Liam sat at his desk, flipping through the medical records searching for any clue that might point him to who Everly had tested. He racked his brain for anyone that showed even the slightest bit of interest in her that he may have missed before, only to continually come up empty. He needed to know who was the father of the child that was supposed to be his heir. He felt like he’d been played a fool by her, how could she?! It was as if he’d blocked out all parts of the conversation where she told him she had tried to speak to him about not wanting this life, in his mind it was he the one who had been wronged. A tentative tap came on his door. “Come in.” He called out, not looking up from the documents, anxious for one visitor only.
“Uh—sir, I ummm have that information you asked for.” The nervous voice made him look up.
“Ah, yes.” Liam sat back in his chair folding his hands over his chest. “You followed her?”
“Y—yes sir.”
“Where did she go?”
The guard nervously shifted from one foot to the other. “Mister Lykel’s room sir.”
“Did she say anything?” He tensed, anger filling his veins, his head guard?
“I couldn’t get close enough to hear them sir.” The guard swallowed nervously, he was going against his boss. “But she was very upset, and he seemed very worried.”
“So it was Bastien and I just left them together, I’m sure they were very happy about that.” He said more to himself as he shook his head. “I need you to find out anything you can about their…. relationship.” The last word spat from his mouth like bile.
“Sir?” The guard swallowed thickly.
“Is there a problem?” His eyebrow raised in question.
“It’s just, he’s the head guard—”
“And I’m the king, and I’m ordering you to look into Bastien Lykel’s relationship with QueenEverly.”
“Y—yes sir.”
“I expect frequent updates.” Liam turned back to his desk, his jaw clenching in anger. “You may go now.” He dismissed the guard with a wave of his hand.
“O—of course sir.” The guard bowed and quickly shuffled from the room.
Liam leaned forward, palms pressing against the desktop, his head guard, he never would have expected him. How could he have been so blind, they had been able to hide a complete relationship from him. He began to question every interaction between the two, every moment he had with her since she came to Cordonia. How long? Did it really end or did she just say that to appease me? The timing added up, things could have ended before they were married, he needed to know everything about their relationship, he needed to find a way to save his own name.
***
“Evie, it’s alright, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got you and our little bird.” Bastien said holding her in a comforting embrace, seated on his bed. Our little bird, the word made his heart swell with love and pride.
Everly nodded sniffling, her sobs only recently subsiding. Her tear filled eyes raised to meet his. “I’m sorry.”
“Why Evie?” He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“He found out, it’s all my fault.” She shook her head. “If I had just waited.”
“Evie, stop, it’s not your fault. He would have found out no matter what.”
“But—”
“But nothing, I promised you that I’d get you free and I meant it.”
“How?”
Bastien paused in thought, Everly’s heart raced with fear at his hesitation. “I’m not entirely sure yet Evie, but I promise, I will get you free.” He pressed a gently kiss to her temple.
Everly looked down, growing quite. “What’s wrong Evie?” Bastien took her hand, his thumb rubbing across her knuckles.
She drew her eyes upwards, grass green shining with fresh tears. “He’s going to know it’s you.” Her voice barely above a whisper. As much as she feared the idea of being confined to this life for the rest of hers, she dreaded Bastien being punished, his name being drug through the mud more than her own captivity. Whatever come to her she could handle but she couldn’t bear to see him lose everything simply because he loved her.
Bastien sighed softly, he didn’t want to worry her more. “I’m sure he already knows.”
“How?” She sat up, her eyes wide with fear.
“If he’s anything like his father he would have sent someone to follow you.”
Everly’s throat tightened, everything was exposed, and she was the only one to blame. Her need to know now allowed Liam to gain the knowledge that her little bird wasn’t his, her pain at the thought of losing Bastien lead Liam directly to him. Everything she needed was in this room, but now thanks to her their happiness would surely be threatened. My journal! She racked her brain, trying to remember if she put it away, she could only imagine Liam’s reaction if he were to find and read it. She let out a slow steady breath as she remembered that she put back in her drawer before heading to see Liam. She was thankful in that moment that she had noticed it sitting out in the living room. “I’m so sorry Bas.”
“Evie, you did nothing wrong. You were upset and worried and I’m glad you came to me.” His phone vibrated in pocket. He pulled it out, his body tensing as he read the text.
“What is it?”
“It’s Liam, he wants to see me… now.”
Oh god! He knows! “I’m coming with you.”
“Evie, I promise everything will be alright. Just stay here please.”
She couldn’t lose him, maybe if she was there she could finally convince Liam of what she had tried to explain since the second week of the social season. “Bas—”
Bastien stood, he turned, taking both her hands in his own. “Evie, we aren’t even sure that’s why he wants to see me.” She nodded softly, and he knew she wasn’t buying it. “I love you.” He kissed her forehead. “I will come back.” He placed a lingering kiss to her lips before heading out the door.
Everly watched him with tearfilled eyes, and fear in her heart. Please be right that it has nothing to do with us. She reached for his pillow, clutching it to her chest, she took a deep breath in allowing his scent to calm her. Oh little bird I hope we can gain our freedom.
