Ignoring everyone, I reached for my journal. Odette tried to pull her hand away, but I held on, flipping to where I had left off. It was then that I could feel her eyes on me. Normally, I did not like it when anyone read over my shoulder, but she was no longer anyone.
NOVEMBER 27
Today, I married Odette Rochelle Wyntor, the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on...
“Are you really writing that down?” Odette laughed.
“This is the biggest event of my life, so how could I not?” I grinned, looking back on at the page, adding:
She put up a good fight, but in the end, my God-given good looks, charms, and overall personality proved too much for her to deny.
“Oh, God.” She yanked her hand out of mine. “I thought journals were supposed to be accurate.”
“Where is the lie?” I turned the book for her to show me.
She took my journal and my pen writing.
What truly happened is that I, Odette, came to the realization that I enjoyed Gale’s company and needed my inheritance, so I chose to kill two birds with one stone. —Odette.
I wanted to complain about her little confession, but I was more amused by her handwriting again.
“So, you truly do write like this?” I laughed.
She frowned, looking back down at the page. “Yes? What’s wrong with my handwriting?”
“Are you a vampire?” I asked her.
She frowned. “What?”
“Why do you write like you come out of a different century? Not even royals write like this.”
“The same reason you talk like you fell out of a different century. This is how I learned.”
“Who taught you, Jane Austen?”
“Who taught you how to speak, Charles Dickens?” she snapped, glaring at me. It was so amusing seeing her annoyed.
I wanted to kiss her, but instead, I poked her nose since she had it up so high. In return, she poked my side, and just like that, a war ensued in the back of the car with both of us trying to get at each other.
I had just spun her arms around her and locked mine with them, holding her steady, her head and curls brushing up against my chin, when a short cough reminded me we were not alone.
“Your Highness.”
I glanced up from my journal to see Iskandar’s stone face staring back at me. The phone attached to his hand was waiting for me. “The Adelaar.”
Sighing, I let her go. “Could you not have at least waited to rat me out, Iskandar? It is barely morning there. If not for my sake, then your Adelaar’s?”
“It would be better if my brother worried about my sake.” Arty’s voice was on the other line.
I glanced over to Odette as she adjusted her coat and sweater before hitting the speaker button. “Arty, say hello to your new sister-in-law.” I grinned, speaking in English.
Odette’s eyes widened, and she shoved my shoulder, but I could not help it.
“He just married you, and now he is seeking to use you as a shield. Ms. Wyntor—no, sister, please, forgive my brother. He was dropped on his head as a child.”
All the humor fell from my face, but it was picked up and carried by her as she leaned over to speak. “Was he dropped by you? Because I could sort of understand if that were the case. Younger siblings are a pain.”
“Excuse me, wife. I do believe you are on the wrong brother’s side.” I pouted.
She made a face at me before leaning over again and speaking on the phone. “Please don’t lecture Gale or get mad at him. It was more my fault than his. I’m sorry for breaking whatever rules there are.”
“You are fine, Odette. Welcome to the family. However, please do not speak a word of this to anyone. No one else can know.”
“Not even my mother?”
He was silent for a moment.
And she went on. “She can keep a secret if I tell her to. Even now, I still don’t know how long she has been in contact with you or how she ever was.”
“Very well, but no one else,” he said.
“Okay.”
“Thank you. Now, brother, take me off speaker so I can speak with you.”
“More like yell at me,” I muttered before doing as he said and putting the phone to my ear. “Yes?” I switched back to Ersovian.
He sighed heavily. “Are you purposefully messing with me now, Gale? I allow you more freedom, and in return, you eloped with her! From her apology, I will assume she suggested it. I can forgive her for that since she does not know the rules. But you do! How could you do this?”
“You wanted us to get married. I did—”
“I wanted you to convince her to get married and get married here!”
“Things changed—”
“Not this!”
I winced at how loud he yelled.
Even he must have scared himself going by the long pause he needed to take before speaking again. “This is what is going to happen, Gale. No one will know about this. Do not write it down. Do not tell a soul. It will be your secret to keep to the grave. Today, you merely got engaged. So, I congratulate you both on your engagement.”
“Arthur, it is fine. We will do a ceremony back—”
“Gale, your marriage is a matter of state. A Prince of Ersovia cannot sneak off to another nation to get married as if it is some sort of shame. A prince’s bride needs to be at the very least introduced! Do you not think it is a big deal? If the people find out you did not get married according to tradition, they will think you abandoned tradition. And they will blame her for it.”
I glanced over to Odette to see her big brown eyes focused on me, worried. I shook my head, smiling even as Arthur forced reality down my throat.
“They will say she is making you American instead of you making her royal. Do you want the first thing people think about her to be that she did not care how we did things?”
“You’ve made your point.”
“Good, now please try to refrain from doing anything else for the evening. In two more hours, I have to be in Monelrene, and I would like to get some sleep. We cannot all spare time to have romantic getaways in America.”
“It was you who sent me.”
“With much protest from you if I recall. However, now that she is in your arms, you seem to be relishing your time there. I guess I did not condemn you to a loveless marriage after all.” He was gloating. Proud that his little argument had worked.
“Yes, I am so ecstatic. I was thinking of getting matching tattoos with her. What do you think?”
“You are not funny.”
I grinned. “I am a tad bit funny.”
“Be ready to come back within the week.”
The smile on my face dropped. “Arty...not yet.”
“What do you mean, not yet? You’re engaged to her. Mission accomplished. Now we need to prepare, so it would be good to get her here—”
“Give her more time.” I glanced over at Odette, who was once again looking at her ring.
“Her or you?”
Good question. “Both?”
He sighed heavily. “Fine. Two more weeks. Do try not to ruin whatever it is she sees in you before then.”
“I cannot make any promises, especially when I am not exactly certain what she sees myself.” He was silent for such a long time I thought he had fallen asleep. “Arty?”