Chapter 7
What was happening?!
Two days after leaving Tavon, she was standing next to her father in Altair. That made sense. She understood the need to stand united. So yes, standing next to her father during an announcement of this magnitude was…right. But something about this whole situation felt wrong. Something had been off since the moment her father had asked her to attend.
Mila stood on the stage behind her father, doing her normal shuffling routine so that she stayed out of the official photographs. She hated seeing her picture in the newspapers and online gossip magazines. The criticism of the color of her shoes or the dress she chose to wear, her makeup or her hair…the comments were constant and brutal! Not to mention, having her picture in the press made her life more complicated. It also made going out without her guards easier! She knew she had to maintain her bodyguards during formal events, but she loved being able to go out for non-scheduled events…such as meeting…
She was just thinking about Tavon when he appeared on the stage.
On stage! Their eyes clashed and she wasn’t sure what was going on.
“What in the world?” she whispered, her mind frantically trying to figure out why he was here.
“Prince Tavon Lin Tarsee of Altair,” the speaker announced.
Mila froze! Her startled gaze clashed with his, his hard glare indicating that he knew who she was…who her father was!
He was a prince? How could he…why didn’t he…! She tried to hide her confusion, but…!
She stared back at him, not hearing anything the speaker said. She was thrilled to see him again, but…he was Prince Tavon! Why hadn’t she made the connection before this moment? The arrogance in his demeanor, the aura of authority, the wealth…! There had been so many clues that she’d completely ignored and now…he was Prince Tavon of Altair! This meant…she couldn’t…he…!
Goodness, his title created…problems. Many problems! Issues that hadn’t been there before. Resisting the urge to rub her forehead, she stared back at him, trying to absorb all of the implications of his title. And her title. And everything in between!
Taking a deep breath, she frantically worked through what she knew of the man and the country. Of course, she knew that he was amazing in bed, loved to touch her, loved to be with her. She knew that he had a sharp wit, hated wasted energy, his politics were fair, and he was more than willing to compromise. He was generous, caring, concerned about her pleasure, and…none if those issues were important right at this particular moment.
Yes, there were problems with his title and hers but…they were only problems, she thought. Pulling her eyes away, she looked out at the crowd of reporters. They were all lifting their hands or their pens into the air, yelling questions for the press secretary of Altair. The man was answering them with patience, but he rarely moved beyond the information provided in the opening statement regarding the announcement of the trade agreement between Altair and Sidoon.
Mila surreptitiously backed up another step when she spotted a photographer moving into a different position. With his new line of vision, he would get her into the photograph so she side stepped, putting her father in front of her once again.
Once more, she looked at Tavon. He was still watching her, but now there was a knowing smile to his talented lips. Goodness, he looked mighty fine! So amazingly virile and…she lost track of the photographers and the journalist, stopped listening to the questions or the answers. Tavon was looking at her, his eyes moving up and down her figure. Slowly. When his eyes moved back up to hers, there was no doubt in her mind what he was thinking. And it was very, very naughty!
Mila shook her head, trying to suppress the smile of delight that tried to surface. Looking out at the crowd once again, she tried to ignore him. It was difficult but…okay, probably impossible, she thought as her eyes moved right back to his. One dark eyebrow lifted in question and she shook her head, a barely-there movement that told him not to do anything outrageous.
She knew he wouldn’t. If he was Prince Tavon, then he knew the drill. In front of the press, everything was orchestrated and pre-planned. Well, except for the fact that she hadn’t been aware of his identity. Obviously, he hadn’t guessed hers either.
A delicious shiver of anticipation streaked through her body. Oh, this was going to be interesting, she thought. Maybe she could slip out the side exit of the pressroom and he could…
Her father suddenly took her hand, breaking into her fantasy. Pulling her forward, he brought her center stage, exactly what she was trying to avoid. Trying not to squint as the camera lights flashed, creating a strobe light effect, she followed her father’s lead, although she had no idea what he was doing. He hadn’t warned her that he was going to introduce her to the world in this way, but she couldn’t pull her hand out of his without causing a scene.
But darn it, he knew how she felt about being in the spotlight! He knew how important it was for her to be able to steer clear of the photographers! Why was he doing this?
She still couldn’t hear his voice over the shouting of the reporters. But when he placed her hand on the fingers of the other big guy on stage, the one that had been standing next to Tavon, it took every ounce of her control to hide her horror!
His blessing?
