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Rose had spent the long flight hating Zac and wanting to beg them to turn the plane around to get back to him in a miserable cycle. The inexplicable draw she felt to him was real and the farther she got away from him, the more she suffered a deep sense of deprivation.
She had been right. There were soulmates, people that you were drawn to against all logic, but she’d been wrong thinking that soulmate was a perfect partner.
The transfer was a blur and now, as she sat exhausted and dishevelled, feeling hollowed out, in an outer chamber of the palace on the island kingdom of Renzoi, she felt less scared than she would have imagined. The worst had already happened, so what was left to be afraid of?
Despite her alleged lack of fear, her knees were knocking. Rose went through all the possible outcomes that she had developed in her head—she was seeing her sister and this had been achieved in the space of twenty-four hours.
The telephone number that Arthur had given her on behalf of Zac—who at least had the sense not to try to stop her—had not put her through to some generic palace number or even the Crown Prince or one of his minions, but her sister in person.
Rose had just blurted, ‘I’m your sister!’ before she burst into sobs.
It would not have been surprising if her twin had hung up on her, but she hadn’t, she’d stayed on the line until Rose was able to huskily continue.
As she’d listened to Rose’s story she had responded with a level of anger equal to, if not exceeding, her own.
‘I will kill Marco,’ she declared, sounding as if she meant it. ‘He has treated me like a child all the way through the pregnancy.’
Rose really didn’t want Zac to get off so lightly. She had sobbed her way halfway around the world because of him and there was a massive empty space inside her that she felt would never be filled.
She had trusted him and he had betrayed her. ‘But Zac—’
‘Zac is a good friend and Marco took advantage, he put him, both of you, in a terrible position.’ Her twin had seemed more dismissive of the part Zac played in the deception, saying that Marco had exploited the loyalty of his friend. It was a viewpoint that Rose had not previously considered.
A door opened and Rose looked up as a young man appeared, his eyes widening a little when he saw Rose, a reaction she had experienced several times since she arrived.
He introduced himself. ‘I hope you had a good journey? The princess hadn’t been told you had arrived. She was, er, feeding the baby,’ he said, lowering his voice as though this information was sensitive. ‘I have instructions to bring you right to her.’
Rose stepped with some trepidation into what was a sitting room. The moment her eyes met those of her mirror image, who had sprung to her feet, her doubts and fears melted away. They ran into each other’s arms.
After the hugging and the tears came the cups of tea and the talking. There were so many things they had in common and so many experiences they yet had to share.
‘So our mother died, she didn’t reject me?’
‘Is that what the old bastard told you?’ the princess exclaimed. ‘He came here and... I’m so very sorry that you were left with him. My adopted family...’ She smiled. ‘I can’t wait for you to meet them.’
‘I always wanted a family and I thought... I won’t see Declan again!’ Rose wailed.
Slowly the whole story emerged, relayed in shaky fits and starts as she was gently encouraged to get it all out by her sympathetic audience.
The exchange was interrupted when a tall, extremely handsome man appeared.
The prince addressed Rose, not his wife.
‘I must apologise. My only defence is my intentions were good, but,’ he added quickly in response to the snort from his wife, ‘I have been told that I am guilty of infantilising grown women who are able to make their own choices.’ He flashed a look at his wife, who Rose could see was fighting off a smile. ‘Is that not right?’
There was another snort but Rose could tell her twin’s anger was feigned now. ‘Do not think you are forgiven yet.’
‘You will let me know when I can stop grovelling?’ He halted at the arrival of another snort and moved swiftly on. ‘Zac is here. He is asking to see Rose. I told him—I told him that it was not my decision to make.’
This time Kate did not hide her grin. ‘You’re learning.’ She turned to her twin. ‘So will you see him?’
Rose’s heart was hammering a frantic tattoo as it tried to climb out of her chest. ‘No...yes...maybe...I think...’
She gazed around the room on the point of tipping over into panic when her twin clasped her arm, pulling her into a hug, and took the decision out of her hands. ‘Tell him to come up, Marco,’ she said quietly.
‘I doubt I could stop him if I tried.’
‘Rose, I’ll leave. Later you can meet your nephew and his big sister.’
