Royal Pain in the Ass (28 page)

“
Great,
”
I rubbed my temples.
  “
What would you like to discuss?
”

“Don
’
t take that ungrateful tone with me.
”
Millie growled.

“Millie, it
’
s really hard to be nice to someone who obviously hates your very existence.
 
I don’
t know what I did to you, but I
’
m sorry for whatever it is.
 
But let me tell you this much, I
’
m being very nice to you right now, I
’
m trying very hard to be cordial, and just so you know, you make that really, really difficult.
”

“
I am gracious enough to invite you into my home, you ungrateful wretch, and you dare to talk to me that way?
”

“
Millie, what do you want?
”

“
Do not snap at me!
”

“
Then get to the point.
”

“
Do not tell me what to do, least of all in my own home.
”

I sighed and fought the groan.
  “
Millie, you know how you find me annoying and utterly insufferable?
”

“Yes,”

“
The feeling is mutual.
”

“
I want you to leave.
”

“
Excuse me?
”

“
I want you to go back to where you came from.
”

“
Millie, my passport has been revoked by the king.
  I can
’t leave.
”

“
As soon as it
’
s returned, will you?
”

“No,”

“
Why are you really here?
 
Are you looking to get Angelica
’
s inheritance?
 
Are you trying to find some royal to mooch off of?
”

“
Excuse me?
”

“
Why else would you try to ruin what Angelica has with Ethan.
”

I shook my head, fighting to control my anger.
  “
You can see whatever you want Millie, I can
’
t be your eyes.
 
But maybe if you opened them every once in a while and really decided to look at what was really there you
’
d be able to see so much more.
”

“
Excuse me?
”

“I
’
m not trying to ruin Angelica and Ethan.
 
Do I think Ethan is a player?
  Yes. 
Do I think he
’
s good enough for Angelica?
  No. 
Do I want to hurt Angelica?
 
Of course not.
 
My question is, what makes you think I want to?
”

“
You say you don
’
t want it, but I can
’
t believe you.
”

“
Why is that?
”

“
You are your mother
’
s daughter.
”

“
What exactly does that mean?
”
I asked through clenched teeth.
 

“
It means, your mother was little more than a floozy, a tramp, a whore,
”

“
You shut your mouth right now!
” I roared. 
I felt rage coursing through me.
  “
You can hate me, insult me, do whatever you want to me, but don
’
t you dare insult my mother!
 
Not to me!
 
If you want to talk shit behind my back, go for it, but if you think I
’
m going to sit idly by while you defame my mother
’
s character, you have got another thing coming.
”

“
Awfully defensive of something you know nothing about,
”
Millie replied a coy smile on her face.
 
I wanted to slap that look off of her face.

“
What is going on in here?
”
James stormed in.
“
Millie?
 
Juliet?
 
What is going on ?
”

“
James, she comes in here and starts badmouthing my mother.
 
It really pissed me off. Would you please ask her to keep her shit slinging mouth to herself about my mother in my presence?
”

“
Juliet, do not speak to Millie that way.
 
She is your stepmother, and you need to respect her.
” 
I choked back a response as he continued.
  “
As for you, Millie, what did you say to get her this angry?
”

“
The truth,
”

“
She called my mother a whore,
”
I snapped back.

James pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and a pained look crossed his face.
  “
Millie, do not ever use that word for Rose again.
”
Every syllable was shaking with a quiet rage.
 
The same sort of rage that he had this morning.
  “
Rose was not a whore, and if we
’
ve discussed this once we
’
ve discussed this a thousand times.
 
Rose had no idea I was engaged.
 
It was my mistake, my shortcoming, and you can
’
t blame her for not knowing.
 
She had no idea who I truly was until just before she left.
”

I was watching them both through narrowed eyes.
  “
What exactly happened?
”
my voice didn
’
t sound like me; it was shaking, nervous of its own accord.

James gave me a sad look and sighed.
  “
This is a long story.
 
