All Chapters of Love on the Queen; The Quest for Freedom: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

“Hi Mom!” I squeal into the phone. I’ve been trying to reach her for days to no success. I was starting to get worried.I’ve been on the cruise for a week now and it’s been so fun and relaxing. Madame Dubois and I have been to the spa, the water park, a yoga class (which I hated but she loved) and even the beauty salon where we both got French tip nails and a blowout. We spent the whole of yesterday at the pool just lounging about and guessing which country all the guests are from based on their outfits.I haven’t run into Hans since the day I think he agreed to the truce but maybe it’s for the best cause I’m trying not to think of him. Madame Dubois has been a big help in keeping my mind off him and Zeke.It was almost a perfect week except I kept worrying about Mom because her number was going through. I’m so relieved to finally hear from her.“Hey Baby! How’re you doing? How’s the cruise going? Hope you’re having fun.” she says and I realise just how much I’ve missed her voice. “I

BEFORE Hans Griffin in personal crisis means the both of us working on a Sunday morning at the crack of dawn.A letter that was meant for his eyes only got mixed up in company correspondence and we’ve been trying to find it since the day before yesterday. I can’t help but wonder what’s in this letter because he’s been so paranoid and agitated about it. It’s been hell searching for this letter with him. I’ve put up with all his snide remarks and demeaning names and I’m slowly starting to get sick of it.We’ve only taken thirty minute breaks to go home and freshen up or get coffee to keep us awake.He’s not even allowing the rest of the employees to know that it’s missing. The only reason I know is because I receive all his correspondence, both personal and official. On Friday, he asked me if I’ve received any letter indicating personal matters and at the time, I hadn’t. It’s been just the two of us since Friday evening searching for this letter, and his patience has only grown thinne

My eyes flutter open to pitch black darkness. The air is hot and humid and I can barely breathe. My head feels like it was hit with a baseball bat, the pain is sharp and overwhelming. The surface beneath me feels nothing like the bed in my cabin. What is going on?I slowly sit up from the floor. Did I fall asleep on the ground?I must’ve rolled off my bed in the middle of the night. But the surface under me feels nothing like the soft, lush carpet in my cabin. It’s cold and hard and rough. Where am I?I try to lift my palm up to my face only to feel the biting cold of steel press against my wrist. The sound of chains crinkling informs me of exactly where I am. Terror crashes into me like a tidal wave. My blood runs cold. I’m back at the house. In my prison. Zeke. He found me. I start to panic and pull the chains harder but they’re tight and start to make my wrists sore. How could he have found me? After only a week? He’s supposed to be in Shanghai for God’s sake. No this can

The ache in my shoulders worsens, punishing me for being a coward and running out of the spa five minutes after I recognised Summer. Summer Harrison. Yes. THAT Summer Harrison. I mean. Of course she’s the one Hans would be with. She’s the kind of person Hans should be with in the first place. Someone disgustingly rich, ethereally and nerve-rackingly beautiful, body to die for, perfect in every way possible. Not me. Klaus could work all his magic on me for years and I’ll still never be as prim, proper and perfect as her. I was stupid to ever believe otherwise. I sigh and tread back to my cabin, not really in the mood to do anything else. I hate the fact that I care so much but I do. No matter how much I tell myself otherwise, I still love Hans. Someone who doesn’t love him wouldn’t race out of the spa and burden themselves with full-body pain just because they came face to face with his new girlfriend who just so happens to be among the top ten most beautiful women in the worl

BEFOREEvery atom of self-control disintegrates as his tongue invades my mouth. I soak in the feeling of his hands roaming my body. They’re frantic and hot and his kiss is fast and rough. It’s more angsty than the kiss in his office. The kiss in his office. I immediately channel all the strength in me into my arms and push him off me. The impact is almost nonexistent as he barely moves. I take several steps away from him until his body heat is longer in my personal space. “What is wrong with you?” I almost screamed. “What do you take me for?” “What?” He asks. He looks perplexed and confused. Like he can’t imagine a woman just pushed him away and rejected a kiss. I don’t blame him, it’s probably never happened before. “You think you can just ignore me for three weeks and then kiss me to magically make everything better. Is that how easy you think I am?” I say my arms flailing in gestures. I’m so angry right now I could punch him. His hand comes up to the bridge of his nose and s