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Chapter 8
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2021-10-03 18:34:43Related chapters
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 9
I’d been to too many formal dinners and luncheons to count. I’d attended ones with dozens of foreign dignitaries, politicians, and other royals. I’d met people who’d been so obvious about gaining my family’s favor that I’d felt slimy afterward. I’d seen prime ministers who’d not understood royal protocol, even one being so obtuse as to take my mother’s hand and shake it, which was not at all the thing.But all of those events paled in comparison to this informal family dinner my parents, my wife, and I were suffering through. Conversation was stilted, the sounds of eating and drinking filling the silences.My father sat at the head of the table as protocol dictated, my mother to his left. I sat at his right, while Niamh sat next to me. More than once, I’d caught Niamh’s gaze, wanting to apologize for the awkwardness. She’d merely wrinkled her nose at me and bit back a smile.I couldn’t help but notice that my mother seemed thinner than normal. She barely touched her food
Last Updated : 2021-10-03The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 10
I didn’t have time to wallow in my frustration with my parents for long. After the arduous dinner was finally over, it took all of five minutes for Niamh to come bursting into my room without even a knock.I was in the process of unbuttoning my shirt when Niamh opened the door to the adjoining room. I cocked an eyebrow at her.“Did you need something, wife?”She didn’t take the bait. “I can’t find the cat or the kittens. I’ve looked everywhere.”Considering how large the palace was, I doubted she’d truly looked everywhere. Just thinking about where those cats could’ve gone gave me an instant headache.“I’m sure they’re fine,” I said. “Aren’t cats self-sufficient?”“I’m just worried they got outside. What if something happens to them?”“They were born outside. They’d probably be happier out there.”Niamh growled, frustration marring her features. “I know you don’t care about the cats, but I’m not about to let them get hurt after bringing them here. Besides, it wouldn’t be good i
Last Updated : 2021-10-03The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 11
Rain pattered against the window. It was an oddly cold, blustery day for late summer. Normally, the windows would be wide open, the palace tending toward being stuffy and hot.The closed window made me feel confined. Or perhaps it was that I was having to have this conversation with my mother—again.“There have been reports of rumors circulating online about my true parentage,” I said as I stared out the window. “Apparently, the rumors have increased since my marriage.”My mother, sitting across from me and sipping tea, merely shrugged. “When have we not had rumors floating around about us? That’s nothing new, nor nothing to worry about.”“Perhaps, but rumors have a way of becoming truth online if you’re not careful.”My mother didn’t seem concerned. She’d never been one for technology. She disliked computers, and found the idea of social media distasteful. Although she was hardly in her dotage, she preferred to act as though the world wide web simply didn’t exist.“Conside
Last Updated : 2021-10-03The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 12
I waved a hand in front of Niamh’s face. “Are your eyes really closed?”“Yes! I swear they’re closed.”I took her hand, leading her forward, anticipation making me nearly giddy. I’d been racking my brain to think of something that would make Niamh happy. Although she seemed happier than when we’d first married, I could still see that she missed her family, her friends, her country.“Okay, a few more steps,” I said.“Why do I smell motor oil?”I nearly huffed in exasperation. Leave it to my wife to ruin her own surprise.“Open your eyes,” I said.Niamh opened her eyes, blinking for a few moments as she took in the scene before her.“It’s a car,” she said slowly.“Very good. Now, can you tell me what kind of car it is?”She rolled her eyes. “I bet I know more about it than you do.” She took a tentative step forward. “Can I…?”“It’s yours.”Her eyes widened. “You’re not seriously giving me a Bugatti. You’re fucking with me. This is some prank show and Ashton
Last Updated : 2021-10-03The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 13
It was early hours when I awoke. Rain was falling softly against the window. Yawning, I glanced at the clock: five a.m. I wouldn’t need to be awake for another two hours.I considered going back to sleep, but then Niamh opened her eyes. She stared up at me, her gaze hazy, like she wasn’t sure who I was.“Bonjour,” I said, brushing a few strands of hair from her forehead.She yawned widely. “What time is it? Oh God, it’s way too early to be awake.” She turned over and hugged a pillow closely. “Wake me up at a reasonable hour.”“So, noon?”“I don’t sleep in that late.”“Oh, then eleven a.m.”I could hear her rolling her eyes. I slung an arm over her waist, capturing her hand in mine. I kissed her ear then blew a raspberry against her shoulder.“Go away! You’re annoying.” She pushed me away, albeit half-heartedly. Our struggle soon devolved into a wrestle match that I won within ten seconds.My wife now pinned beneath me, I had both of her wrists in my grip. “You were
Last Updated : 2021-10-03The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 14
