PRINCE CHARMING: A Stepbrother Secret Baby Romance(27)

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Already, it was turning into a long night, and the ball hadn’t even officially started yet. Quincy waited for his father to finish getting ready in his royal chambers. The last few days hadn’t been easy, and he wasn’t looking forward to a long night of dealing with whatever Olivia was going through. He’d gone to her room a few times to talk to her, but each time, he couldn’t even get himself to knock.

“Stop looking so dour, Son. This is a ball, and you are the star of it,” his dad said as one of his servants adjusted his overcoat. “Ladies will be lined up to dance with you all night long, and perhaps one of them will sweep you off your feet.”

“Maybe I don’t want to make a decision yet,” Quincy said. “I’m not too thrilled about doing it, you know.”

His father frowned and waved away his servants so he could face his son. “You do not have a choice in this matter. You must follow tradition and marry. Any of those women would work well for you and this kingdom.”

“Are you sure about that? Have you actually sat down with any of them?”

“I have, and with their parents. There is nothing wrong with any of them.”

“That you know of,” he muttered and sunk down in his chair like a pouting child. “I do not feel well. I think I might not go tonight.”

Lamont glared at his son and told the servants to leave the room. Quincy cursed, knowing what was coming and not in the mood to be lectured again. “You have been dragging your feet for a long time,” his father admonished. “What are you waiting for, Quin?”

“Maybe I just don’t want to make a rash decision concerning the rest of my life. Can’t you understand that?”

“I can, but that doesn’t mean you are going to get out of it any time soon.”

Quincy stood and paced around the room. “Isn’t there anything you can do about it? You’re the damn king! Change the law… Do something—I don’t care.”

“It’s not a law,” Lamont said, his lips pressed into a thin line.

“No, that’s right, it’s your law. This damn tradition from this damn family that maybe I no longer want to be a part of! I don’t want to do this right now. I don’t want to do it ever!”

“You don’t mean that,” Lamont said, but his eye twitched at his son’s words.

Quincy breathed heavily and felt his mind clear for the first time in months. Did he really mean that? He had never been anything but a prince, and he felt his freedom and his life were quickly slipping away as he scrambled to pick up the pieces of himself before he lost them completely. Getting married sealed the deal that this was going to be his life forever. There’d be no getting out of it. His father would retire one day, and he would have to take over, be the responsible man, and run a damned country.

“Quin... Son,” Lamont said, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I know being in our family isn’t always easy, but this is the life you were born into. You must accept it.”

“But do I have to do it now?”

“The sooner the better. We need heirs to carry on our legacy, and that, I’m afraid, has come down to you,” Lamont said. “Do you really want the Pentacrafts taking over?”

Quincy frowned and stepped away from his dad. “Wait, what? Why would they take over?”

Lamont moved to the mirror and looked at his reflection, adjusting his jacket. “Because if you decline to take a bride at the directed time and fail to produce an heir, they are next in line for the throne. You have no cousins or other relatives. It will fall to them.”

Quincy could see it, the Pentacrafts taking over everything. The Isle would be broke in a year, tops. They didn’t know anything about the people on the isle, the common people who had nothing to do with the court. They were solely focused on their crawl up the social ladder and finding any way to stay where they were. Gigi was so pushy to become his betrothed because of this, and she’d already laid claim to him. She felt it was her birthright to marry the next line in for the crown.

But he still wasn’t sure if he could do the arranged marriage thing, especially after he realized that something strange was happening with the woman sleeping next door to him.

“Quin? Can you help me with this?”

He nodded and helped his dad finish putting his pins on his overcoat. The pair stared into the mirror, each looking at his own reflection and that of the man standing next to him. They were close to identical, except one was older with grey in his hair. Deep down, Quincy did want to be like his father, no matter how much he fought against him. His worry was he wouldn’t be good enough to take over and be the king his father hoped he’d become.

They turned as one and walked out the door. Melinda waited for him, and behind her was Olivia. Her hands were clasped in front of her, but Quincy couldn’t see her until the king and his future wife stepped aside.

He wished they hadn’t moved. The sight of Olivia brought the kiss roaring into the forefront of his mind, and he felt the sand beneath them again as her lips pressed against his. From the sudden color in her cheeks, her thoughts had turned in the same direction, but she glared at him as he stepped near and offered her his arm. Olivia’s hands were firmly clasped in front of her until Lamont and Melinda turned the corner and they were left alone in the corridor with a few servants and guards.