Elsie suddenly couldn’t breathe. She stared at Felipe, waiting for him to laugh it off. But he didn’t. He stilled.
‘Who told you about that?’ he asked Amalia.
‘Carlos said King Javier was furious with him and now you have to marry the woman he chose for you.’
Elsie kept looking at him, hoping he’d deny it. But he was focused on Amalia, who kept eating her chocolate cake, unaware of the arrested expression in Felipe’s eyes.
‘He told you that?’ he prompted.
Amalia nodded and reached for her glass of water. ‘He said you were the only person with the strength to handle Javier’s expectations.’
Something raw flashed on Felipe’s face before he dropped his gaze to the table. Elsie’s heart raced silly fast. Amalia hadn’t realised the profound effect of her words and not only on Felipe. It was none of her business. His future had nothing to do with her. Yet she couldn’t stop herself asking him.
‘You really have to get married?’
He glanced at her. Now the expression in his brown eyes was sombre and steadfast.
‘To a princess.’ Amalia added.
A princess? Seriously?
His gaze remained locked on hers. Something sparked, swiftly suppressed.
‘Like a fairy tale?’ Elsie tried to tease but it didn’t feel funny. ‘Or a nightmare?’
‘She’s already been picked,’ Amalia said.
Of course he’d have to marry a princess. No doubt he’d go on to have baby princes and princesses too—securing the future of Silvabon’s royal family.
Felipe inclined his head. ‘I made my grandfather a promise. Several, in fact.’
‘And you keep your promises?’ Elsie asked, battling the horrible hot feeling inside at the thought of it all.
‘Of course.’
Elsie’s lungs constricted. ‘Does the princess in question get any say in this? Or was the decision just made for her too?’
The corner of his mouth quirked. ‘You feel sorry for her?’
‘Utterly.’
‘But you don’t feel sorry for me?’ he inferred.
Elsie forced a smile. ‘Why would we feel sorry for you?’
He spread his hands. ‘Not getting to choose who I marry.’
‘You made the promise to your grandfather. That was the choice you made.’
‘Have you never wanted to please your family?’
This time Elsie stilled, trying not to show the hit the query had. ‘Some things are super impossible.’
He waited, obviously trying to read her expression but Elsie tried to stay stony and not give anything away. Somehow he still saw too much.
And suddenly his demeanour softened. ‘They don’t like all your earrings?’
She knew he’d deliberately lightened his tone because he’d seen her inward flinch. But she was inexplicably melancholic and not for herself. The prospect of his arranged marriage seemed cold and unromantic and even though it really had nothing to do with her she couldn’t seem to let it go.