Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(31)

I read through, hoping I’d somehow mistaken the headline but no. I’d read it correctly. The people on the news report had said as much the night before, but it had not really registered. I’d just been so happy to have the Magi coming back.

Someone came into the room and kissed my cheek from behind, by bending over my shoulder.

“Luca, have you seen this?”

I didn’t ask him why he was up so early. In light of the news, it didn’t matter. Luca took the paper from my hands and sat next to me. I watched his face, fearful as to what he might think as he read the article through, but his expression didn’t change.

“The people think you are choosing again. They want another chance for you to pick your husband.”

“I know,” I replied, “I read it.”

The gist of the articles was that the Magi had come back with the understanding I would be marrying Cynder. As yesterday’s newspapers had reported I was embroiled in a torrid love affair with him, it was an easy assumption for them to make. The Magi expected me to marry Cynder, the non-Magi expected me to carry on with my wedding plans and marry Luca, and the media wanted me to choose again. They wanted to put me in the same position I was in last year where I spent the summer being filmed eliminating the men one by one.

“The papers are doing this to sell more copies,” I said. “I’m not choosing Cynder. I meant what I said last night.”

Luca shook his head thoughtfully. “The Magi will leave if you don’t.”

“They can’t leave. Why does it matter to them who I marry? I’ve stated time and time again that I’m on their side.”

“But it obviously does matter. Perhaps they think that if they had a Magi prince, things would be better for them.”

“Are you suggesting we break off our engagement and I marry Cynder?”

“What’s happening? Why would you even say that?” I turned to find Jenny bustling in, a look of shock on her face as she caught my last words.

“Why are you up so early?” I asked wearily, not wanting to have to repeat the situation to her.

“I’m always up at this time to make sure everything is ready for your breakfast. What’s going on?”

I handed her one of the papers and rubbed my temples.

“I’m not suggesting you marry Cynder, of course not,” said Luca “I believed you when you spoke to me last night. I trust you.”

“So what then?”

“Just because you aren’t going to marry him doesn’t mean they have to know that. Why not do as the media asks and hold another competition? Him versus me. It will be great publicity for the cause, and while everyone is fixated on who you will marry, we can be working on getting the kingdom in a fit state for the Magi. It would be a great opportunity for us to work on bringing the people together.”

“Or kill each other!” I replied incredulously.

“Think of a football match,” continued Luca. “Both sides jeer at each other, but the game is the common cause. While they might not want the other side to win, anything is better than the match being canceled.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“It makes sense.”

“No, it doesn’t. It makes no sense at all. Why would Cynder even want to come back here? He has a job at your parents’ palace. You promised me that you’ll call the king and queen and get them to let him keep his job.”

“Sure, and I will, but think about it. He’s going to be hounded by the press over there. My parents aren’t equipped to deal with that level of scrutiny. It would mean hiring more guards to watch over him. None of them would get a moment’s peace, let alone Cynder. If he came back here, you could make him head chef if you liked. You’ve said yourself he’s a great cook and the one you hired to replace the guy who got sent to prison is mediocre at best. We can keep an eye on him here. There are plenty of rooms for him along the servant’s wing.”

I just stared at him with an open mouth. How could he suggest such a thing? It had nearly killed me giving up Cynder, and I’d had to do it on more occasions than I’d like to remember. Now, I was being asked to live alongside him and pretend to not know who to choose, him or Luca. It made sense to someone who didn’t know that in reality, it wouldn’t be pretense at all.

“What happened to yesterday when you said you wanted him to keep away?”

“I do, obviously, but I thought about it last night and realized I have to trust you. You are going to be my wife very soon, and there will be men who find you attractive. I can’t send them all to work in my parents’ kitchen.”

My mother, Elise, and Leo chose that moment to walk into the room. Why was everyone up so early? I glanced at the clock and saw that it was now half past six. Perhaps it wasn’t so early after all. I wanted to go back to bed. The enthusiasm I’d woken up with had been torn from me, leaving me exhausted.

A couple of servants bustled in with dishes of hot food while Luca passed them the papers and let them digest the content.

I picked at a piece of bacon, remembering back to when Cynder had brought me a bacon sandwich to my bedroom last year. It had seemed so simple then. How had everything gotten so complicated?

Over breakfast, my family argued over whether to back down to the media or to fight them. I sat silently listening to their points of view while eating the little food I could get into my churning stomach. Even Jenny had pulled up a seat and was joining in the debate while tucking into great piles of eggs and bacon.