Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(45)

When I was sure we were out of view, I pulled off my microphone and stamped on it until it was crushed into a million pieces. It was childish, but I was emotionally spent and had had enough. The fight I expected to happen with Luca and the long talk with Cynder about his wife was in my immediate future, and I wasn’t sure I had the energy for it now.

To my surprise, Luca held out his hand to Cynder. Cynder took it and shook it warmly before patting Luca on the back. He kissed me swiftly on the cheek and turned away from us to make his way up the driveway back to the house.

Luca pulled me into a hug. What was going on? Why wasn’t he shouting at me? I’d seen the look he gave me after I danced with Cynder.

“I think we did a good job, don’t you?” he said.

“What are you talking about? It was a nightmare. At one point, I thought you were going to get up and punch Cynder in the face.”

“Oh, good!”

“Oh, good?” I repeated incredulously.

“Yeah, just before you got to the stage earlier, Cynder and I decided to act it up a little. You know, pretend we were enemies. We thought a little harmless rivalry wouldn’t hurt. If you thought we were serious, that means the people watching must have.”

I opened my mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.

“Come on!” He took me by the hand and led me up to the palace.

“Are you telling me the whole thing was an act? Your anger at me for not staying in the basement when the siren was going off, the dancing on stage?”

“I’m not happy that you ignored the siren, no. I was worried about you. I love you. I can’t cope when you keep running off into danger. We live in dangerous times as it is without you actively seeking it out, but I understand why you did it. You are a born leader whether you realize it or not, and it wouldn’t be my place to tell you what to do. I’m only mad at myself for not following you when you ran back up the stairs. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

I could barely believe what he was saying to me.

“What about the dancing?” I croaked.

“I didn’t enjoy it, but I have to admit it was a stroke of genius. When I watched you dancing with Cynder, I almost believed you were really in love with him.”

We’d reached the hallway of the palace, and Cynder was nowhere to be seen. Luca hugged me again.

“Go get ready for dinner. I’ll see you there.”

He left me in the middle of the entrance hall feeling more confused than ever. I’d ridden a rollercoaster of emotions from anger to confusion in the past few hours, and now I didn’t know how to feel at all. Instead of looking for Cynder as I probably should have done, I decided to go to my room and have a couple of hours to myself to try and work out how I was supposed to be feeling.

I’d only lain on my bed for a couple of minutes before there was a knock at the door. It opened, and Elise walked in. She shut the door behind her and sat on the end of my bed.

“Oh, sorry, were you sleeping?” she said when she realized I was lying down.

“I was just about to have a nap. What’s the matter?”

She seemed awfully quiet. Something was up. It was so unusual for her to not come bouncing into my room like an overexcited puppy. I’d not seen her at the interview either which was also strange. She’d made a point of coming to all the others. As I looked more closely, I noticed her eyes were red from crying.

She sat silently, playing with the hem of her shirt, a habit she’d undoubtedly picked up from me at some point.

I sat up and took her hand. She bit her lip as she spoke.

“I’m sorry!” The tears began to flow fully now. Whatever it was that was upsetting her was really bad. Elise didn’t get sad. It just wasn’t her nature.

“What is it?”

“I...”

Her tears came faster. I passed her a tissue but didn’t speak. If she needed time to tell me, then so be it.

“I’m pregnant,” she sniffed.

“Why are you crying? That’s wonderful news.” I sat up and took her hand.

“You aren’t mad?”

“Mad? Why should I be mad? Unless it’s Luca’s or Cynder’s, and then, you’ve got some serious explaining to do, young lady.” I tried to put on a silly voice. She giggled and the Elise I knew began to shine through again.

“No. It’s definitely Leo’s. I thought you’d be upset because I know the media will jump on it and I didn’t want to take the spotlight away from you. I know how much this all means to you. You are working so hard to get the Magi to come back.”

“Oh, honey,” I hugged her tightly. “Nothing would make me happier than you taking the spotlight away from me. I’ve had to deal with it for the best part of a year, and I need a break, especially after today’s fiasco.”

“What happened today? I’m sorry I didn’t come down. I was trying to work up the courage to tell you.”

I told her about the whole interview and about how angry I felt about being told what to do yet again. I told her how angry Luca had looked when I danced with Cynder and how the whole thing had been a setup between them both.

“Now, I’m not sure if I should be angry or relieved. Both men seem to be on the same side, and it’s me that’s the outsider.”

Elise began to laugh. “What a predicament. Two men publically fighting over you but in real life, they are only pretending. No wonder you don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”