The press office in the palace was moving faster than I’d ever seen it. Along with the coterie of lawyers the palace had on hand, everyone was working tirelessly to stop Connor Gallagher from making good on his threats.Despite his threats, there wasn’t enough to arrest him, considering he didn’t threaten my life or anyone else’s. Threatening to release information, or photos that we had no proof he’d taken, wasn’t enough for the police. And he hadn’t trespassed on palace grounds when he’d been admitted after demanding to see me.And where was Connor Gallagher, while not lurking about the palace? No one knew. He was a slippery figure, to say the least. We had private detectives searching Saint Henri, trying to find anyone who’d seen an Irishman of middling height and build. It wasn’t as though there were masses of Irishman here in Salasia. He should stick out like a sore thumb.Yet as far as I knew, Connor was smart enough to lay low for the next two weeks.“Can’t we just hav
Last Updated : 2021-10-03The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 15
In the flurry of engagements we had scheduled, I nearly forgot about Connor’s threats. Laurent updated me with any pertinent information regarding the palace’s investigation and plans, but more often than not, there wasn’t much information to convey.The palace had managed to contact Connor and to pressure him to give up on his plans, threatening serious legal consequences should he publish anything that would damage the reputation of the royal family. Publishing something truly libelous would result in steep fines and potential expulsion from Salasia itself.But when the two weeks passed and nothing happened—no photos published, no stories leaked—I felt like a could take a deep breath. When a third week passed without incident, it seemed as though Connor had decided that it wasn’t worth facing the strength of the palace’s lawyers to get his money.Now, Niamh and I were welcoming a group of doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to the palace as a thank-you for
Last Updated : 2021-10-03The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 16
The scandal of the photos exploded. Not only was it late in the summer and there was little news for the media to publish, but I’d always known that a certain percentage of the public had been waiting for Niamh to screw up like this.I’d hoped that there would be more sympathy, but when Laurent showed me multiple news stories blaming Niamh for being topless on her honeymoon, I had to tell him to stop showing them to me.As for Niamh, she’d begun to sleep in her bedroom again. When I’d knocked on her door the evening after the revelation, she’d refused to talk to me. I’d had to bribe Celia to get a note to my wife, as she wasn’t answering calls or texts, either.I couldn’t sleep. I’d gotten used to Niamh sleeping beside me, the way she hogged the bedcovers, or how she tended to sprawl across the bed and take up more than three-quarters of it. I’d often end up sleeping on the edge of the mattress. But I hadn’t minded, because she’d been in bed with me, and any discomfort was wor
Last Updated : 2021-10-03
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The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet About the Author
A coffee addict and cat lover, USA Today bestselling author Iris Morland writes sparkling, swoon-worthy romances, including the Flower Shop Sisters and the Love Everlasting series.If she's not reading or writing, she enjoys binging on Netflix shows and cooking something delicious.Sign up for my newsletter to stay up-to-date with new releases, sales, and exclusive giveaways! Facebook Twitter BookBub Goodreads Instagram
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Also by Iris Morland
The Prince I Love to HateThe Princess I Hate to LoveSay You’re MineAll I Ask of YouMake Me YoursHold Me CloseWar of the RosesPetal PluckerHe Loves Me, He Loves Me NotOopsie DaisyincludingThen Came YouTaking a Chance on LoveAll I Want Is YouMy One and OnlyThe Nearness of YouThe Very Thought of YouIf I Can’t Have YouDream a Little Dream of MeSomeone to Watch Over MeTill There Was YouI’ll Be Home for Christmas
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Enjoy this exclusive excerpt
The moment I woke up after my best friend’s raucous bachelorette party in Las Vegas, I realized two things in quick succession:To my horror, the man had his arm slung across me, and it weighed at least a thousand pounds, I was sure. My bladder yelled profanities at me as I pushed at the ridiculously heavy arm trapping me against the bed.Finally, he turned over, taking his arm with him. I shuffled to the bathroom and didn’t feel the panic hit me until after I’d peed and saw the ring on my left hand.Ring. Left hand. I didn’t wear a ring there anymore since I’d caught my ex-fiancé cheating on me. I’d thrown the ring David had bought me in his face.This ring wasn’t that diamond David had gotten me. I peered more closely at it. It was—plastic? Was it from a ring pop?Did I call the police? No, that was stupid. 911, I got married last night to a stranger. Yeah, that’d go over well. I was sure the Vegas police would just laugh and tell us to get a lawyer.I heard movement in the roo
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Epilogue
Once upon a time, a prince married a girl who didn’t want to marry him. Their marriage was rocky, and the prince realized that, if he was going to keep his new princess by his side, he’d have to make the ultimate sacrifice.The princess, touched by his generosity, accepted his heart, and he hers.I never thought I’d have a fairy tale romance. I might be a prince, but they were fairy tales for a reason.Niamh, of course, had proven me wrong entirely about that.Five years after we’d married, the palace held a ball to celebrate the coronation of me and my princess as the new reigning sovereigns. My parents had decided to abdicate, feeling that their time in the spotlight had come to an end.“We’re going to be late,” I said to Laurent. We were waiting for Niamh and company to arrive for our grand entrance into the ballroom.“I heard something about a ‘kitten explosion,’ Your Highness,” replied Laurent gravely.“I don’t even want to know what that means.”With only a minute t