Had her father really just…she stared at her hand encased in the handsome prince’s strong one, then glanced up at him. Suddenly, her father’s hands were over and under theirs and…he didn’t! He couldn’t! He kissed their hands! He’d sealed their engagement!
Her father had just announced to the world that he not just agreed to her marrying Prince Jaffri, but he’d blessed it as well!
Could she truly be engaged before she’d even met the man?
Mila stared up at the man and saw his own anger. Directed at her? But…surely he knew that she was just as surprised as he was! She felt a slight squeeze and got the message, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from glancing backwards, trying to connect with Tavon.
Someone on stage shifted and she caught sight of Tavon. The fury she saw in his eyes caused her to cringe.
He was angry? With her?! How could he be angry with her? She was just as much a victim of her father’s machinations as Prince Jaffri!
Mila glanced back at Tavon once more, and turned away from the spectacle. She knew what was expected of her, but that didn’t mean she needed to play along. She was relieved when Jaffri released her hand just as quickly.
What insanity was her father playing at? Why had he done this? Her mind reeled as she tried to figure out why he’d done something so outrageous. Yes, she and her father didn’t always agree on things, but how could he manipulate her life in such a way?
Trying to control the blinding fury, she figured that there was more to this than she understood. Her father had a reason behind everything he did and she had to believe that his motives were pure.
“Thank you, everyone,” the press secretary was saying to the reporters who were almost climbing over the chairs in the press room to take pictures, screaming additional comments and questions. A moment later, she walked off the press stage. With a strong hand to the small of her back, she felt Prince Jaffri guide her down the hallway. Glancing around, she opened her mouth to speak, needing to make sense of what had just happened, to ask questions, and discover what this big, scary stranger might know.
“Wait until we’re alone,” he snapped. She realized that he wasn’t angry with her. But still, he didn’t need to take his frustrations out on her either.
“We need to…”
“When we’re in my office,” he growled.
Mila wasn’t going to take that, not from this man or anyone else. Jerking backwards, she stepped to the side so that he wasn’t pushing her down the hallway to yet another unknown destination. “Just a moment…” she started to say, but then a different set of hands wrapped around her upper arms and she heard Tavon growl into her ear. “Let’s air the dirty laundry in private, shall we?” he demanded, almost pushing her into a large, sun filled office. The bright light streaming in through the huge windows felt mocking to her. The happy light and warmth laughed at the predicament her father had thrown two countries into and she cringed, wanting rain or snow or…anything that might match her pain and confusion.
She moved into the room, jerking her arm out of his hold and stalked away, finding a place where others weren’t about to accost her. She was done being herded anywhere! No more surprises, she thought as she crossed her arms over her chest. Then she lifted her eyes, glaring across the room at Tavon, who was glaring right back at her.
In the back of her mind, she heard the voices yelling accusations. But all she could see was Tavon and his anger. All she could feel was her own anger and confusion. Why had this happened? Why hadn’t Tavon told her he was a royal prince? She’d mentioned her negotiations with Altair. Why hadn’t he spoken up at that point? Thinking back to that moment, she realized that he’d quickly changed the subject.
After several moments where she breathed deeply while watching more people walk into the room, she forced her mind to stop spinning. She had to make sense of this. Because at this moment, nothing made sense!
Tavon ignored all of the arguing and accusations, walking across the room. He stopped only when they were inches from each other. “What the hell is going on, Princess Mila,” he demanded, his voice low and furious in her ear as he emphasized her title.
She pulled back and glared up at him. “I don’t know, Prince Tavon,” she snapped in return. “Don’t you dare act outraged! I didn’t know your real name either until a few days ago!”
“Names are one thing, Princess Mila.” His eyes were shooting blue flames at her. “A title is a completely different issue.”
Fury shot through her and she straightened her shoulders, feeling like she might snap. “I didn’t tell you I was from Sidoon for the same reasons you didn’t tell me that you were from Altair! You knew from the first moment that my name wasn’t Delilah! You even came up with the name!”
“And it was so close to your real one. Now I understand your surprise when I suggested it.”
Turning to face him fully, she poked him in the middle of his chest. “I never lied to you! I was completely up front about everything!”
“Except your name. Your title. Your role in the Sidoon government.” He moved even closer. “Oh, and a pesky little thing like an engagement!”
Her body trembled with anger at his accusation. “You honestly think I would sleep with you when I’m engaged to another man?” she hissed, wanting to slap him for the question. “How dare you even think such a horrible thought?”
He laughed softly, but there was no humor to the sound. “Except that…you are. And you did!”
She couldn’t believe that he could think that about her! “I’m not engaged!”
