A Cinderella for the Prince's Revenge by Emmy Grayson

Author:Emmy Grayson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-02-22T16:39:37+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

BRIONY STARED AT her reflection in the mirror. She didn’t look like herself. Her hair had been straightened, the waist of her white cap-sleeved dress cinched with an emerald belt that matched the petticoat peeking out from beneath the knee-length skirt. Matching green earrings sparkled at her ears.

She sucked in a deep breath. The cosmetologist Clara had ushered inside her room just after dawn had managed to conceal the deep shadows beneath her eyes. She had crawled underneath the thick, warm blanket and silk sheets of her king-size bed...and mourned. Mourned the death of the dream she’d held on to as a girl of who her father was. She’d envisioned him a hero, a firefighter, perhaps, or an adventurer, an astronaut who looked down on the planet on one of his trips to the space station and wondered where his daughter was.

Fanciful. Foolish.

She’d heard those adjectives from Trey often enough. Unfortunately, she was proving him right more times than she cared to admit.

By the time she’d woken up that morning, her grief had morphed into anger. Anger at the powers that be that had bestowed upon her an unloving stepfather and an even more unloving birth father. Anger at Daxon for being such a callous brute. Even knowing his diagnosis didn’t alter her feelings. Just a day ago, hearing that her birth father would most likely not see next Christmas would have made her world tilt on its axis.

But last night, her world had simply shuddered for a moment. She didn’t wish death on anyone. But it was hard to summon more than a vague remorse for a life cut short. Not when she had not only witnessed his cruel nature but heard about how he had treated everyone in his life, from a former lover to a child whose family had been ripped apart.

Cass had lied to her. But, she acknowledged grudgingly as she smoothed a wrinkle out of her skirt, unlike anyone else in her life, he’d come clean. He’d apologized, twice. And he’d stuck to his original offer. How many men would have continued to lie, would have manipulated her even further to get what they wanted? How many would have tried to play up a love angle, even tried to seduce her to secure what they wanted?

It didn’t excuse what he’d done. But it did let her know that despite his mistakes, her original evaluation of his character had been accurate. He was a good man trying to do the right thing both for the country he remembered and loved and for his family.

Could she be strong enough to enter into a loveless marriage? Even if it was for the greater good?

But, she reminded herself, that still didn’t explain the kiss. He’d emphasized the professional nature of their relationship multiple times. Could he remain so detached when it came to making heirs? Just the thought of his body pressed against hers, heated skin growing hotter still as they explored each other, made her breath catch.

Fanciful. Foolish.

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