Was destroyed. ‘Went to one of the smaller islands.’
‘Did you go with her?’
‘I was needed here. I was now next in line to the Crown and Grandfather had a lot to teach me. They decided the investiture was the best way to change the narrative from the runaway royal escaping the tyrant King...’
She looked troubled. ‘You were separated from both your parents.’
‘That’s not as miserable as it might sound. They were wrapped up in their own affairs.’ He felt bitterness flicker. ‘I couldn’t console my mother anyway.’
‘You shouldn’t have had to. She should have been here for you.’
‘Grandfather blamed her for not keeping my father happy. She couldn’t handle his anger and she’s never got over it.’ She’d been betrayed so publicly, blamed by his grandfather, rejected. Felipe had hidden his own anxiety, loneliness, heartache from her. ‘I was old enough to handle it. Besides, I wasn’t the target of his anger. I was his hope for the future.’
‘But she’s not coming to your coronation today?’
‘I told you, she vowed never to set foot in the palace again.’
‘Not at all—when you were younger?’ Elsie asked. ‘Not even now your grandfather is dead?’
‘She can’t live in the public eye, Elsie,’ he said firmly. ‘Her nerves can’t take it and I don’t expect her to. We talk on the phone. I visit her...’
‘You do all the work for everyone. All the caretaking. Even for the country itself,’ Elsie murmured. ‘Did your father ever return?’
‘He wasn’t allowed. He’d made his choice. It wasn’t here.’ It wasn’t him. ‘They went to Canada. The three of them built a new life. A private one.’
‘So he didn’t come back.’ She leaned closer. ‘Did you ever visit them?’
He glanced down. ‘That would have been a security risk. Plus, Grandfather didn’t want my father influencing me away from my duty.’
Her eyes widened. ‘You never saw your father again?’
‘Not in person. No.’ Felipe watched the small patch of sky beyond the rocks brighten with a sinking feeling. ‘I think he was happy over there. That’s why it’s hard for me to have brought Amalia here. I know this isn’t what they’d have wanted for her.’
‘It sounds like he missed you,’ Elsie said. ‘He obviously talked to Amalia about you a lot.’
Yeah. He was still getting his head around that. It felt both good and bitter and just...sad.
‘That’s why I won’t give her an honorary title or make her a princess. It’s important she knows she can do anything, be anything, go anywhere once she’s of age.’
‘But you’ll still teach her to dive, right?’
Honestly, he was still a little thrown by that request.
‘She obviously chose those pearls last night because she’d heard about them—and you—from your dad,’ Elsie said. ‘You must have missed him too.’
He bent his head. He did not want to think about this, let alone feel.
‘I know you feel an immense duty to protect her,’ Elsie said. ‘But she also needs family, Felipe. Everyone does.’
‘Family isn’t always awesome. You know that.’
‘But you’re pretty awesome. And you and Amalia could be a small but strong family, right? Can’t families be fixed sometimes?’ she said wistfully. ‘Can’t we rebuild them?’
It was too late. And it was too complicated. Because there were elements in his life that no one else should have to shoulder. He’d seen how much it damaged those who didn’t have the desire to handle it.
‘I’m sorry, Felipe. They weren’t here for you. None of them. Not for you.’ She sighed, her frown deepening as she tried to understand. ‘Your parents’ marriage wasn’t arranged, was it?’
‘No, it was a love match that didn’t last. That’s why my grandfather was so keen for me to keep the betrothal with Sofia. He thought a political alliance between two professional royals would be better.’