Charm (A Cinderella reverse fairytale) (Reverse Fairytales Book 1) Read online

  With Leo out of the equation, my first thought was Daniel. If nothing else, he was guaranteed to make me laugh, something I sorely needed, but my curiosity about Xavier and the link to my father overcame me.

  I sent one of the guards down to his bungalow with a note to meet me in the garden.

  Just ten minutes later he showed up wearing only a pair of jeans. Why was it that every time I saw him, he was practically naked? The guy had chiseled abs and liked to show them off.

  “Did I catch you coming out of the shower?” I inquired irritably. He was too good looking for his own good, but if any photographer was to catch me with him dressed like this, it would make front-page news. I’d have to explain to my father how I had been caught in a delicate position for a second time. I wondered if that would be enough to have my father let me eliminate him. I scoured the wall, but this time there were no paparazzi to be seen.

  “No. Why?”

  What was it my father saw in this guy? I knew why half the women in Silverwood drooled over him, but I couldn’t see my father drooling over men’s body type.

  “Never mind,” I answered dryly. I sat on the scorched-by-the-sun grass and patted the ground beside me. Trying to ignore his chest, I deliberately kept my eyes on his. I was interested to see that he couldn’t hold my gaze. “Did you know my father before you came here?”

  “Yes, of course. He is the king. Everyone knows him.”

  Why did I get the feeling he was evading my question? I tried again.

  “I don’t mean know of him. I mean had you actually met him?”

  His eyes went to mine for a brief second before looking back to the grass. A sure sign a lie was imminent. “No, I had not had the pleasure. Of course, I have met him since. He is a very good man and a great ruler.”

  His answer was generic and bland. Now I knew why he kept his body so beautiful. It was all he had. I tried to remember a decent conversation I’d had with him and found I couldn’t recall one. I’d thought him mysterious, when in reality, he was dull. Still, he was hiding something. I just needed to find out what

  “What made you decide to enter this competition?”

  He moved forward and gazed into my eyes. A month ago, it would have made me melt, but now all I saw were my own suspicions.

  “I entered because I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. I thought that maybe I could be the one to stand by your side forever if you let me love you.” He took my hand in his. His palms were clammy and cold. “I wanted to kiss you.”

  He moved even closer. Many girls might have thought it romantic, but it felt like a diversion tactic. Besides, I’d fallen for the romantic kiss routine once with Luca, and I’d been caught by a photographer. I wasn’t about to do it again. I backed away, leaving him dangling there with his lips pursed.

  I’d caught him in the lie I knew he was going to tell. When the men had applied for this competition, it was Grace they were competing for. It was only at the last minute that I was roped into it.

  “Do you not like me?” His accent seemed stronger than ever, and even though the question was pretty harmless, there was a tinge of anger to it.

  “I’m not attracted to you in that way.” Ok, it was an out and out lie. The man was probably the most attractive man I’d ever laid eyes on. There couldn’t be many women in the kingdom that would have resisted a kiss from him, but I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.

  “I see,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “I cannot say I am not upset by this.”

  His voice deepened. Yet another sexy thing about him, but I wasn’t going to be swayed. I didn’t trust the guy. Why did my father want me to marry him? There was a reason; I just didn’t know what it was.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve got to go.” It wasn’t working between Xavier and me, and I had to tell my father. It was pointless keeping him in the competition, as I had no intention of marrying him.

  I marched straight to my father’s office and knocked on the door. Surprisingly, he was alone.

  “Father,” I began, trying to sound as defiant as possible. “I cannot keep Xavier in this competition. Not only do I not love him, I don’t think I ever could. There is no way I could marry him.”

  “I see.” he tapped his pen on the table.

  I waited for him to finish, but it seemed that was it.

  “So can I eliminate him at the next round?”

  “I would have thought you’d want to eliminate that Leo chap after catching him with your sister.” His mouth turned up slightly at the sides as though he was happy to impart this information.

  I stared open-mouthed in shock. How did he know about that? I’d not told him, and I was pretty sure neither Elise nor Leo would have wanted him to know. They’d been very low-key since I caught them. Not for the first time, I wondered if one of the palace staff was spying on us.

  “I want to eliminate Xavier,” I repeated.

  His jaw set and his voice firm, he replied. “No.”

  “No? Didn’t you hear me? I’m not going to marry him, so what’s the point of keeping him in the competition?” I was aware that I was shouting, but I didn’t care.

  He regarded me calmly, and yet, I could see it was just an illusion. The pen began to tap on the table again, and his mouth twitched. He was really angry, but then so was I. I held my own, not dropping my gaze for a second. After what felt like an eternity, he spoke.

  “Fine,” he replied with a sigh “I’ll see.”

  “Fine!” I repeated back at him.

  I stormed out of the room. “I’ll see” was not what I wanted to hear, but it was better than the outright “no” he’d started with. I wasn’t sure what he meant by it, but I’d just come up with the most brilliant plan. One that meant that not only would I not marry Xavier, but there would be nothing my father could do about it.

  I was going to propose to Daniel.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  The proposal

  I marched down to the front gate of the palace and handed the hastily written note to one of the guards. I had no official date planned with Daniel for the day, so he would either be at his home or at his place of work with his father.

