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End of book 1, RUTHLESS REIGN
Oliver
My eyes widened as I took in the words. I could have written the entry before me. The handwriting was familiar. That wasn’t what could have made it mine. It was the words. This seemed impossible to comprehend, but as I scanned the page, my gut told me it wasn’t impossible. After all, the Firm had found me.
Lucille reached for my arm, her touch cold and trembling.
“Come,” I said, “let’s take this out into the bedchamber.”
“Roman, what does it say?”
I didn’t want to tell Lucille what I’d read. Seeing the worry in her blue eyes, I wanted the opposite, to make her happy. However, she’d been the one to say we were in this together. Maybe if Roman, the last Roman, had trusted her, things would have ended differently.
The temperature rose as we returned to the bedchamber. I led Lucille to the bed. “Here,” I said, lifting back the blankets. “You’re shivering.” I saw her bare feet beneath the hem of the nightgown.
It seemed that during each pivotal juncture in our short relationship, Lucille was without shoes.
Doing as I said, Princess Lucille scooted under the covers and continued moving, making room for me. Her blue eyes pleaded, giving impact to her words. “Please sit with me. Whatever this is, I don’t want to learn it alone.”
I nodded as I kicked off my loafers and slid under the covers still wearing my shirt and pants. Opening the journal, I began reading the handwritten entry.
“If anyone is reading this, I’ve failed and been replaced.”
The words hit me with the impact of a physical punch. I turned to Lucille, wondering what she could possibly be thinking.
“Go on,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
I continued reading. “I haven’t decided to chronicle my life to earn your sympathy at my passing. I don’t deserve that. I took this assignment. I agreed to take the vow to move from being no one to being someone, to becoming royalty, as if that’s even possible. I’m new and still learning.
“What I didn’t realize until it was too late is that ruling Molave is a ruthless task, and King Theodore will continue his ruthless reign no matter who is at his side.
“My real name was Noah Evans. A few days ago and until my last breath, my name was and is Roman Archibald Godfrey. I signed that name and took the place of the crown prince as the heir apparent to the throne of Molave and at the side of Roman’s new bride, Lucille Sutton. She isn’t to know that I’m not the man she married…”
“Oh my God,” Lucille cried, her face falling to her hands. “How is this possible?”
My mind too was scrambling. “There’s an entire shelf of journals. Probably a hundred.”
Tears flowed from the princess’s eyes. “Why? How? Nothing has been real.”
Clenching my jaw, I wrapped my arm around Lucille, pulling her quaking body to mine, and vowed to learn the truth. There was one man with the answers, that same man who had replaced his son more than once.
I wasn’t sure how, but I’d stay resilient in my new vow. Theodore Godfrey’s ruthless reign would end on my watch.
CHAPTER 1
Noah
Five years ago
Journal entry: third day of September
If anyone is reading this, I’ve failed and been replaced.
I haven’t decided to chronicle my life to earn your sympathy at my passing. I don’t deserve that. I took this assignment. I agreed to take the vow to move from being no one to being someone, to becoming royalty, as if that’s even possible. I’m new and still learning.
What I didn’t realize until it was too late is that ruling Molave is a ruthless task, and King Theodore will continue his ruthless reign no matter who is at his side or waiting in the wings.
My real name was Noah Evans. A few days ago, and until my last breath, my name is and will be Roman Archibald Godfrey. I signed that name and took the place of the crown prince as the heir apparent to the throne of Molave and at the side of Roman’s new bride, Lucille Sutton. She isn’t to know that I’m not the man she married or the man who courted her. I’ve listened and read.
I’ve been told what to do and what to say, and as I look into the princess’s blue eyes, I know it will never be enough.
Seeing her blind trust is infuriating and frightening. I must not let her know that I’m an impostor. Continuing what was begun before me is unfair to the both of us.
I was mad to think that I could do as I’d been asked, to take over another man’s life.
For now, my only recourse is in success.
King Theodore is determined to rule past the grave.
Was his true heir unable or unwilling?
I haven’t been told.
My charge is to work with the monarch, learn, and take Molave where he is unable to go…past his death.
I’ve only been at this for a short time, but I understand that my life depends on my success and on the demise of King Theodore.
CHAPTER 2
Lucille
Present time
“Lucille?”
