Theo allowed himself to be buffeted about in the crowd, a glass of Champagne never out of his hand as he spoke to diplomats and aristocrats. Occasionally he met someone from one of the other charities they were fundraising for and had a decent conversation. But the rest of the time he stuck to discussing the weather.

Music from the string quartet drifted over the air as evening turned into night. He didn’t know where James was. Probably off proposing to his lady fiancée.

How could Theo have been so naive?

He knew they had agreed that after tonight they couldn’t keep this up. But James had to lead Theo on with presents and dinner and…oh, so much worse than that were the tender cuddles. The waking up beside each other in the morning. The sweet touches that made Theo’s heart sing.

In the space of a week, Theo had glimpsed a life he could have had, one he could have loved.

A man he could have loved.

His chest ached. Actually, physically hurt. He had vowed long ago never again to let another person make him feel worthless. But at least his stepfamily had always hated him. He thought James had liked him. Maybe more than liked him.

Theo glanced down at his stunning Converse through the tears that threatened to well up in his eyes. The shoes seemed so wrong now. Out of place with his broken heart.

He was a fucking idiot. He knew James was destined to be married off to a suitable woman like the good little prince he was. He could never, ever stay with Theo. So why was Theo getting all mopey and hysterical now? Just because it was in front of his nose, didn’t mean he wasn’t fully aware it was coming. Before, though, it had been ‘at some point’. Not ‘right now’.

Fuck it. Where was Nan? She would know what to do to make Theo feel better. He suspected it involved taking him away from this bloody castle and all its false hopes and dreams as soon as possible.

He scanned the crowd with a frown and drank down some more bubbly. He was probably knocking it back too fast and it would catch up to him soon, but he didn’t care. He needed something to dull his pain.

He was so busy looking for his nan in the dusk light in the courtyard, he didn’t fully register who was walking towards him until it was too late. Because there was no way this person could be here at this Royal ball, no reason why they should be there.

But they were.

“Jacob?” Theo spat as his stepfather grinned and came to a halt in front of Theo. Theo was tempted to pinch himself. Surely he’d fallen unconscious and this was a nightmare. How in the hell was his stepfather standing there before him? “What are you doing here?” Theo hissed, glancing around to see if anyone was listening in. Everyone around them appeared distracted for now, however. “How are you here?”

Jacob looked exactly the same as he had done thirteen years ago. The only difference was he was slightly balder. He had scrubbed up nicely in a shirt and trousers, a belt holding back his rounding belly. But his dark hair had an oily look to it and the many gold rings on his fingers glinted in the fairy lights. Theo winced, remembering what it was like to be hit by those rings.

“I got us tickets, innit?” Jacob said around his chewing gum that failed to mask his cigarette breath, like this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Knowing his wheeler dealer ways, though, Theo wouldn’t have been surprised if had got himself a legitimate ticket through illegitimate means.

Wait. He’d said tickets.

Sure enough, a quick glance behind him showed two grown men who Theo was even less pleased to see. His stepbrothers, Andrew and Derek, gave him nasty grins. They had certainly beefed up since Theo had seen them last and were also wearing dress shirts. Theo was honestly gobsmacked they hadn’t tried to come in here wearing West Ham football shirts.

Jacob flashed a smile at Theo, revealing more than one gold tooth. He shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and rocked on his heels. “Still a massive poofter, I see,” Jacob said to Theo with a sneer. “I should be asking you what you’re doing here. Nice place like this, letting perverts like you run the show.” Jacob tutted. “What is the world coming to.”

Theo stared at his stepdad, refusing to show how much his words stung on the outside, even if he was quaking on the inside. It was nothing he hadn’t heard before. “Did you come here to insult me?” he asked. “Or are you actually here for the fundraiser?”

