Page 29 of Broken Princess

“Fine,” I muttered. “I’ll do it.”

“Good. Make yourself sound breezy and casual, like you’re really heading off on a much-needed vacation. Oh, and make sure you apologize for running off the other night.”

“Uh-huh.”

Liz hit record and held the phone closer to my mouth.

“Hey, Logan,” I began, affecting an airy tone. “It’s me. I’m sorry for ditching you at the party the other night. I was in a really bad mood, but that’s no excuse.” I paused for a second and swallowed thickly. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve decided to take some time off from everything. I’m heading down to Miami with Kate and Marissa, and we’re going to sail down to the Caribbean to escape this godawful winter. I’ll try calling again later, okay? Or you can call me back. Talk soon. I love you.”

Liz hit the stop button on the recording app and smiled widely. “That was perfect.”

I bit my bottom lip and stared down at the floor, wishing I was able to tell Logan that I loved him in person. At least I’d been given an opportunity to say it in some way, though.

At least he’d finally know.

“Okay, we’ll make one for your mother now,” Liz said, holding the phone out to me again.

When that was done, she put the phone down and unzipped the main part of the black case. “Change into this, please,” she said, pulling out a white dress and tossing it over to me.

“Why?”

“Some of the potential buyers want to see proof that we actually have the American president’s daughter here at the mansion,” she replied. “We need to make a video to provide that proof.”

With a heavy sigh, I stepped into the tiny bathroom and slipped into the silky dress. When I returned to the main room, Liz was setting up a video camera on a black tripod at the end of the bed. An array of makeup and hair products were scattered on the nightstand.

“Brush your hair and fix your face while I finish doing this,” Liz said, glancing up at me.

I silently obeyed. When she was satisfied with my appearance, she reached into another pocket of the case on the floor and yanked out a newspaper.

“This is for you to hold up as proof of today’s date at the beginning of the video,” she said, handing it to me. She briefly knelt back down to pull out a smaller piece of paper. “And this is your script. Memorize it.”

My eyes misted over as I read the script. It was basically my name, today’s date, and a short statement detailing my subservience to the Order and my availability for sale.

I didn’t want to say any of it, but I didn’t have much of a choice. If I refused, Liz would get Jamie to torture me until I relented.

“Ready?” she asked, lifting her brows behind the tripod.

I nodded gloomily and picked up the newspaper. “Yes.”

“Good.” Her deep pink lips curled in a mocking sneer. “Lights, camera, action…”