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Tal had stepped back, frowning as he watched them
She felt her anger starting to sied, Dane You know it You can’t be so naïve as to think that anything is the same You were in the hotel room when the press arrived The island was just a little vacation, a dream It’s time to wake up now”
His face opened up, pure surprise hitting hi about?”
Dane wouldn’t understand She knew exactly how this would go down if she tried to explain herself He would never admit that this relationship wouldn’t work He would force the issue, and they would all be torn up and miserable “I don’t want to have a relationship with you in the real world”
“What the fuck are you talking about? The real world? Because the island felt pretty fucking real to me”
“It wasn’t We had all been through so, and we bonded over our shared survival That was all it really uards”
Alea held in her tears It had been everything to her It had been the best time of her life She would hold those memories to her heart forever
Dane stepped up, not respecting anything so civilized as personal space “Shared survival? We’re just your guards? Yeah, that doesn’t fly withon the books that states you have to marry another royal”
She steeled herself God, she hated this “I don’t want to marry anyone, but if I do, I will marry someone who’s lived in my world and understands it better”
“Like Piper understood this world when your cousins married her? She was a research assistant from Texas She wasn’t royal and she definitely wasn’t rich What the fuck is this really about, Alea?”
How could she make hi to get hurt Do you knohat’s going on back in A after your families, Dane We need to be realistic We had a wonderful ti”
“Are you talking about all that sex, Alea? Is that the fling you mean? Should I remind you just how many e had you? And I don’t have that faet through this together” He took a long breath “Baby, cal hounded by reporters is a shock”
It was more than a shock Tears clouded her vision She turned to Talib because talking to Dane would get her nowhere “Would you please listen to me, cousin? I would like to make a foruards I will submit to any security detail you deeators and I will live a quiet life that will bring no further scrutiny to our family”
The press’s accusations could hurt her cousins They had kept everything so quiet, and now all the ugliness was out in the open What would her people think? There would be some ould view her as sullied Some parts of the country were still quite backwards
She turned back to Dane, her head held regally “Dane, you have to understand that ed based on our actions Any scandal hurts us Our traditions ht seem odd to the outside world, but in many ways our people are very conservative The very fact that I was abused will make some people view me differently”
Tal ran a hand across his scalp, ruining his perfect hair “Lea, you can’t think about them They’re the mountain people The citizens in our cities won’t see you differently It’s one region of the country Everyone knows they’re out of touch with modern ideals”
“But they’re not completely out of touch with the media They will hear the story and they can cause trouble It will be worse when they find out about o into seclusion, I can e to all of us”
“There won’t be daal,” Tal drawled “I rather assu Did you plan to live withher your name, Dane?”
“Of course not,” Dane shot back “None of us would do that, and you know it It has always been our plan to properly e on the island, in fact We respect this fa to dishonor it”
“I can’t marry the it was to bring the men she loved into their world, especially nohen the press see her apart? “Tal, please try to understand You would try to protect Piper”
A s, Alea And so are your men”
Dane tried to reach for her “Lea, we don’t need protection”
Which just went to prove that he could be naïve What if Brittany Hahn wasn’t the only one who had resented Alea’s “privileged” treatment? What if ht collusion? How could they build a family when she was covered in scandal? “I won’t marry anyone”
Dane proved he knew their custohness, I would like to make a formal declaration of intent to marry your cousin I meant to do this later and with proper po me room for that”
A single eyebrow arched over Tal’s right eye “Really? You want to put her in a corner like that?”
Alea turned to Dane, her eyes widening “You’re trying to force me to marry you?”
According to strict law, because she’d been formally adopted into the royal family and bore their name, she was actually considered to be Talib’s property It was an old law, but still a valid one Dane wasn’t asking her to e
“I believe I ht And don’t think I’m alone in this I have no doubt Landon and Cooper are ready to sign the paperwork, too We’re not going to let your fear rip us apart” He took a long breath and reached for her “Lea, I don’t want to do it this way Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk this out, you, me, Lan, and Coop We’ll hash this out”
So calm So reasonable And he’d just threatened to treat her like property “I aht for all of us You can’t think for a second thatto force me to marry you”
“I will admit, I would prefer not to,” Tal commented
“But he will because I haven’t playedyou not to make me do this” Dane spoke to him, but never took those predatory eyes off her
His best card? What the hell? Her blood was pounding through her body She’d been treated like a sack of meat before, and she wasn’t about to let anyone curtail her freedo to offer it up She’d uard and to submit to all of their security protocols She would do it because it helped her family and it protected her men, but she would be damned if Dane and Tal decided her fate
“Alea, what is this really about?” Tal asked, his voice softeningon here This is between you and your men, truly, but you’ve forced me into this situation I believe Dane when he says he doesn’t want to push the e rites on you, but I also think he will do it Don’t put me in a position where I have to choose betweenon”