Chapter Twelve – The Truth
Benjamin paused outside of Julia's door. After their fight – he still wasn't sure why she had gotten so angry, it must have just been stress and nerves – he had managed to convince her to stay in the palace for Henry's sake. He could hear the baby whimpering so that probably meant Julia was still awake. It was late at night, but he had been called for an emergency meeting.
The hostilities that had halted when Maria woke from her coma were back in full force now that she was in the hospital again. She was awake but severely weakened. Her repeated exposure to almonds had left her immune system severely compromised. Without her advanced healing, she had contracted a severe case of pneumonia, which was affecting her heart as well as her lungs.
Would she make it out this time?
The prince pushed his doubts aside while his fire smoldered and continued on. He had to take care of the kingdom and trust that the doctors would take care of his mother. He soon made it to the war room and took his seat. The generals were slower to get there, but then again, none of them lived in the palace. When they had all arrived, Benjamin called the meeting to order.
"Caitlyn and her allies are gearing up for a full-on war," General Karl stated when he was given the floor. "Our allies have made only shallow actions against them. If this ends in battle, I fear that we'll be in this alone. Nobody believes in an unmated Dragon. Your Highness, you need to be married."
Benjamin pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I know the council gave you to the end of the year, but you need to announce your marriage immediately. You are the similitude of the kingdom. Our enemies see you as weak and, therefore, the kingdom is weak. I've heard that you have had a human in your rooms every night for—"
"Leave her out of this," Benjamin interrupted.
Karl bowed his head briefly but didn't stop. "I know that she's a housekeeper and there will be some opposition to someone in your position marrying one so lowly, but a servant for a wife is better than no wife at all."
"I told you to leave her out of it."
He knew that this was how it was going to go. He didn't have time to drag his feet anymore – he needed to marry. But Julia had ended things between them. Would he be able to convince her to give them another shot? Did he even want to marry her when he couldn’t be sure he was doing it for the right reasons?
"Give me two days." He looked at Karl. "I'll have a mate by then."
One of the other generals scoffed. "The housekeeper?"
"In the meantime, I want our enemies and allies both to know that we're not going to quail before them," Benjamin continued, ignoring him. "We are a strong kingdom, even if the prince doesn't have a future queen. My mother may be sick, but she is not dead and she is still strong. And I will have none of you doubt that. Understood?"
There were nods around the table. The meeting shifted to what they needed to do to defend the borders should the worst happen, but Benjamin struggled to keep his mind on the task at hand. His mind was filled with Julia. What had she told Maria that she was so frightened to tell him? The memory of her tears made his stomach twist. What could be so horrible to make her cry that much?
Maybe she was pregnant. They had been careful, but even then, accidents happened. But would a pregnancy really make her say the things she had – that he wouldn't care about her once he knew the truth? Unless she had terminated the pregnancy . . . The thought made his stomach clench, but if she had done that, it was because she didn't see an alternative. She would have felt trapped and frightened. Julia would not fight so hard to keep Henry and then give up another child unless she honestly felt there was no other way.
But even that scenario didn't seem like it was the reason for Julia's tears. There was something else going on. Did she just think that he was only with her because he had to marry? His mind turned to his first thoughts. Was she married? He had only ever smelled baby powder on her, so she wasn't with her husband if she was married.
"My lord?" Karl stared at him.
Benjamin focused again. The general had just proposed to send a message to Caitlyn asking to negotiate an end to these hostilities. The prince nodded. "Good. Do it. Is there anything else?"
There was no response, so Benjamin stood, dismissing the meeting. As soon as he was out the door, his thoughts turned back to Julia. What was she hiding from him? There was something at play and he needed to know what it was. His jaw tightened as he headed for her room.
Henry's whimpering had stopped. Benjamin could hear Julia singing softly to her baby. He knocked and entered. She sat on a rocking chair, the baby bundled in her arms. Her eyes widened when she saw him coming in.
Benjamin dropped to one knee beside her. "You have to tell me."
"I know. I just . . . Let me put Henry down and then we can talk."
He nodded. Julia rocked a moment longer before taking the sleeping baby back to the bedroom, then returned to the den of the suite. She perched on the edge of the couch, hands twisting in her lap. For a long moment, she stared down at the carpet, then finally brushed a hand over her face and looked up.
"Before I begin, I need to know. Do you remember a girl who used to work in the palace named Cynthia?"
"Cynthia?" Benjamin scrunched up his face. There had been a time when he only went for girls with names starting with C. He shook his head.
Julia's eyes flared for a moment but her anger was short-lived. She slumped back on the couch and shook her head. "I didn't expect you to."
"Who was she?"
"My best friend. And Henry's mother."
A ball of dread slipped into Benjamin's stomach and his mouth went dry. She couldn’t mean . . .
"Cynthia got a job at the palace. Then she started up a secret affair with someone. She wouldn't tell me who. She got pregnant, quit her job or was bullied out of it, was kicked out of her family and had to go live out in the country in order to afford rent for herself. When she went into labor, I was with her. Our car crashed. Henry was born just before she died and she told me that you were his father."
Benjamin sucked in a deep breath. He sprang to his feet and rushed past her, ignoring her soft gasp. It was only after he threw the door to the bedroom open that he remembered that he needed to be quiet. Creeping up to the bassinet, he gazed at the little one inside. Henry slept peacefully, but he saw the similarities between the baby and himself now. The shape of his nose, the arch of his eyes, even his ears.
His son. Benjamin stroked the downy head with a trembling hand. He had a son. A perfect, beautiful little boy. The prince pulled away from the baby, heart pounding. Why had she kept this from him? Slowly, he moved back to the den, mind whirling. Julia still sat on the couch and he sat down beside her.
"Why didn't you tell me? He's my son and you never said anything."
Julia leaned forward, hiding her face in her hands. "I blamed you for Cynthia's death. I thought that you must have kicked her out the moment she got pregnant. I was angry, grieving. It's my fault she's dead, but I couldn't handle that, so I pushed all my anger onto you. I came here . . . I came to get close to you. To make you fall in love with me so that I could emotionally destroy you."
"No." Benjamin leaped to his feet. He shook his head wildly. "No. You're not . . . "
"I'm sorry." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "After I realized that you weren't the monster I thought you were, I wanted to stop. I didn't want to hurt you. But then . . . things just continued and it got out of hand. I'm so sorry. Benjamin, if I could go back—"
"You weren't going to tell me I had a son?"
Julia's tear-stained face rose to his. "Even now, do you remember who Cynthia was?"
He didn't. There were too many girls and he had never been with any one of them more than a handful of times. "That's not the point! You lied to me. Used me. You . . . you aren't the person I thought you were. You're nothing more than a con artist."
"Benjamin—"
"I am your prince. You will address me by my title."
She fell back on the couch, sobbing, but Benjamin wasn't about to let her tears soften his heart. He'd never felt so angry, so in pain. His heart twisted every which way and he let out a low growl, smoke seeping from between his teeth. The flames scorched his throat and he wanted to scream and shout and demand why. Why? Why?
But she had already told him why. Because she thought he was a monster.
Benjamin turned on his heel and marched away, unable to look at her for another moment. He wasn't going to stay with a liar and a con-artist . . . Someone who didn't care one iota about him.