“Yes.” She didn’t know until after the winery incident, but she knew today.
“I see. Your Majesty, my concern is about why these situations keep popping up. Rivera said he asked Patrick Rowling about the submarine and said that it had been Serafia’s idea. I understand that you two are...whatever you are. But you really need to put your feelings for her aside and consider the possibility that all these unfortunate incidents are actually carefully orchestrated by the Espina family.”
Gabriel dropped his face into his hand. He’d had a horrible day and he didn’t really want to face this right now. “I’ll take care of it,” he said.
“Your Majesty, I—”
“I said, I’ll take care of it!” Gabriel shouted. Suddenly his overwhelming apprehension had morphed into anger. He knew he shouldn’t direct it at Hector, but he didn’t care. He would kill the messenger because he didn’t know what else to do.
“Very good, Your Grace. Thank you for your time.” Hector gave a curt bow and left the room.
Gabriel watched Hector leave, the questions and anxiety spinning in his mind. Unable to sit still, he headed out to the veranda to await Serafia’s return to the compound. The longer he waited, the more his blood began to heat in his veins. He had been upset at the oil platform, but after his discussion with Hector, every minute that ticked by tipped his emotions over into pure anger.
If he was right, this was the ultimate betrayal. Serafia would’ve known exactly what she was doing. She knew he couldn’t stand small, confined spaces. How could she schedule him for what amounted to a miniature submarine ride under an oil platform? Even people who hadn’t been through the kind of experience he’d had would balk at that. And yet, he felt this pressure as the future king to do it. He had to be strong; he couldn’t show weakness. His father expected it. His country expected it. And all it did was backfire on him and make him look like more of a coward when he fled.
The situation had snuck up on him. They were walking around the lower level and the next thing he knew, he was confronted with his personal nightmare. As he’d looked down into the small round hatch at the metal ladder that would take him into a space too cramped for more than four full-grown men, he felt himself launch into a full-blown panic attack.
This wasn’t like the incident at the vineyard. There, the room was dark and underground, but he could escape any time he chose, and did. The minute Gabriel climbed down that ladder, and the hatch was sealed, he would be trapped. His lungs had seized up as if a vise was crushing his rib cage. His heart had been racing so quickly he could barely tell the rhythm of one beat from the next. He’d been sweating, wheezing and damn near on the verge of crying while Patrick Rowling and the prime minister tried to coax him on board.
No way. He didn’t care if he offended the richest man in Alma. He wasn’t about to have that image on him on television, blasted around the internet and on the front page of every paper. New King of Alma Cries Like a Baby When Forced Into a Submarine! They might as well send a stamped invitation for the Tantaberra family to come back and take over again. It was better to leave before it got worse.
It was bad enough everyone had witnessed his behavior. The Rowlings, the press and even the prime minister were all standing by as he’d completely flipped out, shoved people aside to escape and run across the platform to the helicopter pad as if he were on fire. It must have been a sight to see...his guards chasing after him, people shouting at him to come back, the press recording every moment of it... The Runaway King. Now, there was a nickname for his upcoming illustrious reign.
He hadn’t registered much in the moment. Gabriel had only been motivated by a driving need to get away from that submarine, off the platform and onto dry land with sunshine on his face as soon as possible. But he could hear Serafia as she’d tried to comfort him. He’d registered the panic and worry on her face as she rushed toward him, but he wasn’t slowing down for her or anyone else. Besides, it had been too late. The damage was already done.
Of course, that might have been part of her plan, right? The article had insinuated that the Espina family was determined to gain the throne back one way or another. If not through seduction, perhaps through scandal and humiliation. Serafia had been throwing grenades at him since he arrived. The watch, the debacle at the airport, the vineyard and now the oil platform... Even the supposedly successful party at Rowling’s house had proven controversial when he snubbed the Gomez girl at Serafia’s suggestion.
He’d paid her to help this week go smoothly, to prepare him for any eventuality as king, and it had started to seem more as if she was deliberately setting him up to fail.