His declaration he hadn't been with anyone in the way he was with me "in a long, long time" came as a surprise though. Everyone had their secrets, and Ivan Everley was no exception apparently. We still had a long way to go before we talked about our former relationships with each other. At least I couldn't tell him just yet. I wanted to, but I knew if I told him now, I'd freak myself out and want to go into hiding. My great shame—my part in the destruction of a marriage and a family—and how everything I did now was in atonement for my past sins still had ahold of me emotionally.
I didn't want Ivan to see me as that person.
Or for the knowledge of my sordid story to sour this amazing connection the two of us had found together in the magical land of Donadea, in a castle filled with priceless treasures, hidden away in an enchanted mist where nothing from the outside could break through the magic protecting it. That's truly how I saw myself at Donadea now, and in being with Ivan, too. I couldn't bear for the fairytale to lose its magical hold over us. Not yet. I wasn't ready to yet face the reality it would all have to come out eventually.
And wasn't that just some straight-up, good old-fashioned, denial working on me?
"Ivan?"
"Yes, kitten?"
"Will there be pictures of us on the internet from that drone?"
"I don't think so, but the truthful answer is possibly, yes. I only want to be honest with you so I can't dismiss the possibility entirely. I've never involved the police in this matter until today though. It's in their hands now. Drones have unique registries and can be traced, so if there is a way, the police will be able to find out who or where it came from."
"I—I just need to know whatever you can tell me, please. I am a cop's daughter after all. I imagine you have some idea just from the way you were all over that thing in an instant, and how you shot it down with a freaking arrow. I watched you from the window and it was quite the show. I knew you'd hit it, too. Before you let your arrow fly, I knew you would take it down."
He sighed heavily and looked over at me, tracing a finger around one side of my face, looking weary to be asked the question, but not unwilling. After a long moment of silent communication between us, he began to talk. And what a story he had to tell...
"Park Jin-ho. A North Korean archer, from a politico family with ties to the Supreme Leader of that country has been my nemesis since we met at the World Archery Championships in Madrid when I was nineteen."
"He competed against you in the Olympics?"
"Oh yes. All three of them. Unfortunately, he didn't get the memo that I'd retired from the sport professionally and was no longer a threat to his fragile ego or mental state or whatever the fuck nonsense is rattling around inside his demented motherfucking head."
"What does he want from you?" I dared to ask.
"The short version is what I'm willing to talk about tonight. Maybe I'll feel differently later, but for now all you need to know is Park has one thing on his mind and it's to discredit me at all costs."
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I—I understand it might be too personal or whatever—"
His lips slammed down on mine and shut me up again. His signature lordly move. Ivan kissed me a lot during his conversations with me. I thought it was truly adorable.
"Well, since you're so understanding and kind, I'll tell you he used a tragedy which occurred about six years ago to make it out I was responsible for the deaths of many people, one of them my estranged wife. Yes, I was married for a short time before our union ended quite badly. Divorce proceedings had started and then she died while on holiday with her lover. She was five-months pregnant with a child who was not mine even though her death certificate lists me as the baby's father since we were still legally married. There was a horrific road accident in Italy and seven people were killed. Park used his connections within his family to sell the sordid story to the press concocting a fiction putting me to blame for all those innocent deaths."
I reached out to rub his arm, caressing softly, offering my support. It was all I could think of to do. "Why does Park hate you so much to do something like that to you?"
He clasped my hand rubbing his arm and held onto it. His thumb moved back and forth across the top of my hand in his own gentle caress. "It's just what he does. Tries to take everything from me. He wants all of my happiness and everything good in my life to be taken from me because I was awarded the gold medal, he believed should've gone to him after he was disqualified for an equipment infraction. It happens in professional sports, but he went fucking nutter over the controversial call. After I inherited the Rothvale title and took my place in the House of Lords he stepped up his stalking game considerably. It seems to get worse with each passing year."
"Oh, Ivan, I'm so sorry. So, you think he sent the drone here to spy on you?"
"Unfortunately, yes. He's done other similar things before. He even rented the townhouse next door to mine in London unbeknownst to me, so he could get video access of who came and went from there. I finally bought it last year when it came up for sale which is how I discovered his involvement. It never ends. I've gotten death threats that make Ethan certifiably mental having to deal with my security. Thank God he owns a top line security company and knows what the hell he's doing. We were holding our collective breaths throughout the entirety of the Olympics this summer, but nothing ever happened during the games. Probably only due to Ethan's diligence in carrying out security duties. Park has paid an escort to come to my flat to film me on more than one occasion and then leaking those sex tapes to porn sites. There are video clips out there I've had to pay a fortune to get taken down."
"Don't take this the wrong way, because I'm not judging you, but why did you use the escort service if they betrayed you before?"
"The service I used was just the one. The first date was when I met you at the Mallerton Gala. I only arranged for a second date through the service because I really wanted to see you again. I was crushed when it wasn't you who showed up to my door. It was also the final time I was filmed. After, I resigned myself to celibacy and pledged eternal friendship with my hand and a bar of soap in the shower. I'm not kidding."
"Imagining you jerking off in the shower isn't at all unpleasant to me. Hell, I'd be happy to just hang out and watch you sometime, if it will help."
"Kitten, if you're anywhere remotely in the vicinity of my shower while naked I won't be needing the soap or my hand to get the job done, I can assure you."
"Right. I was just trying to lighten your mood. What about the other times you were recorded then?"
"The other instances it was paid women who weren't posing as escorts at all, but someone I'd meet at an event or cocktail party for work or some other scheduled commitment as if by chance. They were all paid accomplices of Park's though, posing as if they worked for the charity or institution putting on the event. It was a fucked up shitshow. I learned that Park was following me around via my public schedule, so I stopped having Lowell, my assistant, list it on the website." He looked down at our hands and seemed genuinely bummed. "I'm ashamed of what you might see if you go looking—sexploitation vids going back since I joined the House of Lords."