Chapter Sixteen

"So, we all know now that Melani cannot conceive a child, yes?" William asked as we sat at a small table, my cheeks still pink from a few minutes ago. I mean, I had been naked in front of both of them. Heck, it was hard to even look at either man without my face turning to resemble a tomato.

Anthony blinked and shot me a side glance, his cheeks pinkening before he turned away from me and nodded. "Obviously."

"And Father will be wanting to hear news of an heir sometime soon. So, I propose a plan to find a newborn baby when the time comes, and claim that it is Melani's."

My brows rose. "Find a baby? You...You're not suggesting that we kidnap a baby, are you?"

William's sage colored eyes darted in my direction, his lips pursing as his brows furrowed. "What? No, I would never steal an infant. I'm actually kind of hurt that you would assume such a thing. No, what I'm suggesting is we find a soon to be mother who does not want to raise a child, or cannot afford to, and offer them the chance to have their child grow up in royalty. I doubt any sane mother would say no to her child having a good life." He leaned back in his seat, running his hand through his blond hair. "I admit, it's not a perfect plan, but hell, any plan is better than Melani and her...his...entire family being tried for treason. And frankly, it's the only plan I have for the moment."

Anthony nodded to himself and turned those bright teal eyes in my direction. "It's not too bad of an idea." He then frowned and turned to look at William. "But what if the child grows up not resembling either of you?"

William bit his bottom lip and looked down at the table. "I-I haven't fully thought that out yet." He sighed and looked over to me, making me blush darkly when his tanned hand landed over mine. "But it is a start." He then pulled his hand back and cleared his throat as he stood up, stretching his arms up towards the ceiling, revealing a small sliver of tanned flesh. Flesh that my perverted self was apparently gawking at.

Feeling the blood rush to my face, I tore my gaze away, embarrassment filling me when I saw Anthony's amused smile. I nibbled at my bottom lip. "So, we find a child in a month's time, or are we wanting to give the illusion that I am...pregnant, before that happens?" I wondered out loud, staring at William as he lowered his arms and gave me a look.

"Well, of course we will be giving the illusion of you being pregnant. We'll probably have to stuff your dress with various pillows, depending on how long you've been "with child", and when the time comes to give birth, so to speak, we will produce the child we had obtained."

"You will have to bribe the handmaiden, you do know this, yes?" Anthony asked, raising a black brow.

William nodded, scratching at his stubbled jaw. "Of course I know this."

I pursed my lips, before I brushed my hands against my robe and stood up, giving both men an embarrassed smile. "Well, I'm sure we'll discuss more of this at a later time. I'm feeling quite hungry right now, since William," I looked towards him, enjoying the way the man blushed as recognition crossed his handsome features.

"Crap. I forgot your breakfast." I squeaked when William rushed over to me and pulled my face in his hands, giving me the most apologetic look I had ever seen. "I am so sorry I forgot. Father had distracted me with endless questions about our...romantic night together, so to speak. Your request completely slipped my mind."

I gave him a small smile and placed my hand over one of his, gently patting it. "It's fine, William. I understand you had a lot on your mind."

William gave me a warm smile and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek, causing my face to turn bright red as I averted my gaze, feeling those butterflies back in my stomach. "You are too kind to me, Mel." The man turned away from me, his gaze on Anthony. "You can accompany him to the kitchens if you want. I still have a couple of diplomatic things I need to see to before dinner tonight."

Anthony nodded, teal eyes flickering to me. "If that is alright with Melani."

I blinked, looking between both men. "Oh, ah, yeah, that's fine. Just allow me to get dressed, then."

Anthony nodded and pecked William on the cheek before he left the room, causing me to blush when William made no attempt to give me privacy. Red in the face, I made my way over to the closet and pulled out a lavender colored dress with large bat sleeves, and looked over my shoulder to make sure the blond wasn't looking before I slipped off my robe and quickly threw on the dress.

I don't know why I was so embarrassed about William seeing my naked body. For one, he was my husband, and two, he had seen me naked before. So why were my cheeks pink with embarrassment when there was really no reason they should have been? Why was my heart beating so fast in my chest, I felt like I was going to faint?

Ok, maybe not that far, but I was still shy about being naked in front of someone.

I turned around and froze when I saw those sage colored eyes on me, seemingly clouded over in thought from what I could gather. I shoved my long hair back over my shoulder and walked over to him, nibbling nervously at my bottom lip. "William?"

The man in question blinked, his eyes sharpening as he was brought back into the world of the living. "Hmm? Oh, yes, sorry, did you say something?"

I shook my head. "No, I was wondering what was going through your head just then. I-I apologize if that's nosy of me, I was just..."

William chuckled and kissed my forehead, causing my darned cheeks to turn bright red yet again. "It's nothing you should concern yourself with. I assure you."

I bit my bottom lip and nodded, not wanting to get all nosy on him. I bid him luck on whatever deeds he needed to do and left the room, startling for a moment when I saw Anthony at the door. "So, you ready to go?" I asked him, watching as he nodded and placed his hands behind his back.

And as we were walking, I couldn't help but notice that, every so often, he would glance down at me with those beautiful teal eyes for a few seconds before he would look away. I briefly wondered if he wanted to say something to me, but couldn't find the words or something, however, I kept silent on that, instead nibbling on my cheek.

"Melani? May I ask you something?" The man finally spoke, causing me to shoot a curious glance his way.

"Yes. What is it?"

Anthony looked away from me, bringing his hands to the front so he could stare at his nails as we walked. "About your...predicament. I was just wondering how you really feel about it. I mean, this kind of thing is massive to find out about yourself, and I could only imagine what is going through your head." He stopped walking and gently grabbed my shoulders, staring right into my eyes. And as we stood so close, I could actually make out the silver flecks that swam in that sea of teal. "I know you are appearing strong in front of William, but surely you are breaking down inside. To be honest, I would be as well, had I found out I was anything but who I thought I was."

I looked away from him, feeling my face heating up as I stared off to the side, my heart clenching tightly in my chest. "You're right. I'm trying to appear strong, I really am, but..." I sighed and leaned my head on his chest, too embarrassed and ashamed to look at him. "As I told William, I was raised as a woman. I learned to cook and clean, and practically do everything they could do and more. I was comfortable with that, but deep down I knew there was something different about me." I nibbled at my bottom lip and risked a glance towards him. "I don't know why my parents lied to me, but I do hope to find out one day. Maybe when I am strong enough to gather my courage. But honestly? I really am not ok. I'm questioning my entire family, and I don't know if my brothers knew or not. Or well, I did confront Marvin, and he had seemed so genuinely shocked about my revelation, so I doubted he knew. So is this just the knowledge of my parents? What else are they hiding from me?"

I shivered when I felt Anthony's hand on my cheek, my heart pounding in my chest as he stared down at me with such softness, it made me want to melt against him. "I do not know of their reasoning's, either. But there is one thing that I do know, and that is the fact that I was not lying when I said you could come to me. I care about you, Melani. I do not like seeing you struggling. So if you ever need to vent, or hell, even need something as simple as a hug, I will not hesitate to oblige. Especially if you do not want to place such burdens on William."

His thumb grazed just under my eye and I withheld the shiver that threatened to make itself known. "I thank you, Anthony. I really do."

Anthony nodded, but remained where he was as he continued to stare down towards me. And had I not been in a hazy state of mind, I would have noticed that he was leaning a little closer to me than he was before, and as our lips were mere inches apart-

"Well, well, well. Lookie what we have here. Is the queen to be, whoring herself off to her bodyguard?"