Chapter 18
One Month Later
KARIN’S POV
“Your levels are good, and you’re ovulating…I honestly can’t make heads or tails of this,” the doctor said. “By all accounts, you should be pregnant by now.”
“It’s hard to get pregnant when the other person won’t touch you,” I reply, frowning.
“That is an important piece of information that would have been beneficial to know.”
The butler’s face crumbles at the news. “Doctor, is there anything that you can do?”
The doctor shook his head. “The Second Prince is one of the healthiest people I know. Unless you’re proposing that I sit in the room with them and assist—which I’m certain will be uncomfortable for all of us—then there is nothing else that I can offer.” He paused. “Actually, if you two are having problems performing the act, there is the option of artificial insemination. I could bring it up to Sir Ansel during our next visit.”
“Good luck with finding time to talk to him,” I say.
Ansel’s schedule was once again so hectic that for the entire month, I’ve only seen as much as the back of his jacket when he’s leaving. Maggie suggested I spend more nights in the manor so that he didn’t have to make the trip to see me. It didn’t seem to manner whether or not I was there; I all but existed.
“Something needs to change if this is something that you two really want,” he says. I can feel the heat of everyone’s gazes.
“I’m trying my best,” I murmur. “It’s already embarrassing as is that he doesn’t want to touch me. What else can I possibly do?”
Placing her hand on my shoulder, Maggie gave me a small smile. “Don’t worry, Lady Karin. We will figure something out.”
“Thank you,” I link her so the others can’t hear.
“You’re welcome. I know you’re trying, but I think Sir Ansel needs a little push, and I know just the thing. I’ll make sure he’s in your villa this weekend. Just make sure you’re ready.”
“I will…but before that, I really could use a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I need to see my father.”
“Dad…” I whisper through the bars of the cell, but he remains hidden in the shadows. “Please come talk to me. I came all this way.”
“I don’t know why you did,” he says.
“Because I wanted to see you.”
He pulls from the darkness, and I want to scream at his frail appearance. He limps towards me. “I rather you didn’t. Leave. I need to rest.” It was like looking at a stranger. The energetic man with the bright smile was now a shell of himself.
“H-how can you say that to me?” I ask. I raise my hand to meet his but recoil it when he doesn’t return the gesture. “Dad, please, you have no idea how hard it is for me to get here. My friend risked everything to help me. I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”
“I don’t want you to come here again,” he says coldly before turning his back to me.
His words cut deeply into me. “So, you’re abandoning me like mom? You’re the only family I have left.” He doesn’t respond, but I hear him inhale sharply. “Fine,” I say, walking away.
“Right on time,” the guard says to me as I approach him. “Any longer and I couldn’t guarantee that you wouldn’t be caught.”
“Thank you,” I say to him while reaching into my pocket. I pull out the small amount of money that I have. “Here. I know it isn’t much, but I want you to have this.”
He shakes his head. “No, you keep that. I owe Maggie’s husband for helping me land this job. Any way I can help, I will.”
I return my gaze back to my father’s cell. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I wish I knew. It started with a cough a few weeks ago, but now he can barely keep anything down. He was sent to the infirmary, but he refuses medical treatment.”
He doesn’t want me to see him sick.
It’s a hard pill to swallow, but I know that’s the case. In all my life, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with something as small as a cold. Even after my mother left, he remained the hard-working man that started his business, reaching success until the state of Blue Moon brought ruin to almost everyone. I clench my fist tight, more determined than ever that no matter the cost, I will save my father.
Later
“Sir Ansel will be here any moment. Are those the incense that Joy gave to you?”
I nod at Maggie. “Yes, I’m going to light them. How did you get him to agree to come, anyway? He must be exhausted after the dinner party you said he had to attend.”
Maggie smirked. “Oh, that was easy. I just told him that there was an important matter in the villa that required his attention immediately.”
“You did what?! Why would you lie to him?!”
Maggie pulls out the red lingerie Joy and her selected for me, and hands it to me to put on. “I didn’t lie. Are you not an important matter in the villa that requires his attention?”
“You know as well as I do that was an underhanded trick,” I say, leering.
