An Heir – Chapter 22

“Queen Viktoria!! Queen Viktoria!!”

“Your majesty, did the split have anything to do with Lord Beaumont??”

Viktoria shook her head and rolled her eyes at Maxwell as she stopped and turned to face the hoard of journalists and flashing cameras as she approached the car. She painted on her most serene smile, stating,

“All of the answers to your questions will be contained in an Exclusive with Trend magazine, which I believe will be available from tomorrow morning… In the meantime, Lord Maxwell and I have a lunch to attend in connection with Monarch’s Trust business. We’d be happy to take a couple of quick snaps, but then we really must be going.”

She looped one arm through Maxwell’s as they both smiled for the paparazzi before she waved her hand and ducked into the car.

Maxwell sighed,

“Did it have anything to do with me? Urgh. Why would they assume..?”

Viktoria shook her head as she nudged him with her elbow,

“They just love a scandal Max, can’t believe that a couple of hotties like us could be just friends clearly!”

Maxwell snorted as he patted her hand,

“Despite the fact that I walked you down the aisle at your wedding…”

Viktoria laughed,

“I know, I know… They can’t help themselves. But when Trend goes out tomorrow, they’ll have all the scandal they can handle for a bit… At least you won’t need to worry about them bugging you, they’ll be way too occupied with Istvan and I after that…”

She fell away to her own thoughts. She wasn’t laughing anymore; her bottom lip trapped between her teeth. Maxwell frowned and squeezed her arm,

“I understand what you did; it was a bold move Vik. I know you must be hurting… Are you guys strong enough for the onslaught?”

Viktoria snapped back from inside her own head. She nodded at her best friend confidently. Maxwell smiled as he watched her fronting; that big smile that was all dazzling teeth and no eyes… But – at least Vik was home. She was back where she always bloody should have been all along.

—

Istvan sipped a glass of malt alone in his study. He was deeply worried about the publication coming out. He couldn’t disagree with Viktoria that it was the right course of action, but he still felt that he was going to come out of it humiliated and looking like some asshole who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants… He wanted the world to know that wasn’t the case – he’d never looked at another woman since he’d met Viktoria. The girl he married was the only girl in the world that he wanted. He shuddered at the thought of Jasmine in that barely-there underwear, running her warm tongue down his tight abs, his hands firmly knotted in her thick blonde hair as she worked at his belt… He could hear his own voice as it replayed in his head…

“Hmmm baby, ohhhh Viktoria…“

His stomach felt nauseous. If his subconscious hadn’t groaned out the wrong name, would he have stopped? He still wasn’t certain. In that moment, he’d just wanted a physical release, a mental release; to feel something other than hurt and broken… He swallowed hard and shook his head.

He’d seen the editorial copy. They’d looked at it together, Viktoria was a demon with a red pen, changing what she didn’t like, correcting the way things were quoted; straight on the phone to Ana de Luca. He looked over the revised, final copy again. Had he been reading the story about anyone other than himself and his marriage, he’d have been absorbed in and enchanted by it. It truly was a masterpiece, the wording was raw, insightful and in places, fierce. The accompanying photographs were breath-taking, particularly the image that would be used for this issue’s front cover. Donnie had them stand together on the balcony overlooking the gardens just as the Cordonian sunset was appearing, shooting steams of red sunlight across the sky, leaving mauve clouds scattered across the horizon. He’d positioned Istvan and Viktoria as though they were in the middle of a private, intimate waltz. Istvan held her slight frame tightly, his large hand firmly across the bottom of her spine, her perfectly manicured red fingernails highlighted against his broad shoulder in his dark shirt. She looked regal but carried an air of vulnerability; his wife was divine. There was virtually no gap between their bodies compared with what would be seen in a traditional waltz; a display of their togetherness. Their left hands raised, thick dark and small pale fingers intertwined, the sunlight dancing and glittering against their beautiful wedding rings, a display of their promises to each other. Donnie didn’t have to pose or create the expressions on their faces: love, defiance and passion was searing through the intense gaze they exchanged. Istvan ran his thumb across the copy. There was nothing trashy about it at all…

—

In the weeks that followed Trend’s Exclusive, Viktoria and Istvan felt like their lives weren’t their own, they were inundated with offers of follow up articles, sponsorship contracts and even an offer of an appearance on Ellen. Viktoria had seriously considered it for all of 5 minutes,

“You know, coz it’s ‘ELLEN’ Istvan!!!”

Before coming round to the idea that it was most sensible and best to just let the frenzy die down and for Viktoria and Istvan to get back to being Viktoria and Istvan.

In some respects nothing had changed between them, but in some ways it felt like everything had changed. Viktoria needed more affection than she ever had before – she wasn’t convinced Istvan had noticed, but she felt like she was clingy, for no apparent reason. She did trust him, but she felt an insecurity within her that she couldn’t quite explain, that she never had before… Istvan still felt guilty about Las Vegas. Even though they’d said it was a clean slate, he had taken to frequently showering her with tokens of his affection. Ist knew she wasn’t the sort of woman who could be bought, nor did she make him feel like her affections were for sale. All he wanted to do was make her smile again. He’d even gone so far as to surprise her with a cute little corgi puppy with a pale pink collar. They decided to call her Kiah, meaning ‘new beginnings’, but no matter what Istvan did and how happy Vik looked, his conscience never felt completely soothed. He supposed that deep down he would probably always carry what happened with him…

It turned out that Vik’s control of the press at the front end had been a masterstroke in terms of public opinion – the subject of a full episode of a women’s daytime TV show – it turned out that Cordonians adored Viktoria for biting back at Jasmine, and being quite an orthodox nation, they loved that the couple were working to save their marriage, citing family values as their favourite thing about the Queen. Istvan was surprised to learn that he wasn’t perceived as a lothario in the media following the Exclusive, in general people were stunned by the whole story and the image that Viktoria had carefully helped him carve out. They were bowled over by the romanticism of ‘love conquering all’ and seemed captivated by the idea that their King was a flawed hero; a man missing his wife so desperately that he was scammed in a foreign country.

It had also come to light in Jasmine’s ‘Trial By Press’ that for every ‘kiss and tell’ she sold, there were another three men out there who had paid for her silence. It looked like Istvan may be called as a material witness to give evidence against her, which he was horrified at the prospect of having to do, should she plead ‘Not Guilty’. Viktoria had held him close and comforted him as he freaked out about having to drag the whole thing up in court, and what damage it could do to their relationship when things were going so well between them. Viktoria had assured him that she would take whatever she heard squarely on the chin if it mean helping send Jasmine down for a very long time. Istvan had been shocked when he realised that each count of extortion was punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment in conjunction with a heavy fine… Based on the amount of information about Jasmine that had come to light, she could be going away for the rest of her life… In a strange way, he felt almost guilty about that too, not that there was any love lost there, but he was a compassionate man; to lose her freedom for the rest of her life? It seemed incomprehensible to him, but honestly, it wasn’t his concern, Istvan’s priorities from this day forward were back to being what they had always been – ruling Cordonia hand in hand with his beautiful Queen.

—

Six months later, Istvan arranged for them to have dinner at Viktoria’s favourite restaurant. The one they’d had drinks at when they were not long engaged, sat outside on the terrace overlooking the beautiful harbour and twinkling lights of Cordonia far below them. Tonight they had been the only couple eating dinner on the terrace – by Istvan’s design – and Viktoria felt the happiest she had in a long time; was it the memories of being there with him many years ago when they were first in love, just embarking on their life together? Or was it the realisation that she’d almost thrown away the most precious thing in her life, but had been lucky enough to get it back? After the sadness of those weeks apart, and the consequences of what happened in Las Vegas combined with the closure of Jasmine’s recent incarceration, at last Vik felt like they were in a much better place. A more honest, real place. She held Istvan’s hand in hers, her thumb stroking his perfect skin. He was her husband; he was her everything. Viktoria had been thinking a lot about it since she’d come home and figured it was probably time to keep up her end of the deal… Her commitment to beginning a family was a huge part of the reason they were back together at all. Viktoria was still terrified at the prospect – none of the fears she had about having a baby had gone away – but she’d agreed to do this because she wanted to save her marriage above all else. She was willing to make that sacrifice for her love. Istvan hadn’t brought it up since the night they were reunited, but she knew it was only a matter of time: she was going to have to take the plunge sometime… The thought rolled around and around in her head, ‘Maybe I should just get it on with it? Perhaps it won’t be as bad as I think…? Maybe I wouldn’t be a totally horrible mom? The ‘trying’ part might take a while, right? And that would be kinda fun at least?’ She gulped down her glass of red wine as she pondered, trying to talk herself into it, stomach in knots…

Istvan watched his wife guzzle, raising his eyebrows, she suddenly seemed a million miles away,

“Slow down, my love. Are you ok…?”

Viktoria snapped back to his gaze,

“Hmmm?”

He smiled at her, his bright eyes curious,

“I said are you ok?”

She squeezed his hand,

“I’m ok. Just… Just thinking about the future…”

Istvan raised an eyebrow at her, his gaze so intense, his gorgeously bright eyes so fixed on her, that Viktoria could feel a flush raising up her neck and staining her cheeks. She had to look away from him… Istvan picked up her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her skin, his eyes twinkled, his voice soft,

“You know my love, the first time we came here, we were unsure of what the future held, we weren’t married yet, Cordonia was under attack… The only thing I was sure of, was that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. And that has never changed. No matter what’s happened in Cordonia, or inside our marriage. When I think about the future, I see you Vik. It’s always been you. And it always will be.”

Viktoria got out of her chair and walked around the table to him. She scooted into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as one of his hands gripped her waist, the other tenderly pushing her hair out of her face. Viktoria placed a loving kiss on his lips, so soft and sweet as she breathed,

“You know that you’re my everything? I love you Istvan.”

They sat snuggled together in companionable silence gazing out over the water, drinking the last of their wine as Viktoria finally summoned the courage to croak the words that frightened her so, so much, but that would make Istvan burst with happiness and alter everything,

“Ist, I won’t start back on my Pill after this pack’s done…”

TBC – VP 💖