Lucky Charm (Reverse Fairytales Book 2)(62)

“That’s good news though, right? The people were beginning to hate him anyway. It can be just you and me now, just as it should be. We get married in two months. Your poor mother has been planning it all by herself. Maybe it’s about time, you let this whole Magi thing rest for a bit and spend some time looking at wedding dresses and the like? To be honest, you look exhausted. It’s about time you took a break.”

“But the Magi!”

“They are already here in Silverwood, thanks to you. They aren’t going to go anywhere just because you are marrying me. Cynder has been outed as a liar. They’ll understand why you couldn’t marry him. The guy is already married! Leo and Dean are recruiting the Magi into the police force. When the Magi see that, they’ll know it’s safe to apply for other jobs and go to any university. You’ve done enough. It’s time for you to focus on yourself.”

I nodded wearily. So much of what he said made sense. I was exhausted and sick of my life revolving around the media. Maybe a couple of weeks off would do me good. Maybe I could even begin to get excited about my upcoming wedding. If I wasn’t so preoccupied with the Magi, maybe I could persuade Mother to let me have the wedding I wanted rather than the all-singing-all-dancing extravaganza I knew her to be planning.

I took his hand and let him walk me back to the marquee, my heels digging into the soft ground as we walked, leaving a brown and green layer over the soft pink. As we both entered the marquee, everyone descended on us. People I didn’t know hugged me and congratulated me. The women gushed over my new ring while the men patted Luca on the back and told him he’d made a great catch, as if I were no more than a salmon swimming upstream.

At some point, Marybelle, along with her camera crew bustled in.

She pointed her microphone right at me.

“Congratulations,” she said, grinning widely. I noticed she’d had her teeth whitened and they now gleamed so brightly I was worried they’d glare on the camera.

“Thank you,” I replied politely, feeling sick. I wasn’t prepared for this interview one bit, but I could already guess how it was going to go.

“How are you feeling right now? It’s a very exciting time.”

Sick, nervous, sad, tired.

“I am excited. What girl wouldn’t be when her prince proposes to her. Today has turned out to be a wonderful day. I’m very happy.”

“It looks like the competition is over. Did the right man win?”

“Of course.” I gripped Luca’s hand for encouragement. “I said all along I was going to marry Prince Luca. We are both really happy.”

“What about Cynder?” she asked, gazing around the marquee.

“I’m afraid he had to go, but I wish him well in his future endeavors. He has been nothing short of amazing in his time here at the palace, and I know that without him, there would be far fewer Magi here in Silverwood. I want the people watching this at home to know that I still support the Magi a hundred percent and me choosing to marry Luca has nothing to do with that. I said I would choose a man based on love, and I was true to that. The police force has implemented a new initiative focused on the recruitment of Magi, and as before, the universities are now open to everyone. I really hope that all you Magi out there stay to help us build a better future for Silverwood.”

“Where is Cynder now?” Marybelle asked, clearly not interested in what I had to say about politics.

“I don’t know. He decided that it was his time to leave. This week has been very hard on him. There have been a lot of rumors circulating which aren’t true, and I, for one, believe him. I hope that now that this is all over, the media will leave him alone.”

I tried to make it sound like a threat, but Marybelle wasn’t biting.

“What now, for you and Prince Luca?”

“The prince and I have decided to take a small step back from our public life so we can concentrate on our upcoming wedding. As you can imagine, there is a lot to plan. We will still be fulfilling our royal duties but in a much less public way. The last few weeks have been fun, but appearing on TV all the time can be quite exhausting. In the fall, after our wedding, I hope to tour some of Silverwood’s universities to see how the Magi are settling in.”

It was not something I’d actually planned as it had just come to me in the spur of the moment, but it was a good idea.

Marybelle thanked me and nodded to her cameraman. The light on the camera turned off, and the interview was over.

I wanted to escape, to leave the marquee and spend the rest of the day alone in my room to process everything, but as with everything else in my life right now, I once again found myself in a situation I had little control over.

This was my engagement party, and although there was no chance I was going to enjoy it, I could at least try.

Leo and Elise were there along with my mother, Dean, and Daniel.

Elise was looking better than she had in a couple of weeks and now had that healthy pregnancy glow that people talk about. I watched as she and Leo danced to the music. They looked so good together. Leo only had eyes for her as he twirled her around the marquee, and she looked so happy. I wondered if I looked as happy as she did from an outside perspective. If I did, it was only good acting. I was trying to feel happy, but something big was lost to me. It wasn’t just Cynder, although his leaving had left a gaping hole in my heart, especially under the circumstances. If only I could see him again to apologize, to make him realize that I did believe him and always had.