietly, my chest heaves, drops of tears decorating my cheeks. I’m happy for him. I am.
Everyone’s moving on with their lives, and I’m here, sleeping in a bed I used to share with my now-deceased husband. A bed that I’ve felt move at night, at the strangest of hours when Travis used to come home from work.
Sometimes I was the one out late, and I’d come home with a bruised body, courtesy of Aram Wraith.
A sleep-deprived Travis would comfort me, and I’d feel his guilt, paired with my pain, the soreness that Aram caused in me. Once upon a time, my husband had vowed to keep me safe, but the moment I arrived on Katantia those promises became a joke, laughingstock for the King of Katantia, Aram Wraith.
His sadistic fantasies took a toll on me, and Travis knew. Yet, we fought on. We kept going for years.
We did what we did for our daughter. We couldn’t save Kamila from harm, but Valentina was able to remain unharmed.
Travis was drenched in guilt, and so am I, for I’m alive, and he’s gone. He sacrificed himself so that Kamila could become queen.
He can’t be a part of his granddaughter’s life, a girl who would’ve loved her grandpa with all her might. He’s not here to see Kamila become the queen this country deserves.