“Perhaps, but you should know that he didn’t fight me on the issue. In fact, I just realized he never asked what the matter was, either. As soon as I linked him, he responded he would arrive back at the manor shortly.”
Butterflies flutter in my stomach at the idea of Ansel dropping everything to see about my well-being. “I still don’t like the idea of playing games to get his attention.”
Maggie chuckled. “Lady Karin, if you have yet to realize you’re in a sparring match with Sir Ansel, I’m afraid you’re already losing.” She gives me a warm smile. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on between you two, but whatever it is, there’s a smoldering ember attached to it that could set the entire Blue Moon ablaze once it’s set free.”
Heat ebbs my cheeks as I think about the passionate moments that Ansel and I shared. The way his hands left seared impressions on my skin every time he touched me was something I would never forget. Still, the moments after prove what I know deep down. One day I will have to be without him again. I put the thought to the back of my mind.
“I’m going to get ready.”
“Okay, and good luck.” Maggie leaves me behind to put all the tricks that Joy taught me into play.
You can do this. Be sexy, alluring…be different.
Quickly, I light the incense and then go to the bathroom to change. My reflection in the mirror makes my mouth drop. The lace of the thin red fabric hugs my skin, leaving nothing to the imagination. I reapply my lipstick and calm myself.
I can hear my bedroom door open and heavy footsteps entering. “Karin where are you?! What is this pressing matter that Maggie told me about?!”
“I’m in the bathroom. Don’t come in, I’m coming out!”
“Fine but make it quick. It’s late and my head has the room spinning.”
I opened the door and walked into the bedroom. I found Ansel sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. He’s not looking at me, so I quickly fluff myself. I hold my head high and pose in the doorway. “The urgent matter is me,” I say in my best impression of Joy.
He rubbed his head. “I’m not in the mood for mind—” His sentence breaks and his eyes double. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“Lingerie, I remembered that your favorite color is red. I know that it’s late, but I thought maybe we could spend time together and see what happens.”
“You have got to be shitting me,” he said as he rose from the bed. “Did you really trick me into coming over here for sex? What the hell is the matter with you?!” He fans the surrounding air with a look of disgust on his face. “And what the hell is that smell?!”
Ada paces inside of me, her irritation at its peak. I can feel her coming to the surface and I clench my fists at my sides. “I am so sick of this, Ansel,” I say low.
“Excuse you?”
“You heard me. I’m so sick of you making me feel like I’m in the wrong here!” My blood boils and a deep, guttural growl pulls from my throat. “I can’t seem to do anything right by you! All I hear is critiques and anger! It’s like spending the night with Dr. Jekyll and praying you don’t wake up to Mr. Hyde. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me, and you still aren’t satisfied. What’s the matter with me? No, the real question is what the hell is the matter with you! At this point you’re so despondent towards me, I rather try artificial insemination than keep embarrassing myself!”
“It’s not all about you, Karin!” he roars, drawing closer to me. The smell of cognac emits from him, and I take a step away. He glares at me with eyes so dark they look like there’s nothing there. “You’re the most selfish and conniving person I’ve ever met. Why would you think I would want this?!”
“Because it’s what you asked for!” I retort. “We made a deal and now you’re mad because I’m trying to keep my end to it? I tried being patient, I tried being gentle and kind. I tried seducing you, and now I’m here, standing in front of you in something I thought you would like, and you still berate me. I mean seriously, what do you want from me? How the hell am I selfish and conniving for doing what I need to do to fulfill my obligation?”
“Is that all I am to you?” His jaw flexes and the lines of his face harden again. “You know what? You’re right. We had a deal, and I’m the one holding things up.” Moving swiftly, he towers over me, but his face doesn’t change. “I’m here now,” he says.
The way he gazes at me is almost soulless, and I swallow my spit. Hesitantly, I reach out and he grabs my hands. “That’s not what I want right now,” he says, shaking his head.
“I don’t understand.”
Ansel runs his thumb roughly over my mouth. “Think really hard.”
My face whitens. “But I’ve never done that. I’m okay with the other stuff, but I’m not sure if I am rea…” My words trail off as Ansel shakes his head again.
“Don’t back down now, Karin. Like you said, we had a deal. Now my question is, how badly do you want the money and your freedom?”