Roman’s voice called to me from beyond a fog of confusion. Despite his repeated appeals, I didn’t open my eyes or move from the cocoon made up of his bed and the warmth of the blankets. My teeth clenched, my temples ached, and my thoughts spun such as the broken reel of an ancient silent movie. Scenes from splinters of time bombarded my mind.
My first encounter with Roman Godfrey.
The months of study.
His growing discontent.
Had the man I married known of his father’s plans?
Where is he?
The man who had pretended with me, slept with me, hurt me…
Five years.
“Lucille, look at me.”
The deep tenor and resolve shocked my very foundation.
I stayed silent until Roman’s large palms held my cheeks, and his firm lips came to mine. Maybe my life was one of a fairy tale. I was the sleeping princess, and this new Roman was my prince charming. His kiss was the key to waking. I pressed against him, needing more of what he could give.
As I opened my eyes, Roman was millimeters away. His thumb gently wiped the tears from my cheeks, ones I hadn’t been aware of shedding.
“Nothing is real,” I managed to say.
“I’m real. You’re real.”
“We aren’t…”
Sitting against the headboard, Roman pulled me to him and wrapped me in his strong embrace, holding me against his padded chest. Within his arms and the cloud of his cologne, my thoughts began to settle, such as the snow beyond the windows. No longer a blizzard, the flurry lingered as the snowflakes piled one on top of the other, freed from the velocity of the whipping wind.
Time moved, clocks ticked, and the earth continued to spin, yet my only measure of time was the steady beat of Roman’s heart. The rhythm was my metronome, lulling my breathing into a steady cadence.
Had I slept?
Was I in a trance?
My scratchy eyes were puffy as I finally peered beyond our cocoon.
When I looked up at the man holding me, his eyes were closed and his breathing consistent. The journal he’d been reading was lying at his other side, opened to pages beyond what he’d read aloud to me.
The clock on the bedside stand alerted me it was after midnight—a new day.
Laying my cheek back on his chest, I wrapped my arms around his torso, overcome with the sadness of what a new day would bring. Today Roman was to return to Molave City. This was the day that I would once again be left alone within the confines of Annabella Castle to face the reflection of my being and what remained of the façade I’d been led to believe was reality.
Beneath my touch, Roman began to stir. His hand moved soothingly on my back in small circles as sleepy reassurances came from his lips. Even in slumber, this man was protecting and encouraging.
What if he were to be replaced?
The alarming new thought pushed away the old.
I sat up and reached out, palming Roman’s scruffy cheek. As his long lashes fluttered and his dark orbs focused on me, I said, “You can’t fail.”
“Princess?”
“The Roman before you—Noah. He said if we read his journal, it meant he had failed and been replaced.” My words came faster. “There obviously aren’t multiple Roman Godfreys running about. King Theo wouldn’t risk that.” My pulse quickened. “Do you think he—Noah—is dead?”
Roman swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Is it wrong that I wouldn’t mourn him?”
I sat back with a gasp.
“His behavior toward you was unforgivable.”
“If King Theo would execute him, your life is in jeopardy.”
Roman took a deep breath. “I’ve been trying to think.” His dark gaze met mine. “Tell me about Lord Avery.”
I shrugged. “He was Roman’s equivalent to your Lord Martin.”
“And yet I’ve never met him nor been told about him.”
“He knew,” I said with a new sense of dread. “Lord Avery knew that Noah wasn’t Roman.”
“And now he’s gone.” Roman’s dark eyes stared deep into my own. “Princess, you can never let on that you know about me. I knew when I signed Roman’s name that I was past the point of no return. Somehow, I knew. That was my decision. Involving you was wrong.”
“King Theo won’t replace me.” I recalled our conversation in the gazebo and back in the palace. “He asked me to call him Papa in private.”
“They’re already discussing replacing you, Lucille.”
My heart forgot to beat as I heard what was impossible for me to comprehend. Not because I was incapable but because it was too farfetched—more farfetched than the reality facing us. No. Nothing was too farfetched.
“What do you mean?” I asked, the conviction in my voice faltering.
“Word of replacing you isn’t about creating a lookalike but with us divorcing and me marrying the princess of Borinkia.”
“What?” I asked, sitting up, my mind suddenly more aware. “You asked about her this morning. What have you been told?”
