Chapter 44 - Selfish (2/2)

”It may have taken me a while to adjust but I am making the best of it here, you can too! Things will get better inside the palace once Franz in in charge so why do you still want to go?”

”I can't tell you,” I said with my eyes downcast. ”Please just believe me when I say that I am not supposed to marry Alpheus. It is better for everyone this way.”

”You are wrong,” Mariela said coldly, dropping my hands.

”You see what you wish to see and no more than that. This kingdom needs you. Alpheus needs you. And I…I need you too. Running away is not only foolish and cowardly but incredibly selfish. I did not think you were that sort of person but it appears I was mistaken.”

My eyes stung. The one person who knew the truth of my identity—the one person here I thought might actually be on my side—and she accused me of being selfish.

I was trying to do the right thing! If I was really selfish, I wouldn't have bothered going to the extra effort of trying to get this story back on track. I would leave the plot in shambles and let Sigmund win because that was the easier thing to do.

”You don't know what you're talking about,” I sniffed.

Franz walked into the office then and smiled at me in surprise.

”So this is where you were, Katie! Alpheus is looking for you.”

He then noticed the atmosphere in the room and the fact that the two of us were standing across from each other facing off and his smile immediately dropped.

”What happened?”

”Nothing of great significance,” Mariela said loftily, like the princess she truly was. ”Katie was just about to leave.”

I stiffly exited the office, my hands balled into fists. I believed that she would keep my secret but felt that I had lost a trusted confidante.

Now what was I supposed to do? I was even more alone and confused than before. I hadn't found a way to get Al to fall in love with Marcy or care about anything other than our supposed escape plan.

The wedding loomed before me and it would be much more difficult to obtain a divorce than it would be to run away while I was still single and unattached.

Did I have to stay until Franz's plan was complete? I had already contributed the main idea that Marcy had.

In the novel she helped smooth over the little details since she was a commoner herself and understood how they thought but I couldn't do that anyway since I was in the body of a noble.

If I left now, Al would be lonely again. With any luck he would turn to Marcy for companionship since they were already on friendly terms.

The only problem with leaving now is that I had no way to get out of the country. Security was tight and I hadn't left the palace grounds once since coming here.

As the princess-to-be, I met almost every lady of high standing during tea parties held by the queen. With preparations for the wedding underway and the weight of my bridal lessons, the royal family had not attended any social gatherings as a group.

Unfortunately that would be changing later this evening. Madame Chalaise deemed me fit for public consumption and a grand ball would be held to celebrate the engagement and impending wedding.

I absolutely dreaded it. The more people that knew my face the harder it would be to escape.