Chapter 54

Chapter 54

I was dreading the morning because I knew that my life had already taken a turn and it is almost impossible for things to go back to the way they were. I should have listened to Christine when she advised me but I was so concerned with trying to keep my life the way it was that I unknowingly set the chain of events for the exact things that I did not want to happen.

Before I was able to put Audrey to bed at night, it took almost twice the usual time it would. She was so excited about her father and kept asking whether or not her father could put her to bed. I had to reluctantly let her know that he wasn’t allowed on the palace grounds after dark as he wasn’t a member of our family and she was so saddened by the words. It hurt me to see her like that and honestly, I didn’t know what to do.

This morning she did the same thing. She asked if her dad could get her dressed for the day and I hated being the one to tell her no, I hated being the one who had to deflate her hope and make her sad. I hated it and I didn’t know what else to do or say about the entire situation without looking like the bad guy.

I managed to calm her down with the prospect of seeing Ryker again after breakfast and that was the only thing that spurred her to actually get out of bed and get dressed. She put on one of her nicest dresses and demanded that I put a little bow in her hair. As we walked through the castle walls, she had a permanent sk ip in her step. She looked more excited than I had seen her in the past few days and I didn’t even think that was possible.

My mother arrived in the dining room shortly after we did and from the look she leveled towards me, I knew she wanted to speak to me. At first, I tried to focus on my food and ignore her but I slowly lost my appetite and I ended up standing slowly to my feet. I saw all eyes fall on me but I ignored them and walked right out of the dining room.

I waited by the door because I knew she would be out soon as well and my thoughts were correct because within five minutes, the door to the dining room opened and mother walked right out. She sighted me leaning against the wall and she walked right over to me and leaned against the wall in silence.

“Before you start berating me, I know I messed up,” I began, “I didn’t expect Audrey to walk in like that and I should have told Ryker about her before.”

“You should-have,” she agreed, “But now Tyson is telling everyone that Audrey is his. There’s no point sitting on the things you could have done better. Our main focus should be the things you have to do now, so what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted even though I hated how foolish it made me sound. “There is no way for me to prove that Audrey belongs to Ryker except timing. But the problem is that I wasn’t with Ryker for more than three months. I don’t even know when I got pregnant, I just know I had Audrey in March and I left him in August.”

“I have an idea but you might not like it,”

“At this point any idea is a good idea.”,

“Announce Audrey as yours and Ryker’s daughter.” I turned to her sharply, “I know you want her out of the spotlight and everything but that is the only way you can discredit Tyson. Anything he says will make him look stu pid and desperate. It will be rumors and nothing else.”

“Doing that would mean that Ryker has claim to her.”

“You’re stuck between two evils Camilla. You can either give Ryker claim to his child or you have to deal with both men around your daughter with equal claim. I don’t know about you but it seems like a very easy choice for me. Besides, Audrey loves him already from what I’ve heard.”

I knew my mother was right, it was an easy choice but it didn’t mean it was one I wanted to make. But that’s the thing about life, we are stuck between bad choices and the hard ones. It would be so much easier to just stay silent but Audrey would be the one to suffer for it. It would be a constant tug of war between both parties trying to win her affection and I just want her to have a life as close to normal as it gets.

“Make the announcement,” I told my mother, “Do whatever you need to do. Just increase the guards on Audrey, I don’t want any kind of accidents during this ceremony. I need to make sure that my daughter is safe.”

“She will be,” my mother assured me. “I can promise you that Audrey will be the most protected person in this palace. No

one except you and Ryker will be able to come within ten feet of her without me knowing. You have

“Thank you.”

my

word on that.”

She gave me a soft smile that might as well have been an ‘I love you’ in her world. I let out a heavy sigh and pushed off my position on the wall. I was going to make my way back into the dining when mother’s voice stopped me and I turned to her.

“Make sure you tell Ryker about it, let him know exactly what he has gotten himself into.”

“This has nothing to do with him. He is her father, not my mate.”

