Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97633 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“If my mom were here, she would say, ‘Shame? What can I do with shame? Can I eat it? Can I wear it? Does it keep me warm at night? No. Then why the hell do I need it?’ It’s kind of her motto,” she said back, and I noticed Iskandar walking over to Wolfgang.
It was my chance to distract him before he helped her cheat again.
“Her daughter is not that far behind,” I muttered, walking around to find the best angle. “I better defeat you quickly. If I blink, I might see all the balls back on the table.” Seeing how to, I leaned over.
“Sir.”
I missed the ball completely, startled by how close he was to me. “Dammit, Iskandar! Did you not see—”
“We need to go,” he interrupted me harshly.
“What?” I stood up straighter.
“We are going now. I will also need your phone,” he said. I was used to the stone-faced, unaffected Iskandar, but something was different. His eyes gave him away. They looked dead, void of anything. Iskandar was a stickler for the rules, but he wasn’t completely dead inside.
“What is wrong?” I asked him.
“You phone, sir,” he repeated sternly.
I noticed Wolfgang taking Odette’s, too. He did not have the same demeanor as before, nor was he able to hide the emotions on his face as well as Iskandar; his freckled face was visibly paler, and he was shaken.
Panic started to work its way up me. “Is it my father?”
“We go need to go, now, sir. So, we are going.”
“You are not answering me!” I snapped at him. “What is going on?”
He looked me dead in the eye and said, “I do not know. I was just given orders to get you to safety, right now. Sir, we need to go.”
I did not know what to say, so I just nodded. I was not sure when he took the cue from my hand or when I started walking, but I did. It was only when Odette grabbed my hand that I notice how hard my heart was beating and also how I was trembling.
“Everything is going to be okay,” she whispered to me, squeezing my arm.
I did not reply because this was not how things went when things were okay. I squeezed her hand back, praying that she, somehow, was right, that being here in America had made things different and that this was only something small. But my mouth was drying, and my chest hurt. When we got into the car, and they rushed into the front seats, the dread became worse.
“Odette...” I whispered, staring outside the window. “I think it’s my father.”
“Gale, let’s not jump to conclusions. Okay?” she whispered back, kissing my knuckles.
Too late.
When my grandfather had passed, all the royals had to be “taken to safety.” It meant we needed to be protected until the line of succession was confirmed.
When was the last time I had even spoken to my father?
Dear God, please no.
Please.
He was pale.
His grip on me was stronger than steel.
Wolfgang looked like someone shot a puppy in his arms.
Iskandar...he looked almost like he always did; however, his jaw was tight, his gaze on the front. He was driving. No, he was speeding. Everything about the situation was terribly wrong, and I wanted to kick Wolfgang for taking my phone. Not knowing, not having the ability to find out, made everything worse. I did not argue because Gale needed more of my attention and support.
I was hoping we would get back to my place quickly, but twenty minutes into the drive, I noticed we were out of the city and on the freeway going toward the airport. And it was then that I was sure something horrible had happened.
When my father had died, I was at a spa. It was the first time I had gone in a year. Two years, maybe. I had put away my phone, and it was only an hour after when I walked out feeling all sparkly and new, that I turned on my phone to see all the messages coming in at once. As I drove, I saw the screens on billboards confirming his death. I heard it over the radio. I was screaming and confused and guilty. By the time I got the hospital, I had begged for them to tell me everyone was lying. Or that there was something wrong with me, and I was just seeing things. But it was true; my father was gone. And I was the last to know.
I guess that was why they had taken our phones, and the radio was off.
“Sir, ma’am, you both need to get out,” Wolfgang said, and it was only then that I noticed we were at the airport, but he was standing outside with the doors open.
The cold air didn’t even seem to faze Gale or me. I tried to let go of his hand to step out, but he wouldn’t let me. So, I hung out the door a bit.