Jacob barked out a laugh, still noisily chewing his gum. “Oh, we’re here to raise some funds, all right. See, your batty old nan told Nicky down the Rose and Crown all what you was up to here. Playing around with the prince like you was important or some shit. See, our Nicky’s always been soft on me. So she told me this little story, asking if I knew if it was true.” He flashed his teeth again and leaned closer to Theo. “I told Nicky the only reason you’d be here was if you were letting that wanker prince bum you. And I’m right, aren’t I?” He leaned back and winked, sending a cold shiver of terror down Theo’s spine. “You check your phone lately, queer boy?”

Theo felt dizzy with shock. “It was you sending those texts,” he hissed. Of course it wasn’t Iggy. Iggy would never hide behind a screen like that. He’d come out and tell Theo to his face, like he just had. Jacob, on the other hand…

“Oh come off it!” Theo snapped, trying not to lose hit shit amongst three hundred guests which included actual royalty from two different countries. “I’m not shagging any prince. Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I automatically pull any man in sight.”

“A slut like you?” Jacob said, tutting and shaking his head. “Anyone can see that prince is a woofter, too. You’d bed him in a flash. Bet he gave you those pretty slippers on your feet.”

Theo jerked his head and looked guiltily down at the crystal Converse. He couldn’t argue that. Of course he couldn’t afford something like them and his stepdad knew it.

“They were a bonus for being good at my job,” Theo said. “You might drop dead of shock to hear this, but I am good at my work. So how about you piss off. You haven’t got anything on me.”

Jacob paused to snag a glass of Champagne from a passing waitress. Theo was amazed he didn’t slap her arse as she walked by. He certainly took in a good eyeful of it instead. “Oh, I’ve got plenty on you,” Jacob said. “Enough juicy stories for any tabloid to spin a believable enough yarn. I thought the title could be ‘Poofter Prince’. It’s got a good ring to it, don’t you think?”

“Oi,” Theo cried, ignoring Jacob for a second while he glared at his stepbrothers. They were attempting to intimidate the waitress. “Leave my staff alone.”

The girl gave him a grateful look and scuttled away. Theo’s stepbrothers looked murderous, but at least they didn’t try anything in front of an audience.

Theo turned back to his stepdad. “That’s slander. The Royal Family would sue the ever-loving shit out of you.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Maybe,” he said. “If there really was no truth to it. But why don’t we save all that aggravation? How about you and your pervert boyfriend give me a better offer than what I’d get from doing a tell-all with a paper. Then maybe I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“Blackmail,” Theo scoffed. “Really? That’s what this has come to?” He shook his head. “You’re off your fucking head,” he growled. “I’m not shagging any prince, so you’ve got no story or any leverage. All right? I can’t stand the man. I wouldn’t let him suck my cock if he was the last man on Earth.”

Theo immediately regretted his words. He knew he was venting some of his anger about the whole Princess Klara situation. But he figured the more he made it seem to Jacob like he hated James, the better it would be.

Theo should have known he was in trouble from the gleeful expression on Jacob’s face. “Really, Twinkle Toes?” he said positively bouncing with joy. “You know what I think? I think you’ve fucked His Majesty up, down, left and right. I bet you couldn’t get enough. And now you’re going to pay.”

Theo reasoned with his Champagne-addled brain that he might as well go the whole hog. James might not want him anymore, but Theo was still desperate to protect him. The best way to do that was to lie through his teeth to his stepdad and try and stop him from selling any stories.

“Prince James is an idiot fucking toff,” he said. “Just another wanker up his own arse. I’m leaving tomorrow and I’ll never see him again.” At least that part was true. “Good riddance.” That part was absolutely not true.

But there was nothing Theo could do about it. He had fallen for a man who had never wanted him. Theo had just been James’s plaything. Theo wasn’t going to let his stepdad make him feel even worse about it by allowing him to gloat.

So Theo turned away before he had to lie anymore. Before his stepfamily could see the tears welling in his eyes.

Theo looked up at the person standing behind him, about to move out of their way.

One look at the expression on James’s face told Theo he had heard enough to do some real damage.