“Look closely, Lord William. The boy you wanted to ruin? Is yours,” I clipped out. “Landen is your son.”
Beep. Beep. Beep. The heart monitor picked up, plucking at my nerves like a poorly tuned violin.
Lord William clutched my mobile, pulling it close to his face, his chest rising and falling.
“No,” he whispered. “No.”
Reclaiming the cell, I flipped to another picture of Landon in my photos and held it up for him. One of us half tipsy and being silly last Christmas. How much had changed since then. The holiday was only a few days away. The girl in the photo was so naïve and unaware of what was to come. She felt like a different person. Innocent and young.
“No. He’s Fredrick’s. She told me. She acted like there was no question.”
“You really didn’t know?” It wasn’t really a question. The answer was echoing in the room, his body responding with adrenaline, the monitors chirping with his reaction.
“No,” he spurted, ire flashing up at me. “But you’re mistaken. That boy is Fredrick’s. Not mine.” He shifted in the bed, his words saying one thing, but everything else was shouting his doubt and fears of the truth. There was no question when you put them side-by-side they were related. “Now leave. I want you both to get the hell out of my sight.” His breath was labored, the machines singing like a choir.
His hand went to his chest, leaning back in his pillows, his skin blanching.
“Lord William?” Anxiety prickled at the back of my neck. Noises from the nurses’ station outside suggested they had gotten notice of his accelerated heart and were heading for this room.
“Shite, Spencer. We’ve got to go.” Lennox stepped toward the doorway. “We can’t be caught here.”
I felt awful for leaving him like that, but there was nothing I could do anyway. And us being here would only make everything worse.
“Come on!” Lennox hissed, waving me to him. My feet staggering to Lennox, I glanced back at Lord William one last time.
What if he died? It would be my fault. And Lord William would do it just to spite me. To have me carry the guilt forever.
Miraculously, Lennox and I made back to his Range Rover unrecognized, our heavy breaths filling the car as we sat in the parking garage, staring blankly out the window.
It was several minutes before Lennox finally spoke. “You got your answers?”
“From him? Yeah.” I stared down at the picture still up on my screen—Landen’s blissfully unaware smile. He hated his dad, but he never doubted Fredrick was his father. This wasn’t some fairytale story where he found out his real father was some unknown heroic, kind man.
William was even worse than Fredrick.
“You’re right.” My fingers glided over the screen.
“Why do I feel this is the only time I’m ever going to hear those words?”
I snorted, not looking up. Both of us knew he was right on that too.
“What was I right about?”
“Truths come with heavy costs.” Emotion clogged my throat, and I turned my head out the side window. “I don’t know what to do. Do I stay quiet and bear the weight but know if he ever does find out and discovers I knew all along, he will hate me? Or do I tell him and destroy his world and have him hate me for bearing the message and ruining his life? I feel either way I hurt and lose him.”
He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his scruff. “I wish I could help you make the decision, but I can’t. This is yours, Spencer. You wanted the truth, and now you have to decide what to do with it.”
My lips rolled together, fighting back the tears. He was right…again. I couldn’t demand it and then run when it got hard. This was growing up. Dealing and figuring things out.
“All I can suggest is don’t act immediately. Sit on it. It’s not life and death, and nothing changes if you hold on to it and figure out the best way to deal with it. Who knows? It might figure itself out for you.”
My neck curved to look at him, my eyes fully taking in the man next to me. Little did I know the arsehole who walked up with Theo to my front door that September day would turn into my everything. There was no question he was magazine gorgeous, but all I saw now was his heart, his soul, his pain, and even his anger and stubbornness.
Bloody hell, I was so in love with this guy, I couldn’t even breathe. How long had I been and brushed it off as something else?
“What?” His lips curved up on the side.
“Nothing.” My eyes not leaving him, I shook my head. The emotion I felt for him scared me. I told him last night I loved him. It had come out without my mind having input. And I realized how utterly exposed I was now. With Theo, I had said it many times…too easily. And I did love him, but now I really understood the difference. Theo was sweet, genteel, easy.
Lennox…
Raw.
Brutal.
Bare.
Stripped.
Intense.
Overwhelming.
Almost painful.
I was completely head over arse, can’t see straight, my heart on a platter, kind of in love. I had no way to stop it, and he could completely destroy me.
He gazed intensely at me, feeling like he was shredding through more layers. A knowing curve of his lips delivered tingles down my spine.
“What?” I countered in a whisper.
“Nothing,” he said quietly, packing it with so much meaning, it couldn’t stay afloat, falling on me, forcing me to suck in. The air in the car was thick, both of us staring at each other, feeling everything and saying nothing.
“Spencer…” he uttered hoarsely, his grip on the steering wheel loosening as he faced me more. “I’m not good at—”
Riiiiinnnggg.
The shrill sound from my cell jolted me in my seat, my heart leaping up my throat as I peered down at it. I was going to kill whoever decided to call right now, interrupting whatever he was going to say.
“Shite.” I sighed, pinching my nose, my eyes taking in the name on my screen. Lennox glanced down, his shoulders rolling back. The vulnerability he almost showed evaporated instantly.
“Your fiancé is calling.” He faced the front fully, regripping the wheel. “Better pick up.”
“Lennox…” There was a slight warning in my tone, sighing.
I had no choice. I still owed it to Theo. We were in this mess together, and it was not easy to disentangle from the royal family once you were in.
“Hey, Theo.” I put the cell to my ear.
“Your presence is mandatory tonight.” His voice was clipped and even. “Holiday party at the Prime Minister’s place.”
My face scrunched up, wishing I could say no. “Okay.”
“Meet me at the servant’s entrance at five. The PR team is wondering where you are. They have a dress waiting for you. It will look odd if we don’t go together.”
“Of course.”
“Okay, see you then.”
“Theo?” I blurted, stopping him before he hung up.
He didn’t respond but stayed on the line.
“I’m sorry,” I croaked, feeling horrible for hurting him, making this so uncomfortable and awful. “You don’t know how much I wish things didn’t happen like this.”