Page 21 of Royally Knocked Up (Princes of Passion #1)

ENZO

E nzo woke up in his bedroom at the palace.

His head was foggy, and he felt as if he had been sick for days. Hangover , he thought woozily, trying to put the pieces of the night before into place. He knew he had been out with Luca, and that there had been drinks — a lot of drinks. What had happened after that?

Had he had his picture taken?

He decided he didn’t care if he had. What difference could that possibly make now? So what if he brought more shame to his father? His father had never bothered to consider or to care for what would make Enzo’s life better, so why should Enzo give him any consideration?

He didn’t remember having made the decision to come to the palace, but it occurred to him that if he had been drunk enough, Luca might have told a driver to take him here so that he wouldn’t be alone. That made sense. There were servants here.

And suddenly — though it was the last thing he would have expected — he did feel shame.

Regardless of what his father would think, how could he have done this? What would Hailey have thought?

He cursed himself quietly. He didn’t want to care about what she would think. She was out of his life now, and good riddance to her.

Except… he did care. Even if what was between them hadn’t been real, the way she’d affected him had been.

The way he had felt on those nights at La Fantasia, when he had realized that staying home and talking with someone you cared for deeply could be more worthy a pastime than going out and partying…

that was real. And even if that wasn’t something he was going to have with Hailey, he had been changed by it.

It was something he wanted to find with someone .

That wasn’t going to happen if he threw himself right back into his old ways.

He didn’t like the fact that he was waking up at the palace after a wild night out. He didn’t like that he had gotten so out of control that Luca hadn’t even wanted to send him back to his own home.

For the first time, it sort of made sense to him that his father was worried by his behavior.

But that didn’t mean his father was right about everything. Far from it.

Well, he was here. There would be no better opportunity to speak to his father about how he was feeling with regard to these things. He might as well do it.

He got out of bed, moving slowly to manage the way the world spun around him, and carefully dressed in one of the spare sets of clothes that he kept here at the palace. He went into his bathroom, brushed his teeth, and splashed some water on his face. Then he examined himself in the mirror.

I’m too old to be doing these things.

He remembered his conversation with Luca last night — how Luca had insisted that he didn’t want to work or settle down with a woman, and how jarring Enzo had found those statements.

They were things he would have had no problem with saying himself just a few months ago.

Knowing Hailey really had changed everything.

I can’t believe she’s pregnant .

He felt a chasm open up inside him, a gutting sense of loss at the realization that he was going to have a child that he would never know.

Have I made a mistake?

No. She’s the one who made the mistake.

However he might feel about it now — and he was feeling conflicted — she was the one who had lied. She was the one who had deceived him about what she was doing here and what her true feelings for him were. He couldn’t put his trust in her now, even if there was a baby involved.

He turned away from the mirror and left his room, heading down to the throne room to find his father.

King Edoardo was there, with breakfast spread out before him. He looked up as Enzo entered the room with narrowed eyes.

“So,” he said. “You’ve decided to show your face, have you?”

Enzo gestured to the table. “Got enough here to share?”

His father nodded. Enzo approached and picked up a piece of toast.

“I suppose you need that to absorb all the alcohol in your system,” his father said. “I simply can’t believe, after everything, that you would go out and drink like that. Don’t you realize that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to prevent you from doing?”

“I know,” Enzo said. “You’re right, I had too many.”

His father raised his eyebrows. “I’m right?”

“You’re right about that.”

“Oh, I see. Meaning there’s something else that I’m not right about?”

“Father, there are all kinds of things you’re wrong about.”

“Well, by all means. Illuminate me.” He waved to one of the servants standing against the wall. “Perhaps we could get my son a chair.”

“I can stand,” Enzo said.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

A chair was brought, and Enzo sank into it. He had to admit that he was grateful to be off his feet. He was still worn out from overindulging the night before.

“So,” his father said, “why don’t you say whatever it is you wish to say, Enzo? Why don’t you tell me what you think I’m so wrong about?”

“Hailey,” Enzo said.

“You imagine I shouldn’t have sent her back home?

Enzo, be realistic. She was using you for her own ends.

It was the best thing for everyone to get her out of the country before the story became unmanageable.

I have released to the press that the information in the tabloids was a lie, and that the two of you were colleagues at La Fantasia and nothing more.

It’s possible that someone will follow up and will realize, when she gives birth in a few months, that there truly was a baby, but we will simply deny that it had anything to do with you.