Roman took my hands in his. “Lord Martin mentioned that if your procedure isn’t successful, there are rumors of a divorce.”
“A divorce? Us?”
Indignation filled my words, yet it wasn’t righteous. How could it be? I was upset about the end of a marriage that didn’t exist.
“From what I can gather,” Roman said, “my marriage to Prince Volkov’s sister would secure a relationship between Molave and Borinkia.”
“Why? The Volkovs invaded Letanonia. Molave doesn’t approve of Borinkia. The US doesn’t approve.”
Roman’s forehead furrowed. “You mentioned that your father offered to help you if you chose to divorce.”
I nodded.
“And neither he nor your mother ever mentioned that before?”
“No.”
“It’s too coincidental, Lucille. Your father offers to help you leave, and Lord Martin slips, telling me about a possible divorce and future marriage.”
“My father isn’t involved in some master plot, Roman. He’s concerned about me.”
“He knows that as your mother’s daughter, there’s danger for you in Borinkia. As we’ve been lying here, I had a new thought.”
“Go on.”
“I wondered if by removing you from the equation, the Firm believed they’d be helping me stay in character. The Borinkian princess wouldn’t know I’m an impostor.”
I shook my head. “This doesn’t make sense.” My gaze met his. “If you, Oliver, were to divorce me as Roman and wed another, would any of it be legal?”
He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, and laid his head against the headboard.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“I hadn’t given it much thought at the time.” His gaze met mine. “In my defense, I’ve had a lot of shit thrown at me in a relatively short time.”
“What didn’t you think about?”
“It was a conversation with Mrs. Drake.”
My lips came together. “Not one of my favorite people.”
Roman scoffed. “Princess, that is the first I’ve heard you disparage anyone.”
“I admire her accomplishments. It’s that she’s as bad as King Theo and….well, you.” I smiled. “You know who I mean. She doesn’t believe me capable of being more than a shiny accessory.”
“I do. I know you’re more.”
“Go on, what were you saying before about her?”
Roman sat taller. “I can’t recall my exact question or statement, but I recall her response. She said for me to stop thinking as an American. That here, in Molave, the king makes the rules.”
“She wasn’t wrong.”
“Think about it, Lucille. Noah was right. King Theo is ruthless. There’s no other explanation for a man willing to replace his own son with an impostor…more than once.” Roman’s eyebrows knitted together. “Was Roman by chance ill around the time of your marriage and honeymoon? Maybe there were concerns regarding that.”
I tried to think back. “He was increasingly agitated before the wedding. We had a” —I took a deep breath— “I feel wrong discussing him with you.”
Roman brought my knuckles to his lips. “Princess, we must not fail. You hold the knowledge of the previous failures. You’re more than an accessory. You are my resilient lifeline and now, as fate has worked its strange reflections, I’m yours.”
Nodding, I thought back. “We had a real attraction in the beginning, yet there was always the underlying reality that he was being forced to marry. I suppose I knew that but hoped that there was still attraction and love. After we returned from our honeymoon and he grew increasingly secluded and gruff, I assumed it was because of me.”
“How could you have known the reality?”
“I couldn’t. Not without being told.” My thoughts went back five-plus years.
“Once we were back here, he grew cold, distant, and even…” I didn’t finish.
Roman finished the sentence for me. “Mean. Abusive.”
I nodded. “Until that point, I’d always been self-assured, yet as my marriage crumbled around me and I was more likely to receive my husband’s ire than his affection, I thought all the things I knew were wrong. I blamed myself. I believed if I could be better, he wouldn’t…”
“Princess, you know that isn’t true. His behavior was his and his alone.”
“I provoked.” A tear escaped my eye, sliding down my cheek. “I’m ashamed to say that I fell down the rabbit hole that I never imagined. I wanted my prince charming, and he didn’t want me.”
“It wasn’t him.”
My chin dropped to my chest. “I know that now.”
Roman squeezed my hands. “We must make a decision.”
I looked up. “We?”
“We. I won’t leave you here in Molave and disappear.”
“Disappear?”
“Yes, Princess. Either we both disappear, or we continue this masquerade together. I don’t think that either choice is the safe one.”
“I-I,” I stammered, looking around his bedchamber.