“He’s still your mate until you reject him and as long as he is her father, he will have access to the palace. Tell him, the last thing we need is for another person to take us by surprise.”

“Yes mother.”

“One more thing,” she said, “I asked him to come to the palace with the people who accompanied him. From what I hear, there are just about three of them. We need to swear them all to secrecy and you will be the one to meet with them.”

I wanted to protest, to refuse and demand that someone else do it but before I could, she walked down the hallway as if she hadn’t just dropped the biggest bomb on me.

Ryker arrived at the palace at exactly 9: 45. I had asked that I be informed the moment he shows up and coincidentally, Audrey was with me when I was told and she ditched the book we were coloring in and all but ran out of the room.

I caught up to her and reprimanded her for running in the halls but it was half hearted because she looked so excited that I couldn’t even fault her for running. Ryker was waiting for us in the private living room and as soon as I opened the door, Audrey ran into his arms.

Ryker wasn’t the only person there, Riley was too. There was also a guard who I didn’t recognize or maybe I did but I didn’t know his name. I had to fight to keep my expression neutral as Riley’s gaze went from Audrey to me and back instantly. I didn’t want her to see how much I had missed her and most of all I didn’t want to see the disappointment and annoyance in her gaze as she took in the scene in front of her.

Audrey was so oblivious to the tension brewing in the room and for once I wished I was as blissfully ignorant as she was. I wished I could go back to being a child and not have to worry about anything except for where I would play next or when I would sleep.

“Please sit,” I said to them and I didn’t wait to see if they would respond before I took my seat on the only armchair there.

Riley and Ryker took the couch to my left while the guard was excused and stepped out of the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, it just felt so final and I knew that there was officially no going back again.

“Audrey will be announced as our daughter,” I said as a way of greeting. “I’m only telling you this because as her father, you have a right to know. She will not be put out there but she will be officially recognized as a member of the royal family which means she will be under constant surveillance and as her father, you will probably get a lot of unwanted ate-,”

“That’s it,” Riley cut in. You ran away like some criminal and we don’t see you for four years and the first thing you’re telling us is what you plan to do with our family. Don’t we even get a say?”

“You get to say ‘yes I understand,” I turned to look at her and I could see her eyes swimming with frustration. “Keep in mind. that I don’t have to tell you anything. I am simply doing it out of respect and because of my daughter.”

“Don’t you think we had a right to know her? You stole three years of her life away from us. I don’t even know her name.”

“If you want to talk about my daughter then don’t do it when she’s in the room.” I warned and she at least had the decency to turn pink.

I know that Ryker already placed his hands over her ears so she wouldn’t hear what was being said but the last thing I wanted was for my daughter to accidentally hear something she shouldn’t.

“It’s fine, Riley,” Ryker whispered to her and I saw her spine straighten even though I knew she didn’t agree.

“Why did you leave?” she asked me. “Things were going so well and then you just left like we were nothing. Was it because you were pregnant?”

“I didn’t know I was pregnant before I left.”

“Would it have changed anything?”

I paused before I answered because this is something I had asked myself for months after finding out I was pregnant. Would I have stayed if I knew? Maybe, I was always so eager to please people. But knowing who I am right now, I probably wouldn’t

stay.

“Maybe,” I admitted. The least I could do was offer them that little piece of truth. “it doesn’t matter now. What has happened has happened, what we need to do now is move forward with what we have.”

I turned to look at Audrey who was blissfully unaware in Ryker’s arms. She was playing with the collar of his shirt and staring at him as if he was the most fascinating person on the planet.

“Her name is Audrey Valentina Caine. She was born on March 13th and she really likes butterflies.”

“That’s my mother’s name,” Ryker’s voice was a soft whisper.

“I know,”

I locked eyes with him and there was something there. I don’t know if it is the remnants of our bond or something deeper but it threatened to swallow me whole and I had to turn away.

“Thank you,” he whispered and I had to turn back to him.

“What for?”

“For her,” he smiled softly, “and for giving her my last name.”