We can even tell people that she tipped off the reporter in order to try to gain attention and notoriety — that she was taking advantage of the crown. ”

“Father, you can’t possibly do that,” Enzo said. “Like it or not, that is my child. I’m not going to allow you to create a production out of denying that fact.”

“You’re not going to allow me?”

“No, I’m not. If you try to release that story, I’ll release one of my own, and I will take responsibility for the pregnancy. I’m not going to leave you any way to cover it up.”

His father cursed. “You should be grateful to me, Enzo. I am trying to spare you a scandal.”

“What scandal? That I fell in love? Father, this is what I mean when I say that you’re in the wrong about a lot of things. You try to control everything, and you can’t do that.”

“She doesn’t love you. She never loved you. She was hired to keep you at La Fantasia, Enzo. Surely you understand that.”

“Yes, I understand,” Enzo said. “I understand that you hired someone to serve as my glorified babysitter, and you’re angry that it didn’t go the way you hoped it would. You should never have hired someone for that role at all.”

“You wouldn’t have stayed at La Fantasia if I hadn’t had someone watching over you.”

“That’s not the point,” Enzo told him.

“You don’t think so?”

“You should have accepted that I might not stay. You should have asked me to keep a low profile instead of ordering it — instead of exiling me from Luria.”

His father laughed. “Don’t ask me to believe you would have done as I asked of you, Enzo. Last night proves that you wouldn’t have. You know I want you to keep a low profile — it’s not a matter of me needing to express my wishes to you. You have chosen not to honor what I would like.”

“Well, if you were a little more open-minded and understanding, it might not be that way, Father! You learned that I had fathered a child and your response to that was to call me in here and make me feel foolish.”

“You were foolish!”

“But you still could have supported me! You could have told me that you would help me figure out what to do about the situation. You could have offered help. You could have empathized. You didn’t do any of that.

You ridiculed me and sent Hailey away without so much as giving me a choice in the matter. ”

“This is what it is to be royalty,” the king said. “We have to make decisions with a mind to what people are going to think, Enzo. We have to be concerned about our reputation. You’ve never understood that.”

“Of course I understand that,” Enzo said.

“Of course I know reputation matters, Father. But what I don’t agree with is this idea you seem to have about controlling everything around you.

You need to manage your reputation as king, but for me to have a life that you don’t micromanage — that’s something you should learn to be comfortable with, because it’s going to happen, one way or another. ”

“If you would fall in line, the way your brother has…”

“I’m not Giorgio. I know you are happy with his choices.

But that isn’t because he fell in line .

It’s because he happened to want things you agreed with.

He fell in love with a woman you approved of.

He had children. He’s a perfect reflection of everything you think a member of the royal family should be, and I’m not. But you can’t change who I am.”

“A drunken lout?”

“Stop it. I’ve acknowledged that I shouldn’t drink so much. That’s not what this is about. This is about Hailey. Father, what if she had been in love with me?”

“You truly are a fool if you think she was.”

“I’m saying what if she had been? What if we had stood before you and told you that we were in love with one another and wanted to raise the baby together?

What would you have said then? Could you have handled that news?

Or would you still have tried to send her away because she isn’t the kind of woman you would choose for me?

Because she’s American — because she’s not from a noble family — because she’s someone you hired to keep an eye on me and you can’t stand the fact that the situation turned into something you didn’t plan for? ”

“Enzo—”

“I’ll tell you something, Father — you should be thanking Hailey.

She did something you never did. She made me want to turn my life around.

I regret what happened last night because I know it would disappoint her, not you.

Hailey made me want a different kind of life, even if I can’t have it with her, and you should appreciate that.

She’s the only person who has ever changed the way I see the world so profoundly. And now she’s gone.”

He rose from his seat. “I’ll leave you to your breakfast,” he said. “I’m going back home.”

“Enzo, wait a moment.”

“No,” Enzo said. “I’ll be here for the coronation, the way I’m supposed to be, but until then, I’m going to keep my distance, because I’m tired of this.

I’m tired of feeling like I’ll never be good enough for you.

But don’t worry, Father, you won’t see my name in the papers between now and then.

I’ll keep a low profile. That’s what matters most to you, isn’t it? ”

Enzo didn’t wait for an answer to that question. He turned on his heel and walked out of the throne room.

That was for you, Hailey , he thought, even though he knew perfectly well that she would never know what he’d done.