"Nadia, wait!" The head chef stopped me at the entrance to the main hall.
I asked her early in the morning about taking a day off today to avoid seeing Ian. Instead of approving my leave, she gave me an earful about taking yesterday off. So I just disappeared without waiting for her permission.
"Where the hell were you all day? Did you resign from your job without telling me?"
"I am sorry, something came up, and I couldn't come back any sooner."
"What came up? You look like you played with the pigs in th---" She stopped when she saw Ian return from the stables, looking muddier than me.
"Oh my! Your Highness. I will let Nancy have someone run the bath for you."
He nodded and walked away. She grabbed me by the arm before I could escape for a shower.
"Why do you both look like this?" She asked in a low whisper.
"The Prince picked me up when I was on my way back, and we fell off his horse."
"Oh really!" I was startled when I
"Did you just get thrown out of his room?""I guess..."Lydia was passing by the corridor and found me sitting on the floor trying to understand what he said about rubbing something in my face."Pull me up." I reached out for her hand."What happened in there?" She asked, grabbing the tray with coffee spilled all over."I forgot to put sugar in the coffee.""He got so mad about just that?""And I might have put buttermilk in it instead of milk by accident," I chuckled inwardly as I said that."No shit! I am surprised that he didn't throw you down the stairs.""Pfft..."I brushed my messed up hair with my fingers, and Lydia found his fountain pen's cap entangled in it. She burst out laughing."Now tell me the truth. What did he do? Did he bend you over his desk?"The door to Ian's bedroom flung open, and he appeared with an empty breakfast plate, which he set into the tray that Lydia was holding
I wasn't very sure that Noah would want to talk to me after all my rudeness and weirdness the other night. If my mom's words about my forgettable face are true, he would probably not even recognize me as it has been several days since our first meeting."Hello hello! What a pleasant surprise Nadia.""Hi, good to see you as well.""How have you been? And what brings you here?""Doing well, I guess. I have to deliver this message to someone.""Ah, running errands for the Royals.""How do you know this is from the Royals?""It's rolled vellum. We common people can't afford parchment and vellum; we use paper instead.""I see, that's something new I learned, thanks! Is Mason around?""Which Mason? We got three of them.""I am not very sure which one. Field officer?""Mason, the field officer. There's only one of his kind. He is not here at the moment, but I can pass it on to him when he's back.""Er... Ho
"Ian, listen to me. I am just the messenger---""I don't care. I don't want you delivering this kind of message. You have one fucking job, and that is to let me fuck you. You have the nerve to say no. But then you go around running such bullshit errands. Are you really so low on money?"He was seething with anger. His grip tightened around my neck, and the weight of his body pushed me against the wall. He pressed my cheek to the cold, smooth surface while my back burned up with anticipation.I was too restrained to move. I wanted to turn around and kiss him slowly. His kisses had such a calming effect on me when I was mad. I was sure he would forget his anger too, if only he allowed me to touch him.Wrapping his other hand around my waist, he pulled me into his hard length and whispered in my ear, "Guess I have been too gentle with you, a bit too accommodating."The menace in his voice should scare me, but it made my pussy pulsate with evident crav
I returned to the courtesan quarters in a daze. Was Ian really going to punish me as he said? He knows it was not my fault. He looked furious, not just at Mason but also at me.I quickly changed into plain clothes before my mother or aunt got suspicious. Everyone who was around my age was in the common room in the quarters, listening to every single word that Julia's grandmother had to say. She was a superb storyteller and the oldest member of our community."Which battle is she talking about?" I asked Lydia."The Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna.""Ugh! I will go take a nap."The old lady's voice boomed through the hallway as I walked away."...the King and his father had returned victorious. The Battle of Waterloo ended Napoleon's rule as the emperor of the French. And that was the War of the Seventh Coalition in 1815. The Allies exiled Napoleon to a remote island called Saint Helena, where he died six years later.""Didn'
"I said unsweetened. UN-sweetened. How hard is it to not mess up something so simple?" I lashed out at the new trainee and tossed the sweetened whipped cream back at her.I am not particularly known for my foul mood, but I couldn't however help it right now."This is too dense!" I complained and asked for a different sponge cake."It doesn't have to be perfect, Nadia. If it is dense, slather it with a layer of jam and call it a Demel's torte once you pour the icing on. You know this better, stop stressing," Marley said.She was much nicer to me now after dealing with several frustrating newcomers who sucked at the dinner table or when taking food upstairs to the Royals.I was coating the cake in a dark chocolate icing when Ian walked toward the kitchen. I froze instantly, thinking he was looking for me. On second thought, it was better to be at his service tonight than being with one of his brothers. I was dreading this after-dinner party.