“All evidence to the contrary,” he replied stiffly, jerking his head to the group of people screaming behind them.
She continued to ignore the others, focusing all of her attention on Tavon. “That announcement was a complete surprise to both me and your brother!”
His hand slashed through the air, slicing through her argument. “Right! Engagements at our level are negotiated far in advance, and you know it, Mila!”
She pulled back, shocked at what he was saying. “You think I’m lying to you?” She glanced around, seeing other faces just as angry as she was, but her whole focus was on Tavon. “You think that I’m actually engaged?”
“Your father just blessed the engagement,” he replied back with a sneer. “I don’t see how I could have misunderstood the gesture since it has been done millions of times in our culture for centuries.”
She knew that he was right. Still, he shouldn’t…he couldn’t…
“You honestly believe that I knew about this,” she asked, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. “After all the time we spent together, all the conversations we had while in Washington, D.C. and Berlin…you still believe that I was engaged and just getting my kicks before the event was formalized.” She looked up at him, trying to keep the pain from showing on her face. He’d hurt her, but that didn’t mean she needed to let him know it. “So that’s what you think of me.” Nodding, she backed up a step. When he opened his mouth to say something, she shook her head, lifting her hand to stop whatever other hurtful words he might want to throw at her. “No, Tavon. I understand. You think I’m some sort of promiscuous tease, someone with no loyalty.” Nodding again, she angrily swiped at the revealing tears streaming down her cheeks. “Fine. Just fine. If that’s what you believe, then go ahead and wallow in your assumptions about me.”
Without another word, she spun on her heel and ran out of the office. She slammed the door shut behind her, unconcerned with how the loud noise might be interpreted by the others in the room.
There was a beautiful woman with dark, curly hair standing at the end of the hallway, looking just as stunned and hurt as she felt, but Mila didn’t acknowledge her. She just ran, needing to be alone. She didn’t even have a destination in mind since she’d never been in this building before, didn’t know the layout of the palace. She needed a place to compose herself, a place where she could take a deep breath. Because right now, her lungs hurt. Her body hurt. And her heart ached with the realization that Tavon could believe she was such a horrible human being that she would sleep with him, would spend time with him laughing and talking about everything, cutting meetings short just so that she could be with him…while she was engaged…not just to another man, but to his brother!
No more! She opened several doors, looking for a private place to think, unconcerned that she might be intruding on something important. When she found a room that was empty, she slipped inside and closed the door, leaning against it as she closed her eyes and tried valiantly to stop the sobbing. But the pain lashing at her was overwhelming and she couldn’t hold back the tears.
Stumbling, she found a chair and sank down into it, covering her face with her hands. Even though no one was around, she couldn’t stand for a stranger to find her like this. Crying seemed so weak and yet, she couldn’t seem to stem the flow of tears. She was hurting and wanted to lash out, but there was no available target. Oh, if only her father were here in front of her now!
She heard the door open and close, her spine stiffening with embarrassment. Looking towards the door, she saw the beautiful woman but quickly turned away, trying to hide her tear ravaged face. “I apologize if you need this room.”
“I don’t need the room as much as I need you, Princess Mila,” the woman replied softly.
Mila inhaled sharply, wishing she could be anonymous again. Oh, the sweet comfort of just hiding her head in the sand for a day. Or a year.
“You need me? Whatever for?” she asked, dashing away yet another tear that escaped despite her best efforts.
Extending her hand, the woman with long, dark hair and…blue eyes? Was she? Mila wasn’t sure about anything anymore, but the woman smiled gently.
A moment later, her suspicions were confirmed. “I’m Princess Sada, Jaffri and Tavon’s annoying little sister. And if you’ll follow me,” she continued and handed her a pressed, linen handkerchief, “I think I might have a solution to this extraordinary situation.”
Mila took the piece of linen gratefully, dabbing at her eyes, trying to salvage whatever remnants of her makeup might be left after her emotional outburst.
“I apologize for my deplorable behavior,” Mila said, turning slightly to face the kind woman. “It’s just that…”
Sada waved Mila’s explanation away. “That you’re in love with Tavon and your father blindsided you with a false engagement blessing?”
Mila’s mouth fell open in shock. “Um…” she couldn’t focus on the last part of the explanation because the first was too outrageous. “I’m not in love with your brother,” she asserted with as much finality as she could muster. But her claim sounded weak and pathetic even to her own ears.
The woman smiled kindly, but the look Mila received told her that Sada didn’t believe the denial. “If you say so,” was all she would concede. “Regardless, you don’t want to marry Jaffri. Do I have that correct?”
