A Love that Endures 3 by Forrest Bella

Author:Forrest, Bella
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Nightlight Press
Published: 2019-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

A woman exited the suite just as Katy was preparing to knock.

“Oh, pardon me, dear,” Princess Harriet said. “I was just visiting with Ollie.”

Katy smiled politely. “I’m sure he was grateful for your company.”

She felt uncomfortable and exposed speaking to Oliver’s mother. She couldn’t imagine that it had gone unnoticed by the palace staff, the guests, and, most importantly, the royals themselves that she hadn’t been spending any time at all with her fiancé in the wake of this latest scandal. She was ashamed of that fact, even if in her heart she knew it had been what she needed.

“You know Ollie,” Harriet said, still standing in the doorway. “He’s a good boy. Gentle heart.”

Katy blinked. It struck her as a strange thing for the older princess to reply. But then, in a way that gave her a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, it began to make more sense.

Harriet probably knew why she was there. There was a new restraint and a distance in her voice—as if she were preparing herself for a severing of ties. Katy’s heart sank considering the pain she was causing to a perfectly nice family. Especially since they’d been nothing but kind to her, even as the drama unfolded.

But a loveless marriage would do even more damage in the long run. And Katy was sick of hiding her feelings for the sake of others.

“Well . . .” Harriet said, with a little sigh, “I’ll let you two get to it.” Another thinly veiled sign of her knowledge about the situation, perhaps. She left the door open for Katy, smiled in parting, and then walked away down the stateroom corridor.

Katy briefly watched her go before stepping into Oliver’s stateroom. When she entered, she took a deep, anxious breath and closed the door behind her.

“Oliver?”

Katy took a step into the sitting room and looked around. She didn’t see her fiancé anywhere.

“I’m back here, Katerina.” Oliver’s voice came from his bedroom. Tentatively, she made her way back to him.

Oliver was dressed but sitting on his bed, which immediately struck Katy as odd. Oliver was almost always the type to dress early and begin his day before the sun came up. Katy had only come looking for him in his room when she didn’t find him in any of his usual palace haunts.

“Are you okay, Oliver?” Katy asked. She was afraid that she already knew the answer.

Oliver didn’t answer her question directly. He offered her a sad half-smile instead. For the first time, Katy noticed how red and swollen his eyes were, like he’d been crying.

“My mother told me to expect you, you know. Women must always know,” Oliver said. He was looking down at the floor from his seat on the edge of the bed. As Katy took a step forward, he reached for a tissue from a box behind him.

“Oh, Oliver,” Katy said softly.

Oliver wiped at his eyes with the tissue. “Would it have made any difference, Katerina? I mean, if . .

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