A Bitter Twist

Chapter 9

-Bertrand

We’re sitting around waiting for King Liam and Lady Josephine to show up. Madeleine rolls her eyes. “Why is it that she is late for everything?”

Michael shrugs. “I saw her this morning. I think the morning sickness is hitting her really hard.” My heart nearly stops.

Madeleine says. “I knew it.”

“You shouldn’t be spreading your sister’s business.” Gisele chides him.

Michael sighs. “It’s not exactly something she can hide for too long.”

Gisele nods. “She doesn’t want it to get out until after she sees the doctor in Paris.”

Regina nods. “You can count on our discretion.”

Constantine nods. “It shouldn’t be made public knowledge until after the wedding anyway.”

Madeleine nods. “We won’t say anything either. Will we, darling?”

I nod even though it feels hollow. “We’ll keep it quiet.”

Just then Josephine and Liam come in and she looks pale and sickly. “What do you want to eat, Josie?” Liam asks.

“Ugh. Just toast. And some chamomile tea.” She says. “And if you’re sitting next to me no freaking eggs.”

Liam laughs. “Okay.” He comes back with a plate for her and himself.

“Are you going to make it to your bachelorette party? No offense, but you look terrible.” Madeleine says.

Josephine sighs. “I’ll make it.” She takes a deep breath. “Mind over matter. I refuse to let morning sickness get in the way of my obligations.”

Regina smiles. “Do you have any idea how far along you might be?”

Josephine shrugs. “I have no way of tracking. I should find out at the appointment.”

“Shouldn’t you wait until we’re in an English speaking country to have an appointment?” Constantine asks. My brows furrow.

Gisele glares at him. “Josie is fluent in French and at least six or seven other languages. Just because she’s an American doesn’t mean she’s uneducated.”

Constantine sneers at her. “Apologies. You can understand that most of us wouldn’t think a waitress would be that educated.”

Gisele grits her teeth. “She was a waitress for a whole minute. She spent her entire life preparing to be a prima ballerina. And that’s what she is, a former prima ballerina.”

Liam glares at his father. “Father, that’s enough. Josie is my fiance and the mother of our unborn child. You need to get over whatever this is or go back to Cordonia. You’re not the King anymore. You don’t make the rules anymore and you don’t get to speak to Josie and her family with anything less than respect. Are we clear?”

Constantine works his jaw. “Crystal.”

Josephine munches on toast seemingly oblivious. “I really like this rye toast. Did Liam tell you that I found and purchased the scepter that King Fabian was given at his coronation?”

Gisele sighs. “Viktor called me this morning. Your payment went through and he’ll bring your estate jewelry to me tonight. I can’t believe you spent that much money, Josie.”

Josephine shrugs. “It’s a wedding gift for Liam. You can’t really put a price on love.” She says it so casually, but there’s an air of calculation to her words.

Constantine stiffens. “You bought the scepter? I thought Liam bought it.”

Josephine shoots him a cold look. “Liam, even being the King of Cordonia, doesn’t have the connections I do. He couldn’t even make it through the front door without me. And he wouldn’t have to clout to keep the former Crown Prince Trystan of Drakovia away from that auction. Or have an insider warn us of the impending raid… So maybe you should give me a little credit. And thank me because I’ll be returning a priceless artifact to the Crown upon my marriage to Liam and no sooner.”

Constantine shifts. “The Crown can buy it back from you.”

Josephine shakes her head. “I don’t think so. Now you can either get on board..or I can anonymously send it to Trystan Thorne. I’m sure Drakovia would love to have such a valuable piece of Cordonian history.” The air in the room seems to change.

I clear my throat. “I don’t think that is the best tactic here, Lady Josephine..”

“Mind your business, Bertrand. I won’t be made to feel inferior by anyone. Certainly not this man. Now, you may not recognize my worth because you’re seeing me through waitress goggles, but let me tell you there is not another person more cutthroat than me. And don’t you want someone like that to watch your son’s back?” Josephine says. There is an uncomfortable silence. Constantine works his jaw but eventually nods.

Liam puts an arm around her. “Rye toast, huh. I’ll make sure they keep it available for you.” He says this as if Josephine didn’t just use a valuable piece of our country’s history as a bargaining tool.

Josephine smiles. “I’d really appreciate that, baby.”

Constantine eyes them warily. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do.”

Josephine eyes him innocently. “Of course. You have a marvelous day, Your Majesty.”

Constantine bows. “Same to you, Lady Josephine. Liam.”