Mila laughed harshly. “Until that press conference, I’d never met the man. So no, I’d rather not marry your brother.” She realized how that might come across and stiffened. “I don’t mean to imply that he’s bad or ugly or anything,” she carefully backtracked, belatedly realizing that she needed to be careful about her words. “It’s just that…”
Sada laughed and Mila was struck by how beautiful her laughter was. “Of course you don’t want to marry Jaffri, I don’t think he’s very handsome at all. As his sister, I think he’s a giant pain in the butt!”
Mila tried to smother a burst of laughter. It was so odd to hear the completely non-diplomatic phrase. “Um…well, yes. I supposed from your perspective, he’s not the most handsome man in the room.”
She snorted again. “Not even close.” After an expressive eye roll, she smiled, the genteel expression back in place. “Regardless of our feelings, your father, without your permission, put you and our family in an incredibly awkward position.”
Mila stiffened, getting back to business. No matter how much she wanted to, couldn’t really avoid this issue. And regardless of her anger with her father, she was still a royal member of the ruling family of Sidoon. She needed to live up to that name and remember her place. Besides, she’d found over the years that it was better to face things head on and resolve problems, she thought. Ignoring them or, she wiped another tear away impatiently, crying over problems never solved anything. Taking a deep breath, she nodded curtly. “Yes. That about sums it all up.”
Sada smiled and gestured towards a very pretty but uncomfortable looking set of blue chairs. Both of them sat down, but Mila perched on the edge of her chair, ready to run. Although, where she might run to, she wasn’t sure. She couldn’t even run towards the problem because…well, she didn’t understand why her father would do something like this! Why hadn’t he warned her? Why hadn’t he worked through all of the implications of his actions before falsely announcing to the world that Mila was engaged to…Prince Jaffri of all people!
The lovely woman who looked to be maybe twenty years old cleared her throat, politely folding her hands on her knees. “So, we can’t call your father a liar in front of the world. It would humiliate him and undermine his authority within his government.”
Mila thought about that, about how sweet the revenge might be if she called out her father for his ridiculous “blessing”. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “I’m not sure I care about that at the moment.”
Sada’s smile brightened. “I imagine I would feel exactly the same way if I were in your position. Regardless, I’ve read the trade agreement that was just signed. It’s brilliant. I’m impressed with how fair the terms are for both countries. It must have taken a great deal of time, patience, and diligence to come up with ways to help both countries win.” After seeing Mila’s expression change, Sada asked, “I’m assuming that you were the genesis of the trade agreement?”
Mila held her breath for a long moment, but knew she couldn’t wiggle her way around the question. And why would she even try? Mila was proud of what she’d accomplished with the agreement! But instead of claiming all the credit, she sighed and bowed her head slightly. “It was a massive team effort,” she admitted rightfully.
“Yes, but you were the one who pushed the idea forward, weren’t you?”
Mila only shrugged, not willing to take full credit for the effort even though the other woman was right. “It doesn’t matter, does it?” she asked, and lifted her eyes to the ceiling when the tears started again. The pieces were finally clicking in her mind. And Mila was starting to realize just how big of a fool she’d been! Had her father allowed her to pursue this effort simply to get her into the Altair palace so he could do this to her?
Was he really that ingeniously diabolical? She knew that he loved her deeply, but could he have manipulated the situation to get what he ultimately wanted? Which was his only daughter married and pregnant to the future leader of a powerful country? Yes, Mila knew that her father desperately wanted grandchildren. He wanted a legacy that he could show off to the world. And if he could achieve that goal by marrying her off and gaining a powerful ally in the process, that would be even better.
But…her father just…well, he didn’t know how she felt about Tavon. She’d never been in a relationship before, so there’d never been a reason to explain any romantic feelings to her father. Not to mention the fact that she hadn’t even been home in weeks, so there hadn’t been a chance to talk to him, other than the day before they’d left for Altair. Besides, there was no way she could tell him. Not now!
Mila wasn’t sure she’d ever speak to her father again! Mila pushed that issue out of her mind. Solutions, she reminded herself and focused on Sada, who had been talking this whole time.
“Don’t worry,” Sada was saying and Mila blinked rapidly, trying to stop the anger from causing more weeping. “I have a plan. Come with me and we’ll brainstorm on a solution to this.”
Mila almost laughed at how confident the beautiful woman was. She suddenly realized how similar the two siblings were. Which made perfect sense, the dark hair and the light blue eyes were startling to view. The mysteries of recessive genes continued to confound.
