If You Were Mine(10)

My heart was thundering. “No, she’s not the help.”

“Then what is she?” my father challenged.

I knew what I was about to say would be picked apart until it was just bare bones and raw flesh. “She’s the woman I love.”



Daisy



Later that day



My heart was pounding so hard, my nerves taking control. I knew what the King and Queen wanted to talk to me about… the relationship I had with their son. Lennon had said as much when he told me we had to speak with them.

And as nervous as I was, I knew I wouldn't lie, wouldn’t pretend like what I felt for Lennon wasn't anything but genuine and true.

I thought back to the moment when he’d come back into the bedroom, his eyes lighting up when he saw me. I was still naked in his bed, the sheets wrapped around me, the feeling of euphoria settling into me once more.

Our night together had been magical, like a fantasy, even. It sounded a little bit cliché, but it had been true. It had been real.

I stared at myself in the mirror. He cared about me, and I cared for him. There was nothing in this world I wanted more than to be with him, and after last night I felt like that was a reality, our possibility.

“Ready?” Lennon asked from the bathroom doorway.

I turned around and faced him, the bed behind me still mussed from the passion we’d shared. When he’d come back into the room just hours before he hadn't said anything, just given me this long once-over. But I'd known that something was wrong, despite the heat and light I saw on his face. There had been something that needed to be talked about.

But before anything could be said he'd taken off his clothes, climbed into bed with me, and made love to me all over again.

“No, I'm not ready, but I don't want to keep them waiting.” The fact that I was going to have a private viewing with the King and Queen had everything in me standing at alert.

I'd been in their presence plenty of times working for them, but this was different. This was me speaking with them about my relationship with Lennon.

Would they be upset? Would they forbid him from being with a commoner?

Lennon took my hand and we left his room, made our way down the ornate hallway, and stopped right outside of the King and Queen’s sitting area.

God, I was so nervous my hands would be shaking if I didn’t have them clasped so tightly together.

“Hey, baby, everything will be okay.” Lennon stopped and turned me around so we faced each other. He kissed the side of my neck. I was aware of the few servants walking by, but I knew they wouldn't pay attention to us, or at least wouldn't make it obvious.

“And if they say we can't be together?” I whispered the words, afraid to even say them out loud. Even after only spending one night with him, I knew this was what I wanted in my life more than anything. Even before that, I knew he was it for me.

I just hadn't thought it would be my reality.

Lennon shook his head, pulling away from me and staring into my eyes. “I don't care what anyone says, not even my mother or father. I want you, and no one is going to tell me we can't be together. If that means giving up my title, giving up all of this…” He waved his hand around the room, gesturing toward the elaborate furnishings. “If they say I have to get rid of all this shit for you, I would gladly do so in an instant.”

He pulled me in close to him, and I rested my head on his chest, not caring who saw. We were about to tell the King and Queen of our relationship, and as scared as I was, I anticipated this. I wanted this moment, had envisioned and fantasized about it for longer than I cared to admit.

This was the first day of the rest of our lives.



Lennon



I stared at my mother and father, trying to gauge their reaction after what I’d just told them. I had explained my feelings for Daisy, and although she hadn't said anything, I knew she was nervous and needed my support more than anything right now.

I glanced over at her, watching as she worried her bottom lip, her straight white teeth pulling at the flesh. I wished I could've taken her worrying away, let her know that it didn't matter what the outcome was, that I would still be with her.

“And this... relationship transpired when?” my father finally responded.

“My feelings for her have been there all along.” I glanced at Daisy again and smiled. She was watching me, her eyes still wide, but the smile on her face clear. I wanted her to know she had strength when she was with me, that I hoped in time she would have her own strength and not feel weak in front of my parents.

They might be the King and Queen, but they were like everybody else.

“This is sudden,” my mother said and I looked over at her. “You've never been one to be in a committed relationship before, and have kept to yourself this whole time. We just assumed you'd never settle down.”

I bristled slightly at her words, although they were true, because it wasn't like I’d sought out a relationship with anybody.

“I've never found somebody that I felt I could be myself with. I never felt like I could open up and be happy.” I was being honest with my parents, maybe for the first time in my entire life. They'd seen enough of the tabloids calling me the black sheep of the family, the loner that didn't want anything to do with tradition or the Crown. But the truth was I just wasn't happy in this life where strict rules had to be obeyed. “But with Daisy I felt all those things and more.”