He stalks out of the room. Regina eyes her. “Well that was interesting.”

Josephine shrugs. “The only way he’s ever going to see me as anything other than a waitress is if I force feed it to him.”

Regina nods respectfully. “I gathered that was your true intent. Quite well done. I’m afraid my Constantine is quite stubborn.”

Liam snorts. “Understatement.”

Gisele sighs. “You spent eighty five millions dollars to politically outmaneuver an old man?”

My eyes widen. “Nonsense. I spent that money on a gift for my future husband. The ability to use it as a political bargaining chip is just a bonus.” Josephine says.

Michael laughs. “That guy has no idea who he’s dealing with.. He thought you were a naive waitress. He doesn’t realize that you’re a shrewd Mafia Princess.”

Josephine rolls her eyes. “I hate being called a Mafia Princess.”

Michael shrugs. “You act like one.”

“I do not!” Josephine exclaims. Liam presses his lips together and eats his breakfast. “You think so too?”

“Only just a tiny bit. You’re not a murderer..and you don’t do anything outright illegal, but you’re not afraid to wander into the gray area.” Liam says.

Regina smiles teasingly. “At least it makes you useful from time to time.”

Josephine purses her lips. “That was cold, Your Majesty. Is it pick on Josie day and no one told me? I’m bringing new life into this world. All of you should be nice to me!”

“Masterful. Using your pregnancy to shame people.” Madeleine says.

Josephine winks at her. “I knew I liked you for a reason.” Madeleine smirks. “Anyway,we’re going to start talking about policy and planning, if you and Michael want to leave you can, Gisele.” They both nod and leave the table.

I clear my throat. “Your Majesty? You don’t seem to share your husband’s opinion of Lady Josephine, why is that?”

Rengina nods. “Unlike my husband, I’ve taken the time to get to know my future daughter in law. I’ve listened to her ideas and she has excellent insight into programs that can help our citizens. Programs for youths that keep them off of drugs and encourage education.”

Josephine nods. “Yes. The Queen Mother, Madeleine, and myself have been working on setting up a few scholarship funds for Cordonian students whose family income is under a set income structure. We’re also going to tour the schools and talk to the students, parents, and teachers so that we can get a better understanding of what will make them more successful.”

Madeleine nods. “And we’ll be breaking ground in six months on the youth center to be built in the capital. It will be like a flagship.”

Josephine nods. “We can see the effect it has on petty crimes. I feel like once you give the kids something that keeps them entertained and out of trouble you’ll see less vandalism and small crimes. They’ll have more pride in their community. And once you set them on a good trajectory it will set them up for a better life as an adult.”

Regina nods. “And when we get back the data, we’ll decide whether to implement those types of centers throughout all the larger populated cities in Cordonia.”

Josephine nods. “And once petty crime drops, larger crimes do too. And then tourism goes up. As tourists feel safer in lower crime cities and countries.” She finishes the last of her toast and pulls out a large binder. “I got a call from a network producer asking about using the Valtoria estate for some sort of ‘Royal Bachelor’ type show.”

Madeleine sniffs. “That’s so tacky.”

Regina nods. “Agreed.”

Josephine nods. “I thought so too. But I did some market analysis research on other areas that have been televised and the tourism spikes afterwards were astronomical.” She passes out a graph to Regina, Madeleine, Liam and myself. “I know how you feel about having television crews on your estates and in your counties, but if we are not going to showcase our country then other countries will. Take New Zealand for example, they are filming the Crown and Flame there. And their tourism is booming because of that. They are profiting off of Cordonia’s history. It’s past time to join the modern world.”

I look at the numbers and I’m a little floored. “Are these numbers accurate?”

Josephine nods. “Yes. They’re available online.”

Liam chews his lip. “What do you propose to boost tourism?”

Josephine smiles. “We can buy advertising to be aired during the show. A large portion of that demographic do not even realize that Cordonia is a real country. And we can host cons here. And what better time to host a con than during the Five Kingdoms Festival?”

Regina nods. “What is a ‘con’?”

Josephine smiles. “It’s a convention for fans. They purchase tickets and travel all over to attend them.”

I look at her proposal. “What happens if we don’t get enough interest?”

“We scrap it and go back to the drawing board.” She says. “But I think we can host them at historically significant places. Like Lythikos. You could have shows with sword fighting and jousting along with traditional fairs from the locals. We could host these all over Cordonia during festivals to boost attendances. And all the duchies would benefit from them.”

I peruse her proposal. “How long have you been working on this?”

