The Billionaire’s Pawn

STRIKER

We landed in Winterbourn at King Kamrun International Airport. The weather was chilly and windy. I was hoping it wouldn’t get worse than what was forecasted.

As we stepped out of the jet, our rides were already waiting for us. Reed was behind us. Then a familiar face appeared.

“Langston?” I was surprised he came all the way to welcome us.

“Congratulations!” He pulled me into a brotherly. “Look at you, a married man.”

I chuckled. “Yeah. I’m officially a married man.”

“Welcome to the club, brother.”

“Thanks, I guess. Please meet my wife, London. Vanderford, this is Rome Langston.”

“Hey.” They kissed cheek to cheek. “Nice to finally meet the woman who stole my brother’s heart.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Rome. Do they call you Rome around here?”

“Just call me Rome.” He laughed. “Look at us. Rome meets London. And you call her Vanderford. Isn’t that a coincidence?”

“Don’t go there, Langston.” I smiled. “You’re married to a princess, and she’s married to me.”

“That’s exactly what I thought.” Rome still looked amused as he showed us our ride. “Join us over dinner before you head to Burkhese.”

“I can’t wait to meet your wife,” London said.

“She’s excited to see you, too.” Rome had this smile that showed you he was blissfully happy as a married man.

As we rode in a separate vehicle, London went awfully silent.

“You okay?”

“Sometimes, I don’t feel comfortable riding in an SUV. I feel claustrophobic.”

Fuck. “Shit. I’m sorry. I don’t know that.” I quickly turned on the light. I hinted at the driver when he caught my attention.

“It’s okay.” She held my hand tight.

“We’re not far from the manor.”

“We’re heading to the manor?” She met my gaze.

“Yeah. Rome spent a few months there before their wedding.”

“So, I’m meeting a princess tonight?” Her face lit up as she stared at me. I could see the excitement dancing in her eyes; it was a good way to divert her attention while we were still in the vehicle.

“Yes. The Crown Prince, Prince Thayer, and Princess Kennedy will probably be there too.”

“Kennedy?”

“Yeah. She’s American by birth.”

“So the Prince and Princess married foreigners?”

“Yes.”

“That’s nice. And no drama?” That had me chuckling.

“No. The King and Queen love Rome and Kennedy.”

After almost an hour, the car entered the driveway.

“I want to freshen up before I meet them.”

“Of course.”

Rome welcomed us to the manor. I was just here months ago, single, and never thought I would be back married. I was happy, and I loved my wife. It was a good thing, I guessed.

We excused ourselves for a while. Rome showed us to the guestroom. More likely, it was big as a whole apartment.

When London went to the bathroom, I cleaned up myself and put on a new suit. I fixed my hair to look decent in front of our royal hosts.

London came out with a new ankle-length blue gown. I thought she looked exquisite.

“Wow.” That was all I could say as she rendered me speechless again.

“Is this okay?” She looked unsure.

“I guess you’re used to having someone choose dresses for you and do your hair and makeup.”

“I’ve learned from the best, too, since I started working.”

“You look amazing, baby.”

“You too, sweetheart.” She sighed. “Why do I feel suddenly nervous?”

I smiled. “They’re great people-no need to worry. Actually, Princess Carlott and Princess Kennedy are the coolest. Trust me. Prince Thayer is a little bit stern, but only at work.”

“Okay. So should I curtsy?”

“Not necessarily. Just address them.”

“I can’t believe I forgot everything my etiquette teacher taught me. She would be so pissed at me upon learning this.”

“I just learned that before I flew here,” I told her honestly.

A soft knock interrupted us.

“Come in.”

“The prince and princesses have arrived, sir.”

“Thank you.” I held my wife’s hand as we walked through the door. We reached the living room, and just like old times. Rome and Princess Carlott never treated me as their employee. I never felt like an outsider throughout my two years of stay.

“Look at you.” Princess Carlott was already on her feet, walking in our direction.

“Your Highness.”

She kissed me on the cheek. I was surprised, but I was not their employee anymore.

“Your Royal Highness,” my wife addressed Princess Royal.

“Oh, my. Your photos didn’t do justice.”

“It’s a pleasure finally meeting you in person, Your Highness.” They kissed, and London was dragged away from me.

I went to shake hands with Princess Thayer. He always looked regal, and Kennedy looked lovely as always.

“I can’t believe you just left us to get married.” Kennedy laughed softly. “You looked different.”

“Is it a different bad or a different good?”

“You look happy, Cade. In love.” She patted my chest.

“Love conquers all,” Prince Thayer said as he hugged me. “Congratulations. You deserved to be happy.”

“That left the three musketeers,” Princess Carlott said.

“Who?” I asked.

“Really, Storm?” Rome chuckled.

“Yeah. Linden, Sax, and Kye,” she replied.

“Aw.” London had her hands full when the royal kids went to her. “Can I take you all home?”

The parents all looked at me, beaming.

“What?”

“You should make your own.”

London might have felt all eyes were on her when the room went silent.

Her eyes were bright as we caught her attention. “Oh, I can hold them, right?”

They all barked out laughing.

“Yes. They’re not fragile, and I won’t sue you. I promise.” Kennedy was still smiling. “My kids like you and Caed, too.”

