Inheriting a SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #7)(49)

Jen rolls her eyes at me, and I have to fight the urge to laugh. I hold my arm out to her, because it’s expected, and she grips it like it’s her lifeline. I flinch a little, and then smile when I see the hurt cross her face. Why did I think this was a good idea? Oh right, because I have to marry someone like her.

Dinner is a study in torture. This girl—whose name I’ve already forgotten—only wants to talk about how many rooms our castle has, where we have other homes, and how much money she’ll be given for her shopping sprees. The thought crosses my mind that maybe if I did marry her, I could give her enough money so that she’d just leave me alone.

“Do you play any video games?” Jen asks her with an innocent look on her face as I almost choke on my wine.

“Video games? Of course not? Why would you even ask me that?”

“No reason.”

We finish dinner, and I give her a chaste kiss on the cheek, sending her off with a maid to her rooms. She looks like she wants to protest, but she’s too refined to do so. A proper lady can’t ask for a f*ck, even if she wants one. Thank God for that. I’d have to say no, and that could lead to an international incident when her feelings get hurt.

“She really thought you’d shag her,” Jen says, falling back on the couch in laughter once we’re alone in my study.

“She’s not that bad.”

“What’s her name?”

“It’s written down somewhere,” I tell her with a wry smile.

“Why are you even doing this?”

“Because I need a proper, royal wife.”

“No, what you need is to get your head out of your arse and go after Darcy.”

“I can’t take her as my bride.”

“Why not? The people love her, and Derrick is gone.”

“I never wanted to be a king who fought for change.”

“So what, you’ll just be reformed playboy prince who takes the throne and does nothing?”

“That’s not fair. I’ll do everything I can to make sure my people are happy and taken care of.”

“Brayden the Martyr, making sure his people are happy while he’s miserable. It’s bollocks. All of it.”

“It’s my choice.”

“Oh I know, believe me I know. If I had my way, Darcy would be here now, and so would Noah. You remember him, right? Your best friend.”

“You’re on a roll tonight, aren’t you?”

“This is just the beginning. If you insist on mucking up your life, expect me to be right next to you, reminding you of all the mistakes you’re making.”

“You don’t need to remind me. I’ll never forget.”

“Will you at least talk to Noah?”

“Not yet. Maybe in a month or two, but it’s too raw right now.”

“He’s going to be my guest at the coronation, because I know that both of you will regret it if he misses it.”

“You’re probably right, so thank you.”

“I usually am, and you’re welcome. I’m going to bed. Remember to lock your bedroom door tonight.”

“You’re funny.”

But I am going to lock the door. All I need is to wake up to some woman I don’t want trying to seduce me after I’ve been dreaming about the woman I do want. It’s just going to be me and my hand tonight.





Chapter 19


Darcy

I’ve been back in Vegas for a few days now, and while I’ve been in sweats, eating my weight in ice cream during that time, I need to go into the office today. It’s our big meeting with the mentors. No one knows what to expect, even Reina. She’s been staying in my guest room, and joining me in my ice cream diet while she avoids Matt. We both had to get dressed in real clothes today, and of course she looks flawless. I look pretty good, too. My training has taught me to never go into battle unprepared, and clothing can sometimes make or break a meeting.

We all file in and take our seats. The family representatives are here, too, along with Alex, Aiden, Nate, and the fiancés. Whatever happens today will affect everyone in this room, and many people who are outside of it. That’s something that none of us can forget.

“Thank you all for coming,” Jane says once everyone is settled. “I know you all have opinions on what happened, and we will listen to all of them. We have already expressed to you the reasons why we did what we did, and again, I need to say how sorry we are that we had to hurt you, Darcy.”

I don’t say anything, because I can’t absolve them of their guilt. They did more than hurt me. They made me question everything I’d believed for the last seven years. That’s not going to go away anytime soon.

“I’ll go first,” Audrey says. “I’ve been part of this team for longer than anyone else, and I-I just don’t even know where to begin. I’ve seen a lot of things, but what you did to Darcy…Dios Mio. I never thought I would see the day when the Society would purposely hurt one of us. Yes, you forced Stella to keep a secret, and have kept things from us from time to time, but to make Darcy feel that you’ve been using her all this time? It’s wrong. So wrong.”

“I agree,” Stella says. “When you made me keep that secret from Kace, I seriously thought it would be the end of my time here, but this is so much worse.”