The Reluctant Wife: Chapter 8

I look up from reading The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark into the faces of the children in the room. We’re at the inner-city school I handpicked for this engagement. I love children and, given a choice, I’d rather spend time with them than at yet another boring, official event shaking hands with dignitaries of state. I selected one of my favorite children’s books and brought along my own copy to read to the kids. Not that all of them are interested in it.

One of the little boys is scribbling into his notebook with his pencil, another little girl has her fingers linked together and a frown on her face as she glances at the door. A third boy looks out the window. There are a few in the front who look back at me with blank faces.

At the back of the room, the teacher wrings her hands in distress, no doubt, worried that she’s going to be called to the principal’s office for not getting her class to listen to the princess who deigned to drop by.

‘Woooo!’ I cup my palms around my mouth and pretend to hoot. The little boy stops scribbling in his book and peeks up at me from under his eyelashes.

‘Woooohooo?’ I hoot again…this time, with a question mark at the end, in the hope of getting more of a response.

The little girl shoots me a sideways look. The boy who’s been scribbling in his notebook lets the pencil drop from his hand.

Ryot, who’s positioned by the doorway, flicks a glance in my direction. He’s been still since he walked in, except for his head which constantly roves the room as if he’ll find danger lurking in the corners. Our gazes meet and it’s as if a truck slams into me, then he continues with his perusal of the space. The breath I didn’t know I was holding shudders out.

‘Wooohooo hoo hoo.’ I jerk my head toward the kids to find the same boy who was scribbling in his book earlier smirking in my direction.

He lowers his hands to his sides. ‘That’s not what an owl sounds like.”

‘No?’ I stifle my own smile. At last, I have their attention. ‘How does an owl sound?’

He obligingly cups his palms around his mouth and hoots. Some of the kids giggle.

Then, a girl and another boy join him, and suddenly, there are a bunch of them hooting back at me. I burst out laughing and hoot with them.

The hair at the back of my neck prickles. I sense his gaze and turn in his direction to find Ryot staring at me. There’s a weird look in his eyes—one of surprise and confusion. Guess he didn’t expect me to get childish with the kids? His gaze sweeps past me as he continues his perusal of the classroom. I feel bereft at once. Why is that? Why should meeting his eyes this way affect me so much? It’s as if we’re connected by an invisible thread that lets me know exactly where he is in the vicinity.

I push away thoughts of him and focus on the children. ‘One, two, three, eyes on me.’ I raise my hand in the air.

The reading continues without incident. I bid the kids good-bye and leave the classroom without meeting Ryot’s gaze.

I wave at the photographers gathered outside the school but decline to comment.

The rest of my protective detail stand guard as I board the vehicle, with Ryot walking around to slide back inside with me. Within seconds, the entourage is on its way.

My phone vibrates with a message. I pull out the device and glance at the message from my assistant.

I frown. On the face of it, there’s nothing wrong with her message. But her unfailing politeness often grates on my nerves. Still, she’s good at her job, which is why I keep her on. On the other hand, even she gets to drive herself. I push that thought of my head.

My phone vibrates again.

I frown. Sometimes I think Veronica is too taken in with the image of a Royal Princess. She’s party to the sweat and tears that go into building my public persona, so she should know, that’s all it is. A persona. But she seems too enamored by the glamorous front I try to present.

Not to mention, I won’t have the budget to buy from any of these brands in the near future. Not when my country is on the brink of economic collapse.

My phone vibrates with an incoming call. I glance at the caller ID and wince. Then decline it. Within seconds, another incoming message pops up on my screen

Ugh! I can almost hear his whiny voice in my ears. I suppose, at some point, I need to take his calls. But not now. I flick a glance in Ryot’s direction, then hurriedly slide my phone back into my shoulder bag.

“Everything okay?” Ryot asks.

“Of course.” I accept a bottle of water from him and nod my thanks. I drink from it before capping it and placing it aside. ‘Is it normal for you to ride in the same car as the person you’re protecting?”

He hesitates. ‘Only because of the recent threat. If something were to happen, I have more of a chance to protect you in such close quarters.’

I nod slowly. ‘And inside there, did you actually expect a possible threat in a classroom filled with children?’

‘It’s when you least expect it that they strike. I wouldn’t put anything past them.’

There’s a finality to his words, a hard edge which sends a jolt of fear up my spine. The bite in his tone warns me this is not like the other times when I’ve been threatened. Oh, for crying out loud, how bad can the threat be?

‘This note I received; can I see it?’ I’m sure he’s going to turn down my request like my father and his team have done in the past.

Instead, he looks at me with surprise. “You haven’t seen it?”

“My father and his courtiers prefer not to show me the threats I receive. They felt I should be protected. They insisted it would only make me worry more.” I don’t bother masking the frustration I feel about it.

His forehead furrows. “And what do you think?”

I blink. He’s the first one to ask me that question. My father and his team prefer to talk down to me. My brothers stand up for me, but I’d rather not go to them with every single challenge I face. I prefer to fight my own battles, as much as possible. Perhaps, he can help me with this one? I’m not going to turn down help in this regard. “I think I should be allowed to judge for myself the level of danger I’m in.”

“I agree. Understanding the severity of the threat you’re under will help you understand why I need to implement certain security protocols.” He pulls out his phone, swipes the screen, and hands it to me. I survey the picture open on the screen. It’s a printout which simply states.