Millie, I think it
’
s best you leave,
”

“
Excuse me,
”

“
Millie, get out,
”
James warned.
 
The look of contempt on Millie
’
s face was clear as day, and her hatred rested on me.

“We
’ll continue our discussion later,
”
Millie warned as she stormed out.

James sat down on my bed and slouched down, holding his head in his hands.
  “You
’
ve inherited our grief, and for that I
’
m sorry. 
This is a long story.
 
It started almost twenty-three years ago, you
’
ll be twenty-two here soon, if I
’
m not mistaken.
”
I felt myself nodding.
  “
I met your mother in Paris.
 
We were at the Louvre looking at the same painting.
 
I saw her and to this day, she is still the most beautiful woman I have ever met.
 
I had to know her name.
  Rose.  I can
’
t imagine a better name.
 
She was smart, funny, inquisitive, and everything I could have ever dreamed of in a woman.
 
She didn
’
t realize who I was right from the start.
 
Even when she started grasping who I was, it wasn
’
t until just before she left that I really explained it.
 
It was the best term of my life.
 
I was sent away for school.
 
She and I happened to be close by and continued out little romance.
 
At the end of the term, we began discussing the future.
 
I informed her I was engaged.
”

“
Right about the time she left?
”

“
Just before.
”

“
No wonder she didn
’
t tell you about me.
”

“
What is that supposed to mean?
”

“
She was testing you.
 
You gave her reasons to doubt you, and rightly so.
 
She left, you didn
’
t come after her.
 
I understand her logic.
”

“
She could have told me she was expecting you!
”
James huffed.

“
She didn
’
t know about me until after she was home.
 
She found out, her parents threw her out and she took care of me.
 
Alone.
 
A single mother.
 
And she did one hell of a job.
”

“
Why wouldn
’
t she tell me?
 
I would have taken care of you too.
”

“
It wouldn
’
t have proved you loved her.
 
You may have loved her at one point, but not to the extent you want everyone to believe.
”

“
How would you know my feelings?
”

“
If you loved her, like you said you did, you would have gone after her,
”

“
I had responsibilities,
”

“
You chose business.
”

“
I had obligations.
  You don
’
t understand.
 
How could you?
”

“
If I loved someone like you claim to, I couldn
’
t just let them go.
 
My mother loved you until the day she died.
 
I understand why she was always so sad now.
 
I would be too.
 
To love someone as much as she loved you and know it wasn
’
t reciprocated.
 
That would break my heart too.
”

“
Juliet!
 
I will not be lectured by my own child.
 
I have made mistakes, and I have tried to atone for my sins.
 
I was eighteen, what else was I supposed to do?
 
Be thrown out of the family?
”

“
Mom did.
” 
That shut him up.
  “
After they threw her out, Mom
’
s parents never spoke to her again.
 
I met them at her funeral.
 
Mom didn
’
t take the easy way.
 
The easy way would have been to just get rid of me.
 
She didn
’
t want that.
 
For that, I respect my mother more than anyone else in this world.
  I
’
m sorry James, but I
’
ve lost a lot of respect for you.
”

“
Juliet, good night,
”
James stood up haughtily and stormed out without sparing me a glance.
 
I was glad.
 
I knew the look on my face wasn
’
t pleasant.

The more I thought about it the more I realized I didn
’
t like who James was back then.
 
My mother was a poor lovesick fool who fell for someone not worth her time.
 
I felt the anger at her situation fill me up.
 
She had truly loved James, and I was glad I hadn
’
t known him growing up.
 
I had nothing but good memories as a child.
 
My mother loved me more than anything else in this world.
 
We never had it all, but there was always enough.
 
If James had been a part of my life, it would have broken something in my mother to watch him be with someone like Millie.
 
To have to hand me off would have too.
 
Not to mention I wasn
’
t accepted in this world, I wouldn
’
t have had the opportunity to be who I am today if I had known him all my life.
 
I needed to get my mind off of this topic.