Josephine shrugs. “A few weeks. I’ve been doing the research and planning during my down time and I’ve consulted with tourism marketing directors from other countries to gain insight.”

Madeleine looks at the proposal. “I sincerely doubt Duchess Olivia would ever get on board with something like this.”

Josephine shakes her head. “You’re vastly underestimating her pride in her family’s history and her desire to see her people thrive.”

King Liam looks at his watch. “I have another meeting to get to. Email me all your proposals and the accompanying statistics and projections. I will discuss them at my next meeting with the Director of Tourism.”

Josephine nods and does a few keystrokes on her phone. “Done.”

King Liam kisses her forehead. “Have fun at your party tonight.”

Josephine stands up. “Well I have to go, I have a dress fitting scheduled right before we leave for my party tonight. I’ll see you in a few hours, Madeleine. Regina, Bertrand, have a good day.”

I get up and follow her. “Josephine, I was hoping we could talk.”

She shrugs. “Alright.” She keeps walking. “Walk and talk Bert. I’ve got a lot to do before tonight.”

I start walking with her. “I was hoping we could talk privately.”

She sighs. “Fine. I need to drop some stuff off at my suite.”

We get into her suite and she’s sweaty and looks sickly again. “I think maybe you should go see a doctor today, Josephine.”

She jerks her head in my direction. “I don’t have time today.”

I bite my lip. “You’re sweaty and you look like you might have a fever. And your hands are shaking.”

“Is my health what you wanted to discuss? Because I have a lot on my schedule for today, Bertrand.” She says. She wavers and her eyes roll back and she collapses. I catch her before she hits the floor. I place her on the couch. Once she’s settled, I pick up my phone. “Liam, Josephine just collapsed. She needs to be taken to a hospital.”

A few minutes later he arrives with a doctor. The doctor takes her vitals. “She’s got a high grade fever. That’s not a symptom of pregnancy. We should get her to the Emergency Room quickly. Do you know when her symptoms started?”

Liam nods. “Yesterday morning. Do you know what’s wrong with her?”

The doctor shakes his head. “I can’t give you a definitive answer until we’ve run some tests. How long has she been unconscious?”

I look at my watch. “About five minutes.” I watch as they pack her up and take her off the train. Security surrounds them so no one is able to see what is going on. I head back to my suite. I see Madeleine there. “I don’t think Josephine is going to make it tonight. She just passed out and they’re taking her to the hospital.”

She looks at her watch. “Oh dear, we didn’t have much planned for today anyway. She didn’t want the press at her party and she didn’t want anything wild. I really only scheduled dinner and a show. Aerial acrobats. I’ll wait until I hear from her or King Liam to cancel.”

I nod.

-Josie

I feel like shit. Like worse than shit. I’m in the hospital and I have an IV in my arm. Monitors hooked up to me. My stomach hurts really bad. And that bad feeling is just amplified. I am not pregnant. Nope. I have a cyst or had a cyst on one of my ovaries. It popped when they were looking at it with the sonogram machine. That explains the weight gain and the cramps. The nausea and fever too. The doctors said ovarian cysts can trigger a false positive on a pregnancy test. So here we are. And I know I was initially upset about being pregnant, but then I started to like the idea..and now that’s been crushed. I asked them to remove the implant in my arm. I’m feeling a little deflated. I’m too nervous to even ask how Liam’s feeling about this. He hasn’t left my side since we arrived. And even though I don’t want him to go I say. “You should go, I know you have a lot of meetings scheduled for today. Gisele and Michael can come sit with me until I’m discharged.”

Liam purses his lips. “No, Josie. You’re going to be my wife and your health takes precedence. Meetings can be rescheduled.” My stomach swoops and my heart squeezes.

I turn my head to face him. “How are you feeling right now?”

He sighs. “It’s difficult to pinpoint what I’m feeling. I’m grateful that you’re doing better. Seeing you passed out was scary. I won’t lie, I’m disappointed about you not being pregnant.” I reach out to take his hand and when his hand touches mine my heart rate speeds up.

I chew my lip. “Me too. I feel a little like I got pranked by my own body. I ignored things I normally wouldn’t have ignored, because I was stressed and too busy.”

“What was Bertrand doing with you in our suite?” Liam asks and I can see he’s trying to reign in his jealousy.

I shrug. “I needed to drop off a binder and he asked to talk to me, but we never really got to talk. I don’t remember anything else.”

Liam nods. “Do you have any idea what he wanted to talk to you about?”

“If I had to guess, maybe something to do with their finances. He asked to talk privately and they’re so squirrely about their money.” I say.

