Page 80 of Royal Trouble
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he shot back, the alcohol in his stomach rolling as he sat up straighter.
“Take it how you will.” Liam took a slow slip of his whisky, gaze leveled at him meaningfully.
How the fuck did his brother know he’d as much as thrown Everly off the property yesterday? He knew the palace leaked like a sieve, but he’d always thought the cottage provided a modicum of privacy. Shame burned his neck, and though he wanted to blame the warmth on the alcohol, the lie held no weight.
“It was Lotte,” Liam said, sitting his whisky on the edge of their father’s desk and folding his hands in his lap.
“Lotte?” he echoed. Why the fuck would Lotte do something like that? And how had she gotten the pictures?
Bollocks. She’d walked right into the cottage and taken them, because he never locked his bloody doors, and as a member of the court, she had free reign of the palace grounds. The realization hit him like a gale-force wind.
“You’re sure it was Lotte?” he finally asked, disbelief and guilt warring within him. He had no trouble believing Lotte would stoop so low, but if she’d done this, it meant Everly was innocent. He’d thrown away the best thing to ever happen to him, and for what? To protect his pride? Because deep down he hadn’t believed a woman like Everly could truly return his affection.
“I called the owner of the paper and applied pressure.” Liam shrugged as if it were no big deal, when it most certainly had been. It wasn’t every day the future monarch involved himself in the workings of the press, much less used the power behind his title to apply pressure on them. “I told them if they didn’t reveal their source, I’d make it my personal mission to put them under.”
“Smart move.” He studied his brother with a newfound respect. “You’re the future of this country. It would be poor form to get on your bad side before you ascend the throne.”
“I didn’t do it for me,” Liam said, concern wrinkling his brow. “I did it for you. I don’t give a damn about the test results. You are my brother and always will be. If someone goes after you, I consider it a personal attack.”
Xander leaned back in his chair, at a loss for words. They’d never been close, but since his return to Valeria, he couldn’t deny his brother had made an effort to strengthen their relationship. Perhaps if he hadn’t been so wrapped up in his own issues, he’d have noticed before now and made an effort of his own.
A lump rose in his throat as he considered Liam’s words. Everly had told him the results would change nothing, but he hadn’t allowed himself to believe it. Maybe she’d been right, though. If Liam didn’t care, perhaps the rest of the family wouldn’t, either? It was probably too much to hope for. His parents were traditionalists, set in their ways and the old ways of the monarchy. Still, he wouldn’t turn away this olive branch. He’d need his brother’s support to sort out this mess.
“You have no idea how much that means to me,” he said, speaking past the growing lump in his throat. Christ. He was not going to cry like a bloody prat. “I honestly wasn’t sure how—how the family would take the news. I’ve spent so long feeling like the family fuckup, and I guess it just became a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
One he’d embraced heartily.
Liam nodded as though he understood, and maybe he did. After all, he’d lived his entire life in the same gilded cage, on display for public judgment. The difference was his brother would never come up short in the court of public opinion. He at least had the balls to follow his heart and claim the woman he wanted, consequences be damned.
Shame washed over him anew.
He eyed the bar, considering another drink. The hot burn of alcohol would soothe the ache in his chest, but it would be temporary. When the hangover wore off, he’d be worse for wear and Everly would still be gone.
“Bloody fucking hell.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, cursing his own insecurities and hotheaded nature. “I really buggered things up with Everly.”
“So swallow your pride and apologize.”
Like it was that bloody easy. “I was a real prick. I don’t think they make a card that would sufficiently account for the level of assholery I displayed.”
Liam chuckled. “That bad?”
“Worse.”
“I know we haven’t always been as close as brothers should be, but if I’ve learned anything from Lena, it’s that we are stronger together than apart. The same can be true of you and Everly, if you’re willing to fall on the sword and admit you fucked up. It won’t be easy, but if you love her, it’ll be worth it.”
He did love Everly. Loved her sassy attitude, her sexy laugh, the way she believed in him even when he didn’t believe in himself. He’d failed her—failed both of them—by giving in to his insecurities.
“Trust me,” Liam said, as if reading his thoughts. “Your pride is a small price to pay for the love of a good woman. And who knows? You might even come out the other side stronger together.”
“I hope the same can be true of our family,” he said, nodding slowly. For most of his life, he’d let the question of his paternity prevent him from caring too deeply about his family and his place in it, but now? Now he wanted very much to belong.
“Of course it’s true,” the king barked, crossing the room with purposeful strides, the queen at his side. “The Stanley family will always be stronger together.”
“Are we?” he asked as they took their seats, his father behind the desk and his mother on the other side of Liam. “Because no one’s actually asked about the results.”
He held up the sealed envelope, brandishing it like a standard.
Truth be told, he was impressed Lotte hadn’t opened the envelope and leaked the results, but perhaps she was afraid of disrupting his line to the throne. It was obvious to him now that her motivation had been to frame Everly and clear the path for herself. She’d been plotting a match with his mother for months, but he’d never imagined their scheming could end like this.