“Follow you?”
Sada laughed again, pulling open the door and peering down the hallway. She then turned back to face Mila with a mischievous glint to her beautiful eyes. “Yes. The hallway is clear, but I don’t know for how long. Come with me. My mother and another brilliant and creative woman are waiting for us in another room and I imagine that they are already hard at work figuring this mess out.”
They hurried, but both women were painfully aware of the required decorum in the palace. It wouldn’t do for the palace staff to see the royal family rushing anywhere. It created worries within the staff members and that anxiousness somehow was always leaked to the outside world. On the other hand, when the royal family remained calm under pressure, that told the palace staff, and the rest of the world, that everything was completely under control. When leaders panicked, they led the rest of the world into confusion. When leaders were calm under pressure, the country knew that a plan was in place and they were assured of a positive outcome.
Sometimes being royal was a major pain in the butt, Mila thought as she followed Princess Sada down the hallway.
“In here,” Sada said and opened another door that looked strangely similar to the one they’d just left. The room was bright and sunny, filled with gold and cream colored furniture instead of the blue velvet pieces they’d just left behind.
“Mila, this is my mother, Queen Katherine,” Sada introduced.
Queen Katherine stood regally and bowed her head formally to Mila.
“It is a great pleasure to meet you, Princess Mila.”
“The honor is mine,” Mila replied, with an equal bow of her head towards the older woman.
“If you don’t mind, could we dispense with titles? I find being referred to as ‘queen’ to be painfully tedious,” Katherine suggested.
Mila almost burst out laughing, but nodded gratefully. “That would be ideal,” she quickly agreed, although Mila had never heard another royal refer to their title as ‘tedious’. It was, but not many admitted that to almost complete strangers.
“And this,” Sada continued, “is Giselle, one of the event coordinators on our staff. She’s done some exceptional work and fully grasps the political implications of today’s announcement.”
Mila turned to greet the woman and was startled to face the brunette that she’d passed in the hallway earlier. The woman had appeared stunned during that encounter. Now, the pretty woman seemed…well, still stunned, but trying to hide emotions that seemed to be running deep, if the battle raging in the woman’s eyes was any indication.
“Giselle, it is a pleasure,” Mila smiled and extended her hand, trying to stop the other woman from bowing, which had always irritated Mila.
But instead of taking Mila’s hand, the woman gasped and froze. A moment later, the gorgeous woman shook her head and stepped back. “I’m sorry!” she blurted and then rushed out, almost slamming the door as she hurried out of the room.
Queen Katherine stared at the now-closed door, startled by the abrupt departure. “Did she just…?”
Sada smiled mysteriously. “Don’t judge her, Mother. There’s more going on here than we understand. Lots of undercurrents that we need to sort through, and I believe Giselle was caught in the crossfire, just as Mila was.”
Mila pulled her stunned gaze from the doorway to the younger woman, her eyes narrowing on the princess as she smiled back at both of them. “What’s going on?”
“Well, let’s just say that I think we need to move quickly. Here’s my plan,” she began eagerly and leaned forward.
A half hour later, Mila beamed, nodding at Princess Sada’s plan. “I think it’s brilliant!” she replied, laughing and clapping her hands together. “If there’s one thing I love more than anything, it’s controlling a situation to my benefit.”
Katherine grinned, in complete agreement with the plan. “I love it!” she exclaimed, placing an affectionate hand on Sada’s shoulder. Mila watched mother and daughter for a brief moment before turning away. The touch wasn’t long, but it conveyed a wealth of love and approval. Something she rarely received from her father. Yes, she knew that he loved her. But when he wanted something, he manipulated the situation to his advantage. Hence, her current engagement to a stranger.
“So, we all have our assignments,” Sada broke into Mila’s thoughts. “I’ll go talk to Giselle and explain our plan.” Looking at both of them, she nodded. “We all have our personal assistants who can work together to make this happen quickly, right?”
Mila nodded. “If you can give me a place to work, I can call my assistant and get her started immediately.”
“I’ll do so as well,” Katherine announced, standing up. “Mila, I’ll show you to a room, but please let me know if there is anything we can do to make your stay here as comfortable as possible. And I’m sorry that this mess has caught you up in it.”
Mila was grateful for the queen’s words, but shook her head. “No, this was my family’s fault and I should apologize for my father’s ridiculous machinations. He never should have done that and he put your family and government in an awkward situation. I’m so sorry, and I’ll do everything in my power to make this right.”