“What do you mean?” Liam asks.

I shrug. “I just mean that their house is broke. And they are trying their best to hide it, but they’re hemorrhaging money. They’re barely staying afloat. We had to clean their estate ourselves for that bash. And I offered to help, but Bertrand declined. And while we were cleaning Drake and I found a mysterious envelope filled with cash in their study.”

Liam rubs his chin. “Sounds like you don’t really trust him.”

“I have trouble trusting people who lie to me, and both of them have lied to me before.” I explain.

“If I ask you not to be alone with him, will you be mad at me?” He asks.

I chew my lip and my brows furrow. “Depends. Is it because you don’t trust me to be alone with him? Or is it because you don’t trust him?” I unconsciously hold my breath waiting for his answer.

Liam presses his lips together. “Him. I asked him outright if he started his relationship with Madeleine to hurt you and he lied and said no.” My chest squeezes. Only Liam would be mad that the other man I had feelings for deliberately tried to hurt me.

I cough on a laugh. “Is it so hard to believe that he might like her?”

Liam smirks. “Yes.”

I roll my eyes. “Like I get that she can be a little intense, but she means well. Most of the time. And I think she genuinely does have the feels for him.”

Liam rolls his eyes. “Well for now, I’d like you to not be alone with him. We still don’t know who hired that photographer and I’d prefer to know for sure before you have any kind of friendship with him.”

I nod. “That makes sense. Although, I’m not certain I want even that from him. It’s kind of hurtful that everytime I actually do something that proves I’ll be a good queen he acts shocked.”

Liam smirks. “Yes, well I’ve never had a doubt. If the way you handle my father is any indication of how you’ll be, I’d say anyone who messes with the crown better watch out.”

I smile brightly even though I’m in a ridiculous amount of pain. “That was the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me.”

He leans forward and kisses my forehead which makes my stomach swoop again. “I meant it.”

I nod. “I know. Byron may have been an ass, but he taught me quite a bit about governance and political maneuvering.”

The doctor comes in. “Josephine Avery?”

I nod and try to sit up. Liam sees me struggling and helps me into a sitting position. “Is she free to go now?”

The doctor looks over my chart and looks at my arm where they removed the birth control implant. Then he councils me on ways to deal with ovarian cysts and when to seek medical intervention. Then finally he releases me. Liam and I head back to the train. “I’ll message Gisele and Michael, but can you tell everyone else? I already feel like the girl who cried prego.”

Liam nods. “Of course.” After he sends out some messages. “Are you feeling up to going out tonight?” I shake my head.

I pull out my phone and message Gisele and Michael.

Me-not prego. Just a big cyst that popped.
G-I’m sorry, baby.
M-sorry sis.
Me-thanks. I’m gonna get some rest. I feel like poop.

I go to bed and it occurs to me that something has changed somewhere along the way..

-Drake

I go to Liam’s room because we’re supposed to meet for dinner, but he was a no show again. It’s starting to be a pattern. I knock and go in. He looks up from his desk. “Oh! I’m really sorry, I forgot to message you. Josie had a medical emergency and I pushed all my meetings back to take her to the emergency room."

I feel instantly guilty. "What's wrong with Avery?"

Liam rubs his forehead. "She wasn't pregnant, she had a cyst on her ovary. It's why she's been sick and moody. She had a fever this morning and passed out."

My heart sinks. "Man, you two must be pretty devastated."

His shoulders droop and he nods. "Yes. I think that's fair to say. She had the doctors remove her implant. I don't think she actively wanted children, but once it was taken from her.. well that seemed to change things."

I nod. "Is she at her party?"

Liam shakes his head. "No. She's in the bedroom sleeping. She's been sleeping off and on all day. Hopefully she feels better tomorrow. I've asked Madeleine to make sure her schedule is lighter until she's back to one hundred percent."

I chew my lip. "That's probably a good idea."

Liam nods. "They've gotten pretty close. She adores Hana, but her and Madeleine work closely on a lot of projects and policies. Regina works with her too."

"Liam?" I look up and see Avery and she looks not like her normal snarky self. She looks a little broken. It almost reminds me of Savannah.

He looks up. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't feel like I'm dying anymore, but I'm starving and I want some comfort food." She says.

Liam nods. "I'll call the kitchen and order your food. Drake, do you want anything?"

I shrug. "I could eat. Whatever she wants is probably fine."

Liam presses his lips together. "She wants lobster macaroni and cheese and chewy chocolate chip cookies with whipped cream." Avery smiles at Liam and rubs her chest.

