The Prince’s Bride Part 2 (The Prince's Bride, #2)

by J.J. McAvoy

Your brother and me? That was a brief moment in the past. I’m sure he’s forgotten about me—” “Gale barely eats!” she cut me off, and I saw her fists clenched. “He barely sleeps. He doesn’t talk to anyone about anything except work anymore. I have been living down the hall from him, and I barely see him myself! No one can talk him out of punishing himself! Not our mother, not me or his old friends, not anyone! And so I thought you—the woman I not only admired but heard he cared about—would be able to do something.

“My first question should have been, how are you, Odette?” he whispered, placing his hand on my cheek, and it was like he had shocked me. Electricity flowed throughout my veins, and the hair on my arms stood up, so I had to step back away from his touch.

“My wife isn’t in the palace. She is here, and I can hardly let her spend her first night here alone, now can I?” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

He stared at me for a long time. Was it a long time? I wasn’t sure. Staring into his eyes, I wasn’t sure of anything but the fact that my heart kept shaking. And the more he stared, the more I felt...weak.

“I am not scared!” I said quickly, even though that wasn’t completely true. “Odette,” he whispered, frowning slightly, shifting to move closer to me. “I know you are scared because I am also scared.” Our eyes met again, and now, because we were so close, I could see the lines under his eyes. Now that he was this close to me, he looked like a completely different man on the television.

“So that means you know there is still something between us, Odette. You feel it—even after so long. I feel it, even if I do not understand it entirely. I do not understand you entirely, but I want to. I want you here. I know your fears. And I know if you truly wanted to leave me, if you truly did not want me, you would not be looking at me with such sad eyes right now.”

He was touching my face, but I felt as though he was holding my heart. And it wasn’t fair. I had spent months building the strength, securing my emotions so that I could do this. Yet in minutes, he was breaking down all my walls and efforts. “We have spent more time away from each other than we have spent together—” “That can change.”

He kissed me before I could finish, and I felt my hand shake. Before I could push him away or kiss him back, he pulled back. “That was a lie, Odette, but it still hurt to hear, I must admit.” “Gale, please...” Please, don’t pull me back to you. Why couldn’t I just say that? I hung my head, whispering what I knew to be true. “They will rip me apart, Gale. I am not a queen.” I bit back the tears in my eyes. “They will try, but I will not let them close enough to do so,” he replied, gently lifting my chin back up. “Because you are my queen,”

“I do not know what to say to that because you are right. It will be chaos. But at least we will be in the center of it together, and we can make it our eye of the storm, so when it thunders, when the skies darken, and the winds howl, we will be calm and will find peace there, blissfully ignorant of everything else.”

“So, do not give up on us yet. We have barely even started.” Why? “Why can’t you just let us go? Why do you want to do this?” He looked me over, his eyes filled with something else now—sadness. “Since my brother died, every second of every day, I have been the Adelaar to everyone, even my mother. I’ve wanted to be just Gale again. I have been trying for months to be me in this role, only to be beaten down. And then you just show up, and all of a sudden, I feel like me again. Even now, as you try to run away from me, as you lie and tell me you do not care about me, I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. When I found out you were here, it was as if fireworks had been set off inside me. I rushed through the dinner tonight, as you were all I could think about. I would have run through the palace and into a taxi if Iskandar didn’t talk some sense into me. I could not wait to come and see you. So, I am holding on, Odette. I will not let you burn to keep me warm, but I will burn everything else so you can stay. So stay.” He did not give me a chance to answer. His lips met mine, and I found myself melting into him. The little fight I had vanished, and I could still taste my wine on his tongue. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me toward him. Turning us both onto the bed, he kissed down the side of my face, his lips on my neck. “Say you will stay with me?” he whispered into my ear before biting the lobe. “Promise you will stay with me.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hug...

I held on to her, comforted by her breathing as she slept. It was clear how terrified she was. And my heart ached, knowing that choosing me was so hard for her. Us being together should be a moment of joy, yet I could sense how anxious she was. I should let her go. This was now so much more complicated. There would be an uproar. It was selfish of me to put her through this when even I wanted to run. But the moment Iskandar had told me she came to divorce me, I knew for sure, it had to be her. She had to be the one I spent the rest of my life with.

