A Nordic King(100)

Again, everyone gasps, including me. I didn’t think he’d do it and I flinch, bracing for what might happen next.

Oh, Aksel.

“You can’t fire me,” Nicklas says wildly.

“I can. I did. Get the fuck out of here.”

More gasps. More of my nerves on fire.

“No. No, this…you ruined my life.”

“How so?” Aksel asks, his jaw tense, eyes blazing.

Daring him. He’s daring him.

Nicklas frowns, trying to think, trying to come up with a way out.

Then he bites the bullet.

He turns vicious.

“Because you were driving the night Helena died. It was never me.”

And now it’s like no one can gasp anymore because there’s no air in the room.

Everyone looks at Aksel.

Aksel remains completely composed. “No, I wasn’t.”

He lies. He lies to him and to everyone else because the truth would ruin everything. And while Aksel is moral, I know that he’s lying because he has to lie. The truth is, well, the truth is messy. It’s complicated. They’re both at fault and they’re both not. One man carries the blame for something he didn’t do and yet hides the truth of something he did do. The other man spent years drowning in guilt for something he didn’t do either. Where is there a happy ending here?

“You’re lying. I’ll prove it,” Nicklas seethes, and I see sweat dripping on his face.

He’s nervous.

He’s losing.

He knows no one will believe him, especially after today.

“You do what you need to do,” Aksel says. “I have your laptop. We’ll do what we need to do. You’re dismissed, Nicklas.”

“You’re not fit to wear that crown,” Nicklas sneers.

Aksel is nonplussed. He gives a half-shrug. “I never said I was. But it’s my crown to wear.”

Nicklas roars and starts running toward Aksel.

Henrik is fast and holds him back, though it’s apparent that Aksel can take care of himself.

“She hated you!” Nicklas yells at Aksel, pointing. “She used you the whole time!”

I gasp sharply at that. Here comes Helena.

“Oh, shut up you little weasel,” Maja says snidely. “She used you too. We all knew that. We all knew what was going on. We’re not dumb.” She looks at Aksel. “And honestly, dear nephew, I really don’t care who was driving the car or not. It was an accident and that’s really all that matters. We know the pain you went through and you deserve more than anyone to move on. So, let’s help you move on.”

Shit. Maja knew all along about Nicklas and Helena.

Aksel looks completely surprised too.

And touched.

His lips are clamped together, his jaw firm, but his eyes carry so much weight and softness in them. Perhaps it’s just the affection from his aunt in lieu of his mother.

Perhaps this is just the truth and the weight of the world off his shoulders.

And while I’m pondering that, I realize that Aksel is fighting back tears.

Oh god, now I’m going to cry.

He manages to hold it together at the last minute. “Thank you, Tante Maja,” he says, his voice trembling with emotion, words barely above a whisper. “Thank you.”

She comes over to him, looking like she’s going to cry too, and pulls the King into a hug. She’s whispering something to him and he’s nodding, holding her tight.

And now I really am crying, big fat happy tears spilling down my face.

He’s finding his closure.

He’s going to heal.

He’s going to move on.

While this touching scene is happening, the royal attendants drag Nicklas off.

Good riddance to that guy. Wouldn’t mind feeding him to Snarf Snarf.

And that’s when Clara and Freja appear in the doorway and see the Maja and Aksel embrace.

They immediately run over and join in on the hug, turning it into a group one by wrapping themselves around Maja and Aksel’s legs.

Freja spots me and then waves. “Come on Aurora, you’re part of the family now.”

I can’t help but beam at that.

Family.

My family.

I finally have one.

I get to my feet and join them.



*

The next morning, I wake up in Aksel’s bed for the first time.

Sun streaming in through the windows.

No more hiding.

No more sneaking.

Just two people together in the way they always should have been.

“Hey,” I say to him as he slowly wakes up, blinking his eyes at the light.

“Good morning,” he groans, frowns.

“Wow you’re grumpy when you wake up over here. What happened to Caribbean Aksel?”

“He was temporary.”

“Hey, lift up your arm and let me cuddle.”

Now he’s grinning. “Fine.”

He lifts up his arm and I curl up next to him, resting my head on his warm chest. “So, do I get a raise now?”

He jerks his chin back to stare at me. “You think you deserve a raise?”

“We did a lot of baby-making the other night. I think I was pretty good at it.”

He chuckles. “You did a lot of cock-sucking is what you did. Hardly good for making babies.”