Chapter 4
4
"Claire! The engagement is set!"
My hand jerked, the needle nearly piercing my fingertip.
Victoria rushed over and grabbed my hands.
"I'm preparing the best dowry and wedding fund for you. You are going to marry with dignity, security, and absolute confidence."
Looking at her bright, triumphant smile, the heavy stone in my chest finally dropped.
In this life, I wouldn't have to be Adrian's Official Consort. I was finally free from the royal political companion system.
Late that night, I turned off the lamp and lay down.
The estate's perimeter security alarm never sounded.
But a moment later, my bedroom door clicked open.
A dark silhouette stepped into the room.
The moonlight caught his face.
It was Adrian.
He had clearly abused his royal clearance to bypass the Vale estate's night security.
I gripped the edge of my blanket, my knuckles turning white.
"Your Majesty," I said, keeping my voice dead level. "Breaking into my private bedroom in the middle of the night is a new low."
He stood in the shadows, his voice a low, dangerous rumble.
"I heard you're engaged."
"I am." I stared right back at him. "Do you have a problem with that?"
He took a step closer.
"Why?"
"Claire, why are you marrying someone else?"
I furrowed my brow.
"That is not a question for you to ask."
"You love Victoria, not me. Who I marry has absolutely nothing to do with you."
His breathing hitched.
"But in our past life, we were husband and wife."
"That was our past life."
I met his gaze head-on.
"In this life, nothing has happened."
"You said it yourself—you only have Victoria in your heart. So what does it matter who I marry?"
Adrian fell silent.
The moonlight illuminated the rigid line of his jaw.
It took a long time for him to speak again.
"That's not what I meant."
I scoffed.
"Then what do you mean? Do you still want me to enter the Royal Consort Selection? To be your Official Consort?"
"Don't forget, you don't love me."
I enunciated every word clearly:
"And Victoria wants a lifetime with only one partner. You can't afford to give her that, and you don't want to."
Adrian’s face paled.
"I'm just thinking of our past bond. I'm afraid you'll choose the wrong person."
"You don't need to worry about me," I said coldly. "Twenty years in the royal family taught me how to protect myself, if nothing else."
Another heavy silence filled the room.
The night wind rustled the curtains.
When Adrian finally spoke, his voice was quiet, but laced with a vicious intensity.
"In this life, I must have Victoria. No one else."
I looked at him.
He looked exactly as he had on his deathbed.
Suddenly, I smiled.
"Since you absolutely must have her, I actually have an idea."