~Ian~How exactly did I end up in this situation? I thought I was a cold, heartless bastard. If every story had two sides, I considered myself to be a jerk in both of them.Since when did I become her savior?Warm tears streaked down her face, her eyes urging me to not push her away. Those eyes evoke so many feelings inside me. Pushing her away was the last thing on my mind when she ran into my arms.What is it about her?The very sight of Damian laying his hands on her made me crazed. I can't allow myself to look so smitten and possessive right now, but I couldn't imagine letting her down or allowing anyone to touch her. When was the last time I was this possessive about someone? Never.Damian gave me one of his intimidating stares, and I gave one back to him with equal fervor."She's mine," I said, afraid of losing her.What the hell was I doing? All I wanted to do when I first saw her was to feel myself inside he
~Nadia~I woke up to such blissful silence, with just his soft breathing against the crook of my neck. When did we switch positions? His hands were tangled in my hair and his nose nuzzled my neck when I tried to move.The minute I saw his face, my heart quickened, and I stopped breathing. His sleeping face had such innocence written all over it, so carefree. I kept staring at him. If only I could stop the time now and here.My cheeks flushed hard when I saw his hot, half-naked body as it grazed against my boobs. Little by little, I remembered all the details from last night. It felt like a dream, but even in my dreams, I never imagined him to be so sweet. I loved all those butterfly kisses and hair ruffles I got from him when he thought I was asleep.He was the fantasy of my wet dreams, the reason for my dirty and lusty thoughts all this while. And now, I was really in bed with him!Under his blanket!With his arms around me!!I wante
I didn't like her question at all. Had Bella accompanied Ian yesterday, would they have made love? I did not want to think about it. I was the one who spent the night in his bed, not her. I wanted to be in denial as long as I could."I admire your guts. Are you certain that Ian is going to marry you?"She was doing a poor job of trying to hide her jealousy. It definitely wasn'tjust the displeasure about Bella sleeping with a potential suitor before getting married to him.Well, as a courtesan, I was licensed to sleep with him. But I didn't want to tell her who I was, not yet. She may not answer my questions if I did."And you are?" I asked."I am Madelyn, Lily's sister."Lilianne was Prince Damian's dead wife, or rather, murdered wife."And you, my baby girl. What's your name?"The little one glared at me and crossed her arms. "I am not your baby girl."Ah! So this was Ian's niece, who was allowed to bang on
Nine months later (Mountbatten, September 30, 1836) ~Nadia~ "Sorry, I can't help being rough with you today," he said, gripping my hips tighter. "Me neither!" I bit into the skin near his collarbone and sucked on the side of his neck. We were dying to be alone and as loud as we wanted for almost a week now. He pushed me up against the wall, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss and moving his hands under my blouse. A sharp, angry cry resonated throughout the entire home. "Oh, that little brat!!" Ian made a sulky face as he went to check on Leo, and I followed him laughing. Leo stopped crying as soon as I rubbed his chin with my finger. Just like Ian, he wanted me to brush his hair with my fingers. Ian admired his sleeping little daughter. Oh yes, we had twins, Mabel and Leo. "Look at my angel, sleeping so peacefully, allowing us some quality time. Such a sweet darling." He moved the tiny r
~Nadia~"Do you have any idea the kind of hell you put Seb through?"What was she talking about? She had a wedding ring on and a baby bump, probably in her second trimester."You can write such articulate letters to strangers with pen names but don't have the guts to confront the father of your child? So what if he rejects you? At least you would have tried. You deprived him of seeing the baby grow inside you and the satisfaction of being there for you. You made all decisions for the three of you.""I saw him with you at the ball. You were all over him as always." I couldn't remove the bitterness out of my voice."I love him, and there was no sign of you anywhere for months. You can't expect me to be a saint and sacrifice him for you. You should have confronted him, fought with him, and claimed him back if you really wanted him that bad. You ran like a little kid, making him dig into the entire Prussian spy network and operations."I w
~Ian~I reached Ivaris Central in no time, and the first thing I noticed was a large group of people surrounding something and a lot of commotion. I pushed my way through to find that Andrew was beaten to a pulp and my men were in a heated argument with a handful of commoners."What's going on here?" I helped Andrew off the floor and asked him."That woman in the barracks, she's Noah's accomplice.""Which woman?""She's pregnant now. She ran after him while we were chasing him. I tried to stop her, but she concocted some cock and bull story and got me beaten.""Where is she now? Did you hurt her?""She ran after him, that way." He pointed to the tracks."I saw her get into the train that left just twenty minutes back." Another one of my men told me.I went to the ticket counter to ask which train she might have taken. Only two trains left in the last thirty minutes, one going to Arcadia and the other to Krems