I like lobster but does it really need to be in Mac n cheese? "Are you going to eat that?"

Liam makes a face. "No, I'll get a burger and some fries."

I nod. "Make that two."

Liam calls the kitchen or dining car to have food brought up. Avery sits on the couch next to me and pulls a pillow over her stomach. "You guys had plans tonight?"

"Yeah." It feels a little awkward right now.

She nods. "Sorry for intruding on your plans."

I shrug. "Don't worry about it. Are you okay?"

She nods. "Yeah. I just feel like someone played the shittiest April fool's joke on us."

I nod. “I bet.” I notice her gaze keeps darting back to Liam. She’s looking at him differently now and it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

Liam comes back and Avery climbs on his lap and curls up. “How did you know that lobster mac n cheese is my go to comfort food?” Avery asks.

Liam shrugs. “Gisele told me she took you for lobster mac n cheese everytime she picked you up from the hospital.”

She smiles softly. I clear my throat. “Are you sad you missed your bachelorette party?”

She shrugs. “I’m not really sad. It would have been nice to see the show. Madeleine and Hana found some sort of aerial acrobat show sorta like that Cirque du soleil. I would've really enjoyed that.”

The food arrives and we start eating. We talk here and there. And as we’re close to finishing our meal there’s a knock on the door. Michael comes in. “Hey, Jojo. I just heard back from the accountant. The card that paid for the photographer belongs to Penelope Ebrim.”

Liam’s jaw clenches. Avery’s jaw drops. My brows furrow in disbelief. Finally Avery says. “I can’t believe her. There’s no fucking way she’s the mastermind behind this. She’s just so..”

Liam rubs his forehead. “Vapid?”

Avery nods furiously. “Exactly. I even let her bring her fucking dogs, man. I’m so fucking mad right now.”

She gets up and starts pacing. “What now?” I ask.

Avery sighs. “We need to figure out if she is the mastermind behind this or if she’s just a moron that was manipulated into this. I lean towards the moron theory.”

Liam nods. Michael rubs his chin. “Do we confront her? She’s likely to crumble under any sort of pressure.”

I raise my brow. “You could have Maxwell talk to her. She’s been making eyes at him throughout this whole tour.”

Michael sighs. “That’s all good and well, but Maxwell is..well. He tends to go rogue too often for my liking. I think Jo should be the one to talk to her. If she can manipulate that crusty old man into respecting her, then she can also manipulate the poodle girl into revealing all her secrets.”

“Who is this crusty old man?” I ask, feeling a little confused.

Liam shrugs. “My father. He’s been at odds with Josie lately.”

Michael nods. “He’s dying isn’t he?”

My brows go up. “How..”

Michael shrugs. “I’m a cop. I’ve seen my fair share of people dying. He’s got that look, like he wants to get everything in order before he kicks the bucket.”

Avery sighs. “I am not really concerned with Constantine right now, no offense Liam. I’m just really annoyed with Penelope right now, but I’ve got a plan for how to confront her.”

Liam looks at her. “Do you need my help with that, love?”

Avery shakes her head. “Not for this. I’ll have her squealing like a pig in no time.”

Michael picks up Avery’s plate. “Is this lobster mac n cheese?” She nods. “Are you finished with this? It’s my favorite.”

She smirks. “Yeah, you can have it.”

Liam makes a face. I look at them. “Are you sure you’re not blood related?”

Avery rolls her eyes. “Har har. We were raised by the same woman. But Michael’s comfort food is a hearty bowl of homemade beef stew over mashed potatoes.”

“You’re both weird.” I say.

Liam rubs his chin. “I don’t know, that sounds kind of good.”

Avery laughs. “You would like that.” Liam playfully hits her on the shoulder with a pillow. She gasps dramatically. “How dare you! I nearly died today.”

Liam snorts. “No you didn’t.”

She pouts. “Felt like it and as the only person here who’s actually died..I am the foremost expert on what dying feels like.”

Michael smirks. “You were dead for like three minutes and you probably don’t even remember it because of all the brain damage.”

Her shriek of outrage is actually pretty funny. She chucks the pillow at her brother who artfully dodges it. “You just wait. You are on my list now, buddy!”

“OOh! I’m so scared..” Michael teases.

She glares. “You should be scared! I’m mean. I know all your secrets and I will destroy you!”

I watch her verbally spar with her brother and you can see she’s still got her fighting spirit. There’s a difference between sad and in pain, and broken. She’s not like Savannah at all..nothing breaks her.