I hold my clenched fist to my mouth as I look out the window and watch the dark forest pass by.

“I forgot to tell Giselle how much I love to hunt.”

Chapter 7

Giselle

I sniff as I run my hand along my nose, trying to make myself stop crying. But the stupid tears just keep coming. I can’t remember ever crying like this in my life.

“I’m sorry I showed up like this. I know it’s late,” I say to my sister through a sob.

She pulls me into a tight hug, trying to get me to calm down. I’ve been here for ten minutes already and I haven’t really gotten a word out. I scared her husband off when I first got here, and he left us alone. I think a crying woman showing up on his doorstep was something for his wife to attend to.

“You’re always welcome here, no matter what. I hope you know that, Giselle.”

I hug her back, feeling a little better. When I took off this was the first place I thought to go. I knew I couldn’t go home. If Karim was looking for me, the first place he’d go is my father’s home.

“What’s his name?” she whispers into my ear.

I lean back and look at her green eyes that match my own. It’s the only similarity between us. She favors my father’s side more than I do, while I look identical to our mother.

“You’ve got heartbreak written all over you, sweetheart.”

I have two sisters and a brother, all of whom are way older than me. I’ve always been closest with my oldest sister, Melanie, who took on a motherly role with me. Our mom was never the maternal type and was gone most of the time. It still baffles me that a woman who didn’t really want children had four of them. But I’m thankful I have Melanie, because she’s exactly the kind of mother I want to be.

I shake my head, dropping my gaze to my lap and fiddling with my fingers. It’s something I do when I’m trying to avoid a topic. Or I’m nervous. I’ve never really talked about my future with her before, and I’m not sure what she’ll think of what happened tonight.

“Go on, tell me who it is.”

I let out a little breath and look up at her. “King Karim.”

She lets out a small gasp, and she puts her hand over her mouth like she’s in shock. It makes me think that maybe I shouldn’t have said his name.

“What?” I say, feeling a little more panicky now. I was already freaking out, and that’s why I ran to begin with. Somewhere deep inside me I have a feeling I’d be Karim’s if I wanted to be or not. I can still feel the stickiness of his release inside me and on my thighs. The sweetness of that feeling is long gone. Now I feel dirty. Like he gave me something that wasn’t as special as I’d thought it was. That I wasn’t as special as he’d made me feel.

“Everyone has been talking about him, that’s all. I thought he was marrying—”

I hold up my hand, not wanting her to finish that sentence. Yes, I know who he was planning to marry. I just don’t want to think about her. Or the fact that he so easily brushed her aside to choose me, something I think he did only because of what we’d done in the private room. And after finding out I was a princess. It was his duty.

“Well, he can marry her for all I care.” I barely get the words out before I burst into tears all over again. My sister grabs me and pulls me into another hug. “God, I’m an idiot.”

“Did you and he share something special?”

When I don’t answer she takes my silence as confirmation.

“Did you go to the ball tonight with Dad?” She pulls back to look at me, and her face is hard and angry. The mother bear inside of her is coming out. “Did he announce that he was going to marry another woman tonight right in front of you?”

She half-shouts her question, and I shake my head. She stares at me for a moment, and her anger melts into confusion.

“Did he announce he was going to marry you?” She doesn’t understand why I’m upset, and I’m embarrassed to tell her.

“I think?” is the only response I can muster.

I cringe because I’m not totally sure what happened after I left. I didn’t want to stay and find out, but if what the blonde, Nikki, said was true, then he was going to say we were getting married. But it wasn’t the marriage I wanted. I’d always hoped for a man to come into my life and sweep me off my feet. It may seem silly, but I wanted the fairy tale.

Maybe Nikki would still want him, and if so, she can have him. I don’t want to be someone’s second choice.

“Gigi,” my sister pushes.

“It wouldn’t be a real marriage. I mean, I guess it would, but not all roses and hearts. Not the happily-ever-after love I want.”

She lets out a little breath, and I know what’s coming. I can’t stand to hear it. Not right now. Not after what happened tonight.

“Please don’t,” I tell her. I can’t bear to hear what everyone always says. I know they mean well and are probably right, but I have enough to deal with right now.

“Marriage isn’t easy, Gigi. Life isn’t all—”

“I know!” I snap at her.

Her eyebrows draw up in shock because I never snap at anyone. They like to say I live in candy-land world where everything is soft and sweet and I don’t understand what the real world is like. They all think that I need to grow up. Maybe they’re right. I came out of my little bubble for one day and look what happened to me.