She huffed out a tiny breath. ‘Good!’
‘They then informed me that it was my duty to save my marriage.’
‘I hope you told them to stuff their duty!’ she exploded.
‘I did not use those words precisely, but that was the sentiment behind my response. I hate my life without you in it. It’s a life with no heartbeat, no soul. I love you.’ His gaze sank to the pulse pumping at the base of her throat. Her neck extended as he bent to kiss the pulse spot, his mouth moist against her hot skin.
‘Because I’m an asset? Did they really say that? Should we tell them about the baby, do you think?’
The tentative question was lost on Dante. She was smiling into his eyes and he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.
‘I can’t tell if I can hear your heartbeat or mine.’
‘We have one, we are one. I love you, Beatrice. Being without you made me realise how much. Life without you is not a whole life. I’m not whole. I have a Beatrice-sized empty space inside me. When we married, I didn’t know what love was,’ he admitted. ‘But you taught me how to love, and I know I will never love another woman. It isn’t possible—we are two halves that make a whole.’
There were tears glimmering like diamonds in her eyes by the time he finished. ‘I choose, I choose to be with you, always.’
‘I love you, Beatrice. Stay with me, be my wife and let me be me with you, even if I have to be royal for the world.’
She flung her arms around his neck, grinning as tears streamed down her face. ‘You’ll never get rid of me, Dante, not now, not ever.’
Several moments later a maid walked in; her eyes flew wide as she saw the couple locked in a passionate embrace.
Within thirty minutes the entire palace knew the Princess they loved was home for good; there was a collective sigh of relief. They knew the couple was their future.