***
Bastien sat across from Liam, his face calm showing no emotion as his heart hammered in his chest. He had his suspicions as to why Liam requested to see him, but he refused to show his nerves. He would not show his hand, he needed to help free her from her cage, to achieve it he needed to remain calm.
“So I hear you and Queen Everly enjoyed your time together when I was away working.”
We both know you weren’t really working or you would have checked on her. “Sir?” Bastien asked, his body tensing imperceptibly.
Liam stood, walking to look out the window at his mother’s gardens. “I came home early because I received interesting results from Everly’s stay at the hospital.” He paused seemingly in thought. “To say that I was surprised that she had our child’s paternity tested would be an understatement….I was even more surprised to find out that the child she carries is not my heir as it should be.”
Bastien’s jaw clenched, even having been told by Evie about the invasion of her privacy, hearing it from Liam made his blood boil. “What does that have to do with me sir?” He wouldn’t give him more than necessary, if he didn’t know he wouldn’t be the one to tell him, not yet.
Liam let out a short, sarcastic laugh. “You can drop the act Bastien, I’m aware the child she carries is yours.”
Bastien stayed silent unsure how to respond. How does one acknowledge a relationship with the woman you’re meant to be protecting?
“How long?” Liam questioned turning from the window. “How long has your relationship been going on under my nose?”
Bastien had to bite back the bitter laugh threatening to cross his lips. They had every intention of revealing their relationship at the end of the social season, they would have had Liam not chosen her and forced her into the life that broke her spirit, tore her down until he could barely recognize the woman who captured his heart. “We didn’t hide it.” Bastien ignored Liam’s forced laugh. “Everly pulled back from the social season early on, we started seeing each other during the first weeks. She hated the spectacle’s, she hid in your mother’s gardens. I happened upon her by accident, I listened to her, we grew closer. She would have dropped from the social season but she didn’t want to embarrass you… We were going to reveal our relationship at the end of the social season, except you picked her. She tried on multiple occasions to explain to you, Regina, your father, anyone that she wasn’t cut out to be Queen but everyone brushed it off as jitters or cold feet.” Bastien paused, unsure how much to share. Should he tell Liam that Everly all but begged him to run away with her? He cleared his throat. “We ended it the night before she married you and became Queen.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed, his hand flexing, as his jaw clenched, of course he would try to put this on me! “That does not explain the past two weeks. If things truly ended—”
“Until you left her in my care while you went off to work, I had kept my distance. I intended to keep her at arms length, and then she needed to be rushed to the hospital, you barely checked on her.” He paused, Liam’s eyes flashing with anger. “Evie told me then that she may be mine.” Liam’s eyebrow raised, Bastien realized then that Liam had no idea that Everly was carrying a girl. He fought the urge to jump from his seat and deck him, this man cared so little for her or her child, he barely paid her attention after forcing her into a marriage she never wanted. “She was so alone and broken, I barely recognized her anymore, something in me broke, it was after she was released that we reconnected.”
Liam gave a curt nod, turning back towards the window. “Well that doesn’t matter, the relationship ends for good now.”
“Excuse me?” Surely he misheard.
“The relationship. ends. now. If Everly and I are to move forward then you can no longer be involvedwith her. Of course first we will have to fix the mistake you two made.
Bastien felt like the anger may consume him, there was no way that Liam truly believed that Everly would stay in this unwanted marriage. Handle the mistake? Was he proposing what he thought? “Surely taking care of it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the crown, if word got out—”
Liam spun back around. “If word got out she was having another man’s child it would be far worse.” He crossed back to his desk. “There is only one way out of this mess, and that’s to handle the unwanted child.”
Unwanted? Bastien’s eyes hardened, Liam couldn’t be further from the truth if he tried. “And how would you possibly explain aborting, killingthe child.” Maybe if he called it what it was it would bring Liam some sense of how horrible what he was suggesting truly was.
“Early labor, unable to be helped, the loss devastating.” The words, the lies rolled easily off of Liam’s tongue. “She’s already been hospitalized for cramping, it’s easy enough to frame in a favorable light.”
Bastien’s hands curled around the armrests of the chair, his grip so tight his knuckles whitened. “Evie would never agree, I would never agree!”
“You don’t get a say.”
“I’m the father!” It took everything in him to remain seated and not commit treason on the spot.
“And I’m her husband.” Liam growled, his palms coming down heavily on the desktop. “She willget rid of the child, for the stability of the country.”
Bastien’s blood boiled in his veins so hot he was sure he was smoking from his ears. “Everly doesn’t care about the country, she never wanted to be Queen! She loves this child and she would never get rid of it.” I refuse to give you the chance to! He pushing up from the chair so quickly, the force knocked the chair backwards.
“Well she is Queen and it’s her duty to serve Cordonia. You of all people should understand that.” His patronizing smirk lacked all warmth.
The force of Liam’s words left him winded, he needed to free her no matter what it took. He’d known what it would take, now he saw he had no choice. He saw there was no reasoning with Liam, not in that moment, he needed to regroup and make sure he had exactly what he needed to ensure Everly’s freedom once more. He moved swiftly towards the door, his pulse thundering in his ears. He yanked the door open, slamming it hard enough to shake the frame behind him. He wouldn’t allow her to be caged any longer, he wouldn’t allow their little bird, their child to become collateral damage.