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 21
It was a strange time to be alive when I found myself barred from entering my wife’s estate by a tiny slip of a maid.“She doesn’t want to see you,” the maid said in a heavy Irish accent. “She explicitly told me not to let you inside.”The butler, a granite-faced man who could’ve been thirty or seventy, stood behind the maid and nodded.“I need to speak with her,” I repeated slowly. “It’s urgent.”The maid just shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s not possible—Your Highness.”And then a door was shut in my face. Me, a prince, heir to the throne of Salasia. I had to admit that had never happened before. People tended to open doors for me, not close them.Then again, Niamh had done the same thing to me multiple times now. Clenching my jaw, I went to gaze out at the vast Irish Sea, the sea air cool against my face.I didn’t understand why Niamh was literally shutting me out. Had the maid even told her I was here, in Dublin, begging to see her? Did she want me to climb some trelli
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 20
Niamh refused to speak with me for the next two days. On the third day, I used the same trick I’d used on our wedding night to enter her bedroom.Only to find my wife nowhere in sight.Celia startled when she saw me. She immediately mumbled something and tried to hurry away, but I stopped her.“Where is my wife?”Celia’s gaze was everywhere except on my face. “I don’t know, Your Highness,” she nearly whispered.“You don’t know or you won’t tell me?”Celia looked like she going to burst into tears. “Sir, she forbade me from telling you. She made me swear on my mother’s grave.”“Didn’t you just visit your mother two weeks ago?”Celia’s chin wobbled. “It’s still very upsetting to think about!” She added quickly, “Sir.”I approached her slowly, rather like you would a deer that was close to bolting. “You need to tell me where she is. What if something happens to her and I couldn’t get her help?”“Oh, when you put it like that…”“She can be angry with me, not you. I’ll take
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 19
That night, I knocked on Niamh’s bedroom door and waited. It felt so reminiscent of our wedding night that I almost expected her to tell me to go away.This time, though, she opened the door and leaned against the mantel with a questioning look. She was wearing a nightgown and nothing else, the silk strap falling down her shoulder. Her hair was down; it had grown nearly to her waist since we’d married. I wanted to wrap it around my hands as I plunged inside her.“Did you need something?” She was smiling a little.“You,” I said simply.“Well, that’s very to the point.” She glanced over her shoulder at her bed. “I was reading a book, you know. I was just about to get to the part where they bone.”I wrapped an arm around her waist. “You could get a good boning right now.”She laughed. “Trés romantique!”“Did you want romance? I can go send Laurent for a bouquet of flowers. Champagne, chocolates, the works.”“Have you ever sent him to get you a box of condoms? Now I’m curious.”“T
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 18
“Do you know how to ride?” I asked Liam.“A horse? Fuck no.”I rolled my eyes. I was tempted to ride Juliette back and let Liam fend for himself, but Niamh wouldn’t be too happy about that, no matter how angry she was with her brother.And of course, Niamh and Mari had driven back, leaving us stranded.“Then I guess we’ll have to walk back,” I said.Liam shot me a dark look. “I’m not walking back with you.”“Do you even know how to get there? Because if you get lost and slowly starve to death in the forest, I won’t be upset about it.”“I have a fucking phone.” When Liam pulled out his phone to discover that service was spotty out here, he cursed. And cursed. And then cursed again.It would be funny, if I weren’t bruised and if it weren’t still hard to breathe. It would be funny, if my wife weren’t angry with me and probably building a guillotine with my name on it right this moment.“We could ask for a ride,” I said, “but considering we just made poor Francois weep
The Princess I Hate to Love: The Heir Affair Duet Chapter 17
In desperate need of keeping my mind off of the disaster that was my marriage, I randomly decided one morning to go riding. I hadn’t spent much time with any of the horses in some years, as my princely duties took up more and more of my leisure time.I’d always enjoyed riding as a child. After the debacle when I’d ridden off and gotten lost for hours as a child, though, I’d stopped riding. It had soured the sport for me, and then life had taken hold and I’d stopped entirely.My mare, Juliette, nickered softly as we started down the lane that led to a trail that meandered through a forested area five kilometers outside Saint Henri. It was a beautiful, late summer day. With the dappled sunshine following just me and my horse, I could almost imagine everything was fine.I could almost imagine that my wife was speaking to me. That there weren’t dozens of stories, online and in print, about those titillating photos of her bare breasts. That there weren’t other stories about how my parent
