#rileybrooks

[nazariosnymph]

“Maybe I like your style better.” - Riley to Drake.

[backbonegstudios]

INTRODUCING RILEY BROOKS!

One of the few summoners that will be introduced this week! Her magic skills can't be beat, but her card game playing skills could use some work.

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 5

Test Day

Summary: Bastien tells Liam about Gabriel

A/N: did my best to do as much research as possible. also im not sure if the tags are working or not? 

Word Count: ~3.0k

Warning: Mention of character death

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @shanzay44 @cordonianroyalty @hopefulmoonobject @hopelessromanticmonie @cinnamonspongecake @queenjilian @kuladekiwi @twinkle-320 @iaminlovewithtrr @charlotteg234

I hope I got everyone tagged! If I missed someone, or if anyone wants to be added/removed, let me know! 

- Liam -

On Friday evening, no one was given a chance to see Riley. Different specialists checked her routinely, discussing their findings with one another. Liam asked politely at different times in the day if he would be allowed to speak to her for a few moments. They didn’t let him go in, claiming that the doctors needed their time to properly assess Riley’s condition.

A little before sunset, a sleep deprived, starving, agitated Liam marched up to Riley’s doctor and demanded they be given information about her health. 

The doctor leads him away from Riley’s door. Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand follow. 

“I don’t know how much Riley Brooks’ mother has told you about her daughter’s condition,” the doctor states. “But rest assured that we are doing everything we can to help her recover.” 

“Really?” Drake spit. “All you’ve done is push different doctors into her room all day. From where we’re standing, none of them did anything—.”

“Please,” the doctor interrupts, holding up a hand. “Riley’s condition is very serious. She’s suffered a head injury. The procedure on Sunday morning was to repair a part of her skull and to stop internal bleeding. Since she’s woken up on Wednesday, we believe that she has something called post-traumatic amnesia.” 

“Which is?” Bertrand pesters.

“Short-term memory loss from the moment of her injury and for sometime afterwards. It can last from hours, to days, to weeks,” the doctor explains. 

“Short-term?” Liam forces out the words. “I’ve known that woman for the past eleven years. When I walked in she didn’t recognize me. I don’t believe that is what you call short-term.”

“Well... because you all came in and asked questions, whose answers you say that she should know, we believe that she may also be suffering from retrograde amnesia. She won’t be able to recall a significant number of events and persons from her past, even though all such events occurred before the incident and the development of the amnesia.”

“How long will that last?” Maxwell asks. 

“That part, we are unsure about,” the doctor states. “But, we’ve done some assessments and the post-traumatic amnesia seems to be wearing off. We think that the worst of it ended yesterday.” She pauses and looks at the men around her, analyzing their expressions. “We asked her about you folks—,” she gestures at the four men around her, “—her kids, her mother, and the detectives who came in to ask her questions yesterday, she said she didn’t remember a thing. We believe that’s the end to the PTA,  but we’re going to run a couple more tests to make sure.” 

Liam’s heart drops to the pit of his stomach. When he moves back towards the chairs in front of Riley’s hospital room, he goes involuntarily: his shoulders slump and his head hangs low as he throws himself onto a seat. He buries his face in his hands, desperate for this feeling — this keen, despicable sense of despair, one he thought he had forgotten long ago — to end, once and for all.

“So we are nothing to her once more?” Bertrand breathes, the corners of his mouth pulled downwards.

The doctor sighs. “Unfortunately, yes, but again, we believe that’s the last of her short-term memory issues. On the case of retrograde amnesia, patients who have suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury don’t suffer from long-term memory loss for a great amount of time. If I were you, I would still have hope.” She pats Bertrand’s arm. 

A nurse sitting at the reception desk calls to the doctor: “Doc? You’re needed in the ICU.”

“I’ll be back,” she says, and then turns to leave.

Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand join Liam and take a seat. Each of them has to force themselves to not look through Riley’s room window. If they looked, the pain would multiply. The bandages on her head and the empty, lost look on her face reminded them how she had slipped from their grasp again, even though she was right in front of them. 

After a few moments of watching doctors and nurses walking in and out of Riley’s room, Drake suggests to Liam, “Why don’t we go to the hotel tonight? Get some food in you. Rest for a bit. We’ll be back in the morning, soon as visiting hours start up again.”

“Your Majesty, I think that would be for the best,” Bertrand adds. “It isn’t healthy for you to be going on without sleep and food for so long.” 

“C’mon, Liam,” Maxwell joins in. “Bertrand and I will go with you guys.”

Liam rubs his hand over his face. The rest of them notice his red eyes, unshaven face, and how pink the edges of his mouth are. Silently nodding, he stands, and his friends follow him out of the hospital.

...

As soon as he got inside his hotel room, Liam collapsed on the bed, physically and emotionally exhausted. He didn’t dream; instead he dove into a blank abyss from which he returned from in what felt like no more than eight minutes.

When he woke up, it was already nine thirty. His mind urged him to get up and go back to Riley’s hospital bed, but his feet felt sore and his eyes burned when he opened them. He managed to kick off his shoes and shrug off his clothes on his way to the bathroom. He almost fell asleep in the shower, but the warm beating of water on his face gave him the energy he needed to get back to Riley. 

While he puts on some new clothes, there’s a heavy knock on the door. When he goes to open it, Drake holds up two large paper bags and two cups of coffee in a drink carrier. “New York bagels,” he says, handing Liam a bag. 

“Thank you, Drake.” Liam sits on the edge of his bed and dives into the large bagel, his stomach desperate for some food after having starