Beth felt hurt and betrayed when Liam chose Madeline instead of her, had the moment in the hedge maze been all a lie? He told her he loved her, she believed him, but then he wanted more, and she couldn’t give it to him. He wore a look she didn’t recognize when she told him no, but how could she explain she couldn’t, not after… no that wasn’t something she’d allow herself to think about. All it did was bring her pain.
She was dragged out of the ballroom because of a lie, a hurtful embellishment of the truth making her look like she was complicit in what had happened. She wept as she packed her bags Bastien standing by her being the ever diligent guard. He guided her to the waiting car with a gentle hand, one that didn’t make her want to jump away. He helped her in and he looked at her with such kindness and understanding she wondered if he could possibly know the truth.
His orders were to send her back to New York, but he couldn’t, he knew there was more to those pictures, but he needed her to stay to prove it. He sent her to the Beaumont estate instead, he knew the Beaumont brothers would keep her safe. He would check on her periodically and ensure she was alright, she had such fear on her face when the guards removed her from the ballroom, he wondered…. No not her, he made sure he wasn’t overbearing when dealing with her, letting her know she was in charge. The fear was no longer in her eyes as he sent her off to somewhere he knew she’d remain safe, the sadness remained but he also saw hope.
Beth was surprised the first time Bastien had showed up at the Beaumont estate, she wondered if Liam had sent him to make sure she was ok, maybe Liam hadn’t lied to her. The more time she spent with Bastien the more she felt safe and comfortable with him, she felt maybe he was someone she could trust. The days she spent with Bastien she felt safe and freer, but at night when she was alone in her bed with her thoughts she sank back into the dark place.
She had been all alone, no one could hear her cries, her pleas for him to stop. She had kicked and clawed at him, trying anyway that she could to get him off of her, she screamed and shouted into an empty void. When he finally left her alone in her room, she hugged her knees to her chest, she wondered what she had done to make him think she wanted him. She wondered if she had done something to lead him on, if she did something to deserve it. She cried herself to sleep, she still cries herself to sleep every night. The worst was the night of the coronation, someone had taken pictures, they made it look like she wanted it, Tariq had fled the day after. She needed to prove that this was done to her.
When Maxwell and Bertrand arrived back at the estate Bertrand was fuming that she would even think of coming back there, telling her she should go back home. She cried so hard, couldn’t he see that it wasn’t what it looked like? It was when Bertrand had stormed off that Maxwell had finally spoke, all he wanted to know was why she had done it to Liam. She finally had no choice but to tell someone, she told him what happened that night, he looked at the photos again and he finally could see the truth in the photos. Maxwell had explained to Bertrand who was now determined to find Tariq and get him to tell the truth of what he had done to Beth. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for the world to know, but she needed Tariq needed to admit to his wrongdoing.
Three days before they were to return to court she finally had the nerve and felt she could trust him, she told Bastien. The anger that filled his eyes should have scared her, but it didn’t. Bastien had been furious when Beth told him the truth behind the photos. He had thought they seemed to be a little off and he started to look into them, but he never thought that someone would use photos of something so horrific to keep her from marrying Liam. He vowed to ensure no one would ever hurt her again, he was realizing that he was no longer coming to simply ensure she was safe, he felt comfortable when he spent time with her. For her, for his own peace of mind he’d make sure nothing bad ever happened to her again.
When Beth had returned to court she had expected Liam’s eyes to be filled with sorrow after Bastien told him the truth, instead she was met with a mixture of shock and anger. Surely he believed Bastien when he told him the truth behind those photos. She felt her heart break and sadness pull her back deep into its depths at the look she received from Liam. She once again started to doubt his sincerity, but she couldn’t leave, she needed to find out who set her up and make them pay.
Liam had just wanted one last fling, he never expected Maxwell to fly her back to Cordonia to compete in the social season. He never expected Beth to wow everyone, the press, the people even his own father. Everyone was pushing him to chose the mysterious girl from New York, but in truth he didn’t want Beth. He had his eyes on someone he knew would make a good Queen for Cordonia, he knew Beth could maybe figure things out, but the chances were she couldn’t. He knew it was wrong, but he knew he had to do something to ensure she couldn’t be chosen. He hadn’t counted on her sticking around trying to clear her name, and he hadn’t counted on her having help.
She looked so sad and broken, wondering what she had done to deserve such treatment, she wanted to get to the bottom of things. He knew he needed to stop her from uncovering the truth, his plan would only work if no one knew it was him. He would continue to do whatever it took to keep his country safe and keep her from finding out the truth, even continuing to play the part.
