My eyes meet Natalie’s and she smiles softly. She hasn’t told me she loves me yet, but I know she does. She just needs time to come to terms with how fast everything between us is happening, and I’m okay giving her that time. We have the rest of our lives for her to tell me.
When I get to the Lavender room, my mom, Stephanie, Lawrence, and one of my other advisors are all there. They’re arguing with each other, and since they’re all speaking at once, I can’t make out what it is exactly they’re arguing about.
The second I clear my throat, everyone stops talking and gives me their attention. Before I can ask what’s going on, Stephanie speaks up. “I warned you this would happen.”
“What?” What the hell is going on?
“It somehow leaked,” Mom says, sadness and sympathy in her tone. My blood freezes, my body going numb. She’s not talking about…
“They know about Natalie and Jasmine,” Mom adds. “Everything.”
My instinct is to run to Natalie and Jasmine to shield them both, protect them from the shitstorm that is about to come down on us, but it’s better if they’re outside at the pool, oblivious to what’s happening.
“Everything?” I ask, dropping onto a seat.
“Everything,” Stephanie says, pushing an iPad toward me. I click on the article and read it. Pictures of Natalie and Jasmine are on the screen. Ones I’ve never seen before. Someone must’ve found some. I read the article, then read it again. They know everything about Natalie, from her time on the streets when she was a minor, to her job at La Stella’s, to the possibility of her being the mother of my daughter.
“I warned you this would happen,” Stephanie says again, her tone condescending. “She is an embarrassment to this family and country.”
“Enough,” I snap.
“No,” she argues back. “You need to hear it… see what her being here is going to do to this family, to your credibility. She needs to leave before she destroys everything. How are you going to explain to the entire country that the woman you had a baby with is a prostitute? Huh?” Stephanie taunts. “Prostitution is illegal here!”
“She wasn’t a prostitute when I was with her,” I point out, my mind racing. Not because of what they’ll think or say, but because it will all be aimed at Natalie. She worked so hard to put her past behind her and now, this… I wasn’t thinking about how this would affect her. How badly she could be hurt.
“It’s okay,” Mom says, placing a hand on my bicep. “We’ll get through this together as a family.” I relax slightly at her words, grateful to have my mom on my side.
“She needs to leave,” Stephanie says. “Both she and that child need to go.”
“Stephanie,” Mom tuts.
“She’s right,” I tell her, making my mom’s brows furrow. “Natalie and Jasmine need to leave. It’s for the best.”
Stephanie’s chin lifts, and I glare at her. “Not for good,” I add. “Just until all of this calms down.” I look at my mom. “I don’t want her to read or hear any of this.” I point to the iPad. “It will hurt her.”
“What are you going to do?” Mom asks. “Send them back to Florence?”
“No, there’s no way I’m letting either of them out of my sight.” I turn to Lawrence, who’s been quiet. “What are your thoughts?”
“Sir, I think it would be best to spin it. Explain what happened to her as a child and focus on how rough her life was. Tell them you met and fell in love but lost touch and you found your way back to each other.”
Mom smiles warmly. “Like a modern-day fairy tale.”
“Only the prince didn’t save her,” I tell them, my thoughts going to Jasmine’s book. “She saved herself.”
“She saves herself…” Lawrence muses out loud. Then his face lights up. “We could start a charity, in honor of abandoned children, to help them go to University.”
“I like it, and I bet Natalie will too.”
“That’s perfect,” Mom agrees.
“Paul,” I say to another one of my advisors, who deals with the media. “Schedule a news conference and invite everyone. After I type up what I plan to say, I’ll email it to you to approve. I’m going to address the people, and then I’m going to take Natalie and Jasmine away while the fires are put out, so they’re not here to see and hear it all, and hopefully while we’re away, I’ll convince her to marry me.”
Mom grins at the same time Stephanie gasps. “You can’t marry her! What are you thinking?” She shrieks. “After everything I did—” She quickly closes her mouth, and I’m about to ask her what she means by that, when Flynn, another one of my advisors walks in.
“Your Majesty,” he says, addressing me.
“Flynn.”
“There’s something you need to see, sir.” He hands me a file and I open it. Inside are grainy pictures, but still clear enough to make out what they’re of. I glance up at him, not wanting to believe what I’m seeing. I flip through the pages of pictures and emails that were printed, everything becoming clearer by the second.
When I’ve had enough, I close the file and look at Stephanie. “Care to finish your statement from a moment ago?”
“Wh-What are you talking about?” she mutters.
“I’m talking about the fact that you had Natalie investigated and then sold the story to The Lexenburg Gossip!” I bark, tossing the file across the table at her.
My mom gasps. “No, Stephanie…”
“I can explain,” she begins, as Harold enters.
“Miss Natalie and Miss Jasmine are gone, sir.”
My blood runs cold. “What do you mean, they’re gone?”
“Jasmine was tired and wanted to ask for a kiss before her nap. She came in here and Natalie followed. I went up to check on them and they were gone. Their luggage is gone too. I spoke to security and they said they walked right off the grounds.
I close my eyes and take a calming breath. They came up here… which means Natalie heard us talking about her. Who knows what part of the conversation she walked in on.
“They left?” Mom asks.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“William,” she says. “If they left, they had to have been bombarded by the paparazzi.
Damn it, I didn’t even think about that. “I need to find them,” I say, heading to the door. I stop before I exit, remembering something. “Stephanie, you’re fired,” I tell her, before turning my attention to Flynn. “Flynn, tell security she is to be escorted to gather her belongings and then removed from the premises.”
I don’t wait for a response before I rush out. Harold is waiting for me by the car with the door already open. “Any word?” I ask, jumping in.
“According to my friend with The Post, several reporters swarmed them,” he says once he’s inside and driving. “They verbally attacked them and Jasmine started crying…”
“Damn it.” I can’t believe this is happening. I should’ve paid more attention to what Stephanie was doing. I knew she’s had a crush on me for years and that she was upset about Natalie and Jasmine. But I never thought she would sell Natalie’s story to the biggest, sleaziest gossip rag in Lexenburg.