~Nadia~I needed to go as far away from Ian as possible. I feel disgusted by him to the core. Once a playboy, always a playboy. Such a fool I was to wait for him, hoping he would come one day.Where was the map that grandpa uses? I needed to get out of Ivaris and go somewhere up north. I changed into more comfortable clothes and packed some food and clothes as quickly as possible.Poor Andreas, I wrote an apology note for him as well and another note for grandparents and Giselle. I left part of my earnings along with the letter, hoping that Andreas continues to send them my allowance, at least for Giselle's sake.I ripped the letter meant for Ian into a thousand pieces and left home. The train station was in Ivaris Central, which was only a mile away by the shortcut grandpa showed me. There was a long line of people at the ticket station because of the rush hour.As I stood in the line and marveled at the granite facades lit with giant lanter
~Ian~"Seb, did you like it?"I forgot what Caty wanted me to try. She put her hand on my back."It's good," I lied."I knew it!"Every time she laid even a finger on me, I could hear Nadia yelling at me. I can't forget that night she got drunk and ran onto the street because I hurt her. Even though she left me, I still felt loyal to her.I gently slid Caty's hand off of me, but she wrapped her other arm around me."Won't you dance with me?" She whispered in my ear."Maybe after we eat dinner. I'm not in the mood right now."I turned around to eat one more of what Nadia loved. I would give everything I had to get that night back when she was in my room, talking about baking and why she loved plum jam turnovers so much.Those large brown eyes staring into mine every time she lifted her head up after burying her face into my chest. Knowing enough about her now, I know why she did that back then. She was feelin
~Nadia~Putting Giselle to sleep was a daunting task today. Her snuffles didn't stop long after she closed her eyes. I pushed all thoughts of Noah away until she was off to bed, but now that I was the only one awake in the house, I went into Noah's room and burned those two letters addressed to Johann Barnekow.Was that really Noah under the streetlight today? Did he escape from the prison and come to see Giselle? Why would he not come home unless he was a fugitive on the run?I don't want to side with a spy, no matter how good he is to me. Do I want to deprive Giselle of her papa though? Certainly not. I have to do my part so he's able to come back to Giselle one day, sooner than later.I guess he would have talked to me and his daughter today if Andreas wasn't with us. He was always there when I was low. Why couldn't he be the simple, honest man I thought he was?What if Ian never came for me because of Noah? If he was in the prison as some Barne
~Nadia~"Oh, wow! What kind of sorcery is this?" I was staring at the model of an automobile with my mouth wide open. Andreas told me it was an electric carriage made by someone from Scotland.Giselle wanted to sit inside the model because it looked like a perfect toy on wheels.Ivaris was holding a three-day fair as part of the first harvest festival of the year. Arcadia fairs never had all these engineered models on display. Here, people could watch science in progress, touch prototypes of future inventions, and even volunteer to take part in some of these ventures where developers were conducting surveys and handing us forms to fill."Do you like it?" Andreas asked Giselle as if he was gifting her one. He was really excited about these model designs and talked about random facts nonstop."Inventors are trying to make one powered by an internal combustion engine. So we can go to the beaches in Colchis, take a trip to the Macaby caves and sp
~Ian~After visiting Ivaris for a second time, I met their Crown Prince and went hunting with him. Ivaris was one of the best hunting places I have known with lots of freshwater, feeding spots, and some kind of game breeding throughout the year. The last time I was with Andreas was in February when I couldn't stop thinking about Nadia. It was the first time I thought about someone who was not Caty.On one such day eight years ago, Andreas and I met Caty when we were up north in his kingdom, hunting for some Alpine Ibex. Visiting Ivaris always brought back memories of her, and the good times we spent together. Just a few kisses from Nadia made me forget Caty, who was on my mind for many years. I wanted to stay mad at Nadia for pushing me away for some nonexistent future husband. I left without telling her because it really hurt my ego. Little did I know it was Noah she wanted to save herself for. Months later, I still can't stop thinking about
~Nadia~ As I entered the second trimester of my pregnancy, mood swings became extreme and so did my food cravings. I hardly ate two meals a day ever since I left the palace. Until recently, despite trying my best to take care of myself, my appetite refused to return to how it used to be. But now, I had the opposite problem. I felt hungry all the time. After eating an early dinner, I got hungry within an hour and wanted more. Snacking on cheese and crackers had become a routine habit at midnight. Noah's grandparents were at times afraid to talk to me because of how badly I snapped at them. Only Giselle could handle my tantrums, despite being so little. The coffee shop was overly busy because the Prince sent everyone this way. It exhausted me to death by the end of the day, but the pay before leaving kept increasing day by day, and it was the end of the second week already. Today was a good day for a change because I got done early with work and