  The note was simple. I’d asked him to come to the palace urgently. If anyone intercepted it, they’d assume I wanted another date with him. As the guard left to deliver the note, I realized it had been a while since I had been on a date with Daniel. As I was about to propose to the guy, I should, at least, make some effort.

  I ran to the kitchen and asked Pascal to pack up a picnic for us. For a second I thought I saw Cynder washing up where he always used to stand, but it was just his replacement. I tried to get the thought of Cynder out of my mind, but it was difficult, especially as this room reminded me of the hours I’d spent down here with him.

  I especially couldn’t think of him now in light of what I was about to do. I didn’t love Daniel, but I liked him a lot, and that’s as much as I could hope for. I’d not heard anything new from Cynder for weeks, and although he filled my thoughts and dreams constantly, I’d come to realize that he was gone, probably for good. No matter how much I loved him, it didn’t mean we could be together. The likelihood was he’d managed to skip over the border to Thalia. I hoped he had. It meant he could live a life of freedom. Staying in Silverwood would amount to him looking over his shoulder all the time and never being able to get a job or find food. Neither choice meant we could be together, but, at least in Thalia, he’d have the chance at a happy life.

  Daniel was a good choice for me, and maybe one day, I could hope to love him.

  Maybe.

  My heart was breaking as I ran back upstairs to my room and threw on the prettiest dress I could find in my wardrobe. Nothing in there was as fancy as the clothes that were kept in the dressing room, but the whole point was I didn’t want anyone knowing what I was about to do.

  I wiped the tears from my eyes. I was not the type of girl to daydream about my future husband or wedding, bu
t even so, I couldn’t have imagined it being this way. I was proposing to a man I didn’t love to save me from marrying a man I definitely didn’t love, while the man I did love was lost to me forever. It was horrific, and yet I couldn’t see a way out of the situation.

  After doing my best to make myself look presentable, I ran to the kitchen to pick up the picnic and headed out into the garden.

  I could see Daniel’s blond hair from this distance as he came through the gate. I waved and watched him stroll over to me. For a second, I was filled with dread with the enormity of the thing I was about to do. I wondered if I should have chosen Luca instead. Together, Luca and I could have changed Silverwood for the better, but that would only be when we came into power. I’d only become the queen on my father’s death, and how long would that be? Could I live with Luca for all that time in between? I wasn’t sure.

  “He’s the right choice!” I whispered to myself as Daniel bounded over. At least, I felt comfortable with him, and he made me laugh. I was sure I’d read somewhere that laughter was the solid foundation for any marriage. I sure hoped so.

  “Hi. I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Is everything ok?” He had a look of concern as he kissed my cheek.

  “Yes,”

  “Ok, it’s just that you interrupted me in the middle of my unicycle competition. I was winning!”

  I burst out laughing. Yes, he was the right guy. I didn’t need to pick someone to leave; I only needed to choose this man to stay.

  “I wanted to speak to you about something important.”

  “Shoot!”

  “Not here.” If my father knew about Elise and Leo, I could only assume he had spies watching everywhere. I needed to get Daniel as far away from prying eyes as possible. We walked to the furthest end of the large garden. There was a small gazebo covered in blooming pink clematis, which would be the perfect place to sit, but because I was paranoid, I took him to the center of the garden lawn instead.

  I slowly unpacked the food, trying to figure out how to word what I was going to say. I didn’t want to whisper words of love I didn’t feel, but at the same time, I wanted to be sincere. I handed him a glass and filled it with juice, wishing I’d thought to ask for champagne instead.

  “Whatever is the matter? You are shaking.” He was right, I was. It was either from nerves or from fear. Nerves because I wasn’t sure I was making the right decision and fear because of the consequences for both of us if it wasn’t.

  He took hold of my hand which instantly calmed me. I hadn’t noticed I was hyperventilating until then. I took a deep breath and continued.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot recently about us, and about the competition. I like you a lot and...”

  “I get it. I’m the one you’ve picked for elimination in a few days, right? It’s fine. I knew right from the start I couldn’t compete with those other guys. I’m just a regular guy from town, and you need someone more suited. I want to say with sincere honesty, that I’ve enjoyed every second of my time with you, and I wouldn’t take back a second of it.”

  “Willyoumarryme?” It came out all in one word.

  His face contorted into an expression of confusion. “Sorry?”

  “Will you marry me?”

  He sat there for so long staring at me, that I thought that he was going to turn me down. Then he began to laugh. Great big guffaws. It was only a few minutes later when the laughter died down that he looked at me and realized I was being serious.

  “I was expecting you to tell me...” He was lost for words. It would have been cute if it wasn’t for the fact my own heart was pounding at a million beats per minute.

  “I feel the most comfortable with you. You make me laugh when I don’t feel like laughing. I think you’ll make a great leader one day and in the meantime, you can live in the palace with me. It will show your father what a great son he has.”

  I saw tears in his eyes which he quickly tried to hide by wiping them with the back of his sleeve. It was a side of him I’d never seen before, but it was nice to see he had a serious side too.

  “Do you love me?”