Princess Aurelia, you will die

A shiver runs down my spine. Seeing the threat in black and white ties my guts up in knots. Whoever wrote the note is serious. This is not someone who craves notoriety or who hopes to be tracked down and captured to gain a few seconds of fame. This…comes from someone who means business. Who won’t stop until they complete their mission.

My throat dries. My heart begins to race. I draw in a breath, manage to find some composure, then hand the phone back to Ryot. “Where was it found?”

‘On the pillow of your hotel room bed.’

‘What?’ I gasp and snap my gaze to his. ‘You’re joking.’

The expression on his face tells me he isn’t. ‘One of the housekeeping staff who came in to make up the room found it and raised the alarm.’

‘Shit.’ I sink back into my seat, then notice the strange expression on his features. ‘What? You thought because I’m a Princess I don’t swear?’

His expression closes. ‘It is a surprise… Yes.’

‘Talk about stereotypes.’ I snatch my bottle of water and drain it before setting it aside. ‘No wonder my father seemed more upset than usual.’ I glance out the window. Unspoken is the fact that someone found their way past the existing security to leave that note on my bed. If I’d been in the room at that time—I shiver and lock my fingers in my lap.

“I’m sorry if I disturbed you by showing you the note.’ Ryot’s voice is gentle.

‘Bullshit. You’re not sorry. In fact, you hoped showing me that note would make me fall in line with your protective measures.’

I turn to look at him in time to catch the flash of something in his eyes. It confirms to me that I hit the bullseye.

‘You’re right.’ He holds my gaze. ‘In this, I don’t agree with your father. It’s best for you to see the threat so you can gauge for yourself the seriousness of it.’

I turn away again. He’s right. Seeing that note brings home the gravity of the situation. My father’s priority has always been protecting me, and apparently, that means protecting me from worrying too. I understand his intentions, but if someone had shown me one of these threats, I would have taken them more seriously.

‘You don’t mind going against my father when he’s the one paying your salary?’

I sense him stiffen. ‘I’m here to protect you and will do what I think is right to keep you safe, even if that means going against your father’s directives.’

Not too many people would have the courage to do that. He might be an arrogant, over-bearing and opinionated ass—but given how he saved me at the bar, I pegged him as chivalrous, maybe even fearless. Now that he’s standing up for me against my father, I realize, he’s macho not only in his looks, but also when it counts. He’s truly brave and courageous. A real man.

“You’re an astute woman. You deserve to know what you’re up against. It will help you understand the measures I’m implementing for your safety.”

That, more than anything, moves me. Of course, he’s also doing it so I’m more cooperative, but regardless of his motives, I appreciate him treating me as someone who knows my mind and can decide what I want for myself.

Then another thought strikes me. ‘Does this mean I need to change my hotel room?’

Once more, his features turn expressionless. ‘This means, we’ll be re-visiting the backgrounds of everyone on your team who had access to your hotel room. And yes, you’ll be moving to a different hotel.’

My jaw drops. ‘I am?’

He nods. ‘I’m relocating you to a boutique hotel. One which might not be as fancy as the one you were in, but where you will be safer and which I hope will match the style you are accustomed to.’

I disregard the sarcasm in his voice. ‘And when were you going to tell me this?’

He has the grace to look shamefaced.

‘You weren’t going to tell me about this until we reached the hotel?’

‘We are on our way there now,’ he admits.

I do understand the reasoning behind not going back to the hotel. Fact is, I wouldn’t feel safe there either. So, I’m glad not to return. ‘You could have mentioned it to me earlier,” I grouse.

‘I didn’t want to take your focus off the event you were headed to. And I am telling you the first opportunity I got.’

I purse my lips. He’s right, I admit grudgingly. I’m used to events in the public eye, but I still do need to focus my mind on it to give it my best. If he’d shown me the note or told me about the hotel change before the event, it would have broken my concentration, so he did the right thing. Damn, I can’t even get pissed off with him, can I?

“Also, given someone made it past the security on your floor, it felt prudent to keep the details of where we were moving you on a need-to-know basis.’

I incline my head. ‘You mean, you don’t trust me not to share my whereabouts with, say, social media?’ I raise my phone.

His lips quirk. ‘You wouldn’t be stupid enough to do that.”

‘Thanks?’ I scoff.

‘I didn’t think you were going tell anyone outside of your immediate circle, but I wanted to ensure not even your personal assistant, or anyone from your previous security team, would find out about it. Your father is, of course, aware of our plans.’

“Not even Veronica?” I frown. “With all the planning we have to do, it would be helpful to have her staying in the same hotel.”

“That’s what she said too.” He raises a shoulder. “It’s only until we’ve completed a thorough check on everyone’s background, and until we rule out their being involved with the last threat.”

All at once, the meaning of his words sinks in. ‘You think someone within the team let the intruder have access to my room?’ I ask in horror.

‘I prefer not to engage in conjecture.’ His voice is calm, and I get the feeling, once again, he’s trying to manage me…because I’m his client. Grr. That’s the box he wants to stick me in, and he’s not budging on it. I’m going to try my best to make him reconsider it, though.

Once again, I look out the window. The city passes by outside, and I spot the familiar sign of a well-known fast-food chain. The only time I’ve been to one was when I evaded security and sneaked out of boarding school with a friend. I was reprimanded by my father for it.

It was the fact that I might have endangered my friend’s life that made me realize I needed to take more responsibility for my actions. I realized then, I liked to pretend to be like everyone else, but I wasn’t.

But there are also benefits to my position. Like now, when I want something and not even my controlling bodyguard can stop me from having it.

I press the button for the intercom and speak into it, ‘Stop the car, I want to get out.’