I wanted someone true. I wanted someone to look at me and want me for me, not my title.

However, I knew she cared. The way she fought back the tears, the way she held onto me, the way we kissed, I knew she cared more than anyone else ever had. She wanted just me and nothing else. Finally. So how could I just let her go?

I wanted her to say it. I wanted her to admit that she had learned because she knew she belonged beside me too. She knew she couldn’t let me go also.

“I missed you.” Even though I knew her for such a short time, I really did miss this even without realizing it.

“I missed you more than I wanted to miss you,”

placing my forehead against hers. “I wish to stay with you here.” I felt better here with her. “But you have to go back to the palace.” “We do,” I replied, and when I saw the fear on her face, I hugged her. “But let us not think about that now. We still have a few hours here, to ourselves, as just Gale and Odette.” “Odette and Gale,” she shot back. “The one with the higher rank gets the first billing.” I snickered. She pouted, and I smiled...truly smiled. Truly happy for the first time in a long time. Yes, there was no way I would give this up. Not without a fight.

We had spent more time apart than we had together, and yet in a few short hours, it was as if we had picked up from where we had left off. Being with her felt so right.

“Everyone in the world is going to see me today. I do not want to look—” “You will look beautiful because you are beautiful,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders.

“Just like I thought, you look stunning.” He smiled. “You would say that no matter what.” “Because it is true, no matter what,” he replied.

He smirked, offering me his hand. I took it only for him to bring it up to his lips and kiss it, making me roll my eyes.

“I do not know what to tell you, either,” she whispered. “So hopefully, standing here with you is enough for now.” “It is. It is more than enough.” It was everything, giving me hope for the future.

Did I love him? No. That was impossible. I didn’t know him well enough. We’d barely spent time together. We’d been separated for months. There was no way I could be in love with him. All of that raced through my mind,

It didn’t make sense to me how. I just knew that I was happiest when I was next to him. Even this morning, despite all of the craziness happening around me, I found myself relaxing, joking, smiling with ease next to him. It really did feel like we just picked up from where we left off—somehow.

I wouldn’t have given into him so easily if I did not love him. It was insane how all he had to do was smile and say please, and I was diving back into his arms.

“That is only scratching the surface. She also puts up a strong façade, but she has a soft heart; she just does not want anyone to know. She has a temper but is fiercely loyal. She refuses to allow anyone else to talk bad about her mother. Even though she knows her mother may be wrong. She has no problem ordering me around, by the way. Oh, you should have seen how she yelled at me when I burned breakfast once.” I covered my mouth to keep from laughing as I thought about it. “When she’s hurt or upset, she has to vent about it almost immediately. When she is happy, she smiles so wide you’d think she was mad. She is like a child who has just been given sugar. But then there are these moments when she is wiser and kinder than anyone else. She is so many things at one time. She always leaves me wondering how she will react, and nine times out of ten, I am wrong. Oh, and you should hear her sing, Mother. She has the most gut-wrenching voice. I am—” “In love.” I looked at my mother, who just watched me too, a small smile on her face. “What?” “You are madly in love with this woman.” “Madly is a bit of a stretch—” “I have never heard you speak with so much detail and joy as you are right now.” She snickered. “I like her a lot—” “So, are you telling me you do not realize you are in love with her?” she pressed back. “Since you cannot see it, let me remind you of your actions over the last several hours. You left the palace the moment you could upon finding out she was here. You did n...

“For the first time in months, I feel better, alive again, Mother. This started as an arrangement, and I know how hard and loud I protested, but then I met her. I found myself laughing all the time, wanting to tease her, get a reaction out of her, found myself chasing after her, and for the first time, I was able to be myself. I can tell her anything, and she is honest. It is like she is giving me air. She may complain, tease, and pretend as she does so, but she allows me to breathe. Last night, I thought, how was I supposed to see what makes me happy and turn my back on that? I love her, and I want her here with me. I do not care what anyone says or thinks about it.”

“It’s simple, really. You’re in love with him even after all these months. You wanted to throw caution to the wind and run off with him all along.”