  It’s funny, but this wasn’t a question that I’d expected to come up in this conversation. I didn’t want to lie to him.

  “I like you a great deal, and I’m hoping that love is something that will grow between us. That is if you’ll have me.”

  “Yes!”

  He picked me up from the grass and spun me around, making me squeal with delight. If every day of my future with Daniel was going to be like this, it was a future I could live with.

  “Sadie is going to love this!” he said as he finally put me down.

  I could see her face now. Yes, she’d love the ratings boost it would give her. I was about to skyrocket Sadie’s career into the stratosphere.

  “And I’ll look darling in a long white gown,” he grinned. I playfully punched him in the shoulder.

  Looking at how happy he was, I could almost forget that I was essentially being forced to do this. I could almost forget how my heart beat only for Cynder.

  Almost.

  “I want to put off telling everyone until the elimination show on Saturday.” The last thing I needed was my father finding out and putting a stop to it.

  “But, don’t I have to ask for your father’s permission to ask for your hand in marriage? I’ve never proposed to a princess before.”

  The excitement emanating from him was enough for me to know I’d made the right decision.

  “That won’t be necessary. The choice is mine and mine alone. Besides, I proposed to you, remember?”

  “But why does it have to be a secret? Surely, we should at least tell the king and queen?”

  “No!” I replied a little too forcefully. “I want to surprise everyone at once. It’s only a few days away. I’d like it to be our secret until then.”

  “Ok. I love it!” He picked me up and spun me again. For a little while, I could pretend that this was exactly what I wanted.

  For the next few days, I saw a lot more of Daniel. I still had my set date with Leo to keep up appearances, but my heart wasn’t in it. I’d made my decision, and by Saturday, this whole charade could end. My mother could plan the wedding of her dreams for me, and I could pretend that my heart wasn’t completely broken.

  Luca, on the other hand, was a different matter entirely. I’d been reluctant to see him as every time I did, the memory of our kiss stuck in my mind. He’d not attempted to kiss me again which I was grateful for, but I was beginning to enjoy his company much more than I thought I would at the beginning. He was worldly and knowledgeable although when I’d asked him about my grandfather, he knew nothing. I almost felt sad at our last date that I’d not picked him, but my mind was made up. I was going to marry Daniel!

  I kept my time with Daniel as secret as I could, so we hid in places that were very rarely used. Most of the time we spent at the bowling alley where I was yet to beat him. For a while, he seemed utterly excited about marrying me, enthusing about the wedding almost as much as my mother was, and I found myself having the same conversations as I had with her about the best china to use for the wedding breakfast and what color the floral arrangements should be. As soon as Saturday came, the pair of them would be able to chat about it to their heart’s content. It would save me from doing any planning. By Friday, though, his enthusiasm had waned, and he seemed preoccupied.

  When he missed the pins for the third consecutive time, I knew something was wrong.

  “Are you ok?” I asked, putting my bowling ball back down. “What is it? Cold feet?”

  “Are you sure you want to marry me?” he asked me for the tenth time that day.

  “Shhh.” I’d asked him to keep his voice down about the whole thing in case anyone overheard. No wonder he was getting paranoid.

  “Yes. I’ve told you I do. I’m only asking you to keep it quiet until Saturday. After that, we can shout it from the hilltops if you like.”

  “Hmmm.”

>   “I don’t want you thinking I’m trying to hide you or that I’m ashamed of you. I just want the news to have a big impact.”

  And it would. My father was going to be livid with me, but once I’d spoken on national television, there was nothing he could do. I’d get him off my back and Xavier out of my hair for good.

  “I know. Come on let’s bowl!” He seemed a little cheered up after that, but he wasn’t his usual effervescent self. I went to bed that night with a heavy heart.

  I couldn’t sleep. I tossed and turned until the early hours, but it was no use. Sleep was evading me. It wasn’t Daniel’s sudden change that had me worried, but the thought of Cynder. I’d been so worried when I thought he’d see me kissing Luca all those weeks ago, and here I was just about to announce I was engaged to be married. I fingered the charm bracelet and eventually took it off. Cynder was someone in my past. I’d never forget him, but I needed to concentrate on my future. I eventually fell asleep in the early hours, but it only felt like seconds later that Jenny came to wake me up. As we were leaving, I picked up the bracelet and put it back on. My middle of the night reasoning made no sense to me in the cold light of day. I might be forced to have a future without Cynder, but that didn’t mean I had to forget my past with him.

  I felt my nerves heighten as Xavi and her team worked on me. I was as compliant as possible, letting them do what they wanted with me because I had to get out of there quickly to speak to Sadie before the big show.

  I needed her to forgo the interviews with the men first. It was imperative that I get on stage before seeing my father and that meant changing the schedule slightly. Until then, I planned to keep out of my father’s way.

  Sadie was surprisingly okay with me changing things around. I think she had an inkling that something big was going to happen, so she agreed to introduce me to the stage first.

  About an hour before the big show, Daniel finally turned up. Xavier, Luca, and Leo were all ready and waiting in the room set aside for them before these events. Elise was also there although she sat a respectable distance from Leo to not arouse suspicion.