“Yeah. That didn’t happen often.” Princess Carlott elbowed me.

“What is it, Princess?”

“Are you sure she’s not pregnant? Sometimes women tend to draw kids when they’re expecting.”

My heart skipped a bit. “You’re kidding.”

She faced me. “Don’t you two have plans?”

“We have, but not now.”

“Then when you have sex together unprotected, you shouldn’t be surprised.”

“I know.” I hid my smile. I just remembered what we did on the jet earlier.

We settled into the dining area. The heir apparent was on the host chair with his wife. London and I sat across Rome and Princess Carlott. The dinner had started with a light topic.

“So you haven’t traveled here, London?” Prince Thayer asked.

“No, I haven’t, Your Highness. I fell in love with Winterbourn right away. It’s fresh and green.”

“You’re about to see Burkhese. Greener than here. While Guardion is the opposite, it snows most of the time,” said Princess Thayer.

“I have a pretty good idea,” Rome said. “I almost died in the storm.”

“Professing his love at the wrong place, in the wrong time,” Princess Carlott affirmed, chuckling.

“Oh. That bad?” my wife asked.

“Well, I just came from the States. We were like cat and mouse at that time. We’re engaged, but-”

“You’re playing hard to get,” Princess Carlott cut in.

“Because you hurt my feelings, Storm.”

“If I didn’t do something stupid, you wouldn’t realize how much I love you.”

“Because you were a dick.”

“Language,” Prince Thayer cut in between Rome and Princess Carlott.

“You loved me, but you didn’t wanna marry me. I mean, who does that? Now you’re telling me I was the one who was playing hard to get.”

I watched my wife the entire time. She enjoyed watching the two banter. Maybe she could relate. She said she loved me in our vows. I didn’t know if it was scripted to convince our guests that we were in love. But it didn’t matter. One thing only mattered to me was that I loved her.

“See that look?” I heard Princess Carlott, and that brought me back to reality.

“What look?”

“Never mind,” Kennedy said as she cut her meat and asked my wife, “He’s not dumb, is he, London?”

“Maybe. Sometimes.” Oh. So, she was playing along.

“We’ll see about that.” I bit a small piece of my meat. It was soft, tender, and perfectly well-seasoned, just like the vegetables.

“I hope you will enjoy the accommodations. Weddings are special occasions here, and you both are family friends now. We want you to feel at home and hope we can be there at your grand wedding.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. It means a lot to us.”

After the wonderful dinner, we bid goodbye to everyone.

“You’ll visit us soon, right?”

“We’ll do our best, Princess Carlott,” my wife replied.

“Just Carly when just us.” She kissed my wife.

“You two, enjoy.” Rome hugged me.

“Thank you.”

In less than two hours, we would reach Burkhese. It was already early in the morning when I arrived. The Prince Apparent was not kidding when he said about accommodations.

A sedan and an SUV were already waiting for us.

“Reed, I’ll drive the car. You go with the SUV. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay. You know the drill.”

“Yup.”

We went ahead with the Sedan after I got the address of the cottage.

“I wish I could post this on my Instagram.”

“Why not?”

“I was advised not to post while still in the same location.”

“Later then, baby. Take some photos. Do whatever you want?”

“Thank you, Cade.” She pressed a kiss on my cheek. “This place is like in the forest but not.”

“I had the same reaction when I first came here. They took care of their environment seriously.”

“Yeah. If Princess Carlott had traveled to other countries to plant trees, she would have had a pretty good idea about mother nature. And they’re friendly and humble. Did you meet the King and Queen?”

“Yes. King Isodore is stern ten times than Prince Thayer, but his wife, Queen Aimbrose, is the complete opposite. She’s so calm and sweet.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Anything, baby.” I leaned in to kiss her lips-it was quick because I was driving, but she still granted me.

God, I loved this woman. She cared for me, and she looked happy. I could feel it. And those eyes never lied.

“What did you and Tate talk about?”

“Baby.” I sighed.

“I thought we don’t keep secret.”

“We don’t, but this is different.” I had a pretty good idea about keeping secrets. I may not be a spy, but I did this for a living. I kept my client’s privacy seriously. At this moment, I wasn’t ready to share it with London for some reason.

“What’s so different? Are you doing this to me because I didn’t tell you immediately about what I fought with Dad?”

“No. That was over, and I was done with it. What matters is we’re together now, and nothing can tear us apart, even your father.”

Her feature turned hard. “You’re right. It’s none of my business. Maybe it’s too personal. I understand that we still have to set boundaries.”

“I didn’t say that. I don’t want boundaries, Vanderford.”

“Maybe we have to. Besides, we’re still learning and adjusting to this whole marriage situation. I’m okay with that.”

“Well, I am not.”

“Well, I am.”

I stopped the car at the side of the road and faced her. She was angry, and I also started to be pissed. “Why do you want to know?”

“If it’s not so confidential, why is it so hard for you to tell?”

“Maybe it is.”

“Okay.” She turned away, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at the road ahead.

I didn’t want to discuss and ruin my day because I felt I could use a nap right now. Or maybe a long day of sleep.

We reached our destination, and she hadn’t talked to me again.Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

I gave her the space she needed. She was mad, and I didn’t want to fight because I planned to handle the situation on my own. And I had to find out who the mole was.