Royal Heir (Westerly Billionaire #3)(38)

Watching Delinda in action made Magnus reassess every interaction he’d had with Rachelle. Apples didn’t fall far from their trees. He was forced to ask himself a difficult question: Did she dupe me?

From meeting him on the red carpet to nearly having sex with him in the garden—how much had been orchestrated as part of a larger plan? When seen through that lens, many things made sense that hadn’t before.

When something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Rachelle would have him believe that money and power were of no consequence to her, that meeting him had been a coincidence. She was all loyalty, sweetness, and fucking rainbows. Of course it wasn’t real. No one was that nice.

Was even Eric involved? His pain had seemed real. It was more likely that Rachelle and her grandmother had seen Eric’s condition and used it to their benefit.

Magnus shook his head. He’d love to have dismissed the entire idea as paranoia, but the reality was that his jaded view of people had saved his father in the past. Let them believe they have us duped. And I’ll do what I always do—whatever it takes to protect my family.

He smiled at Rachelle and liked that her confidence wavered in response. Want to spend time with me? You will, but on my terms.





Chapter Thirteen

After an excruciatingly long lunch that had felt more like a hostage situation, Rachelle sat across from her grandmother in the back of a Bentley Mulsanne Grand Limousine in the front drive of the palace. Everything she’d held in for the last few hours was ready to burst out, but she struggled to choose where to start her rant. She wondered if Magnus was in a similar state now that he was finally alone with his father.

“Delinda—”

“Since when am I Delinda to you? You’ve always called me Grandmother,” Delinda said. She leaned forward and instructed the driver to take them both to where she was staying.

“No,” Rachelle said. “I’m staying at the Royal Hotel.”

“You most definitely are not. Michael, do not listen to her. I’ll use the drive to talk some sense into her.”

Her driver sat back and turned the engine off. Rachelle turned to meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. Michael drove Delinda when she traveled, but normally he was her house butler—one who had worked for her for decades and become sort of part of the family. Evidently he was not afraid to act as if he were one.

Delinda let out a dramatic sigh. “Rachelle, dear, with your public reputation teetering, do you really believe that the best place for you to stay is a hotel?”

“Magnus—Prince Magnus arranged a suite for me, and I don’t see any problem with the arrangement.”

“She doesn’t see any problem with it, Michael. Rachelle, people will treat you with as little or as much respect as you demand from them. When a man procures a hotel room for a lady, he is asking if she is of easy persuasion; it is best not to prove him right.”

Rachelle fisted her hands at her side. “Why are you here?”

“You heard what I said to King Tadeas: I was concerned for you.”

“No.” Rachelle shook her head vigorously. “You’re not here for me. If you were, I would feel a lot less humiliated.”

“I would think that feeling came from being snuck in the back door like some common whore. Had I not arrived, they might have had you serving the lunch.”

“Stop it, Delinda. I’m not a child who will allow you to speak to me any way you choose.”

“What has come over you, Rachelle? You’ve always been the sensible one.”

“Why?” Rachelle ground out. “Because I never challenged you? I did that out of respect for my mother and because we were in your home. But I didn’t ask you to come here, and I don’t want you here. I don’t know how to express that to you in a sensible way.”

“Michael, do you hear the way she is speaking to me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I don’t know why I try as hard as I do when they are so ungrateful.”

Michael cleared his throat. “Perhaps she is not in need of your assistance.”

“Not in need? Not in need? First, the prince allows high society to call her trash; then he invites her to his bed as if she is. And she sees no problem with that arrangement. Well, you’ll both have to excuse me for believing I am very much needed here.”

Rachelle turned away and saw paparazzi taking photos of them from outside the gate. “Could we discuss this somewhere else?”

“You mean somewhere private or at a hotel where any visitor you have will likely be fodder for gossip?”

“Michael, just drive, okay? My things are already at the hotel. We’ll at least have to swing by there.”

Michael started the car and drove down the driveway. “Of course, Miss Rachelle.”

Delinda clasped her hands on her lap. “I would be cross with you, Michael, if I didn’t know your stubbornness is out of love for my granddaughter. How do we show her that mine is as well?”

Rachelle met her grandmother’s eyes. Love from anyone as controlling as Delinda was complicated. “If you want me to believe that, tell me why you’re really here.”

Delinda looked away, then back. “To help you, Rachelle. I understand how this world works. With a wave of my wand, you could be the most beautiful woman at a royal ball, the envy of everyone, and the only woman Prince Magnus can imagine at his side. You could be queen of Vandorra or the woman who was asked to be and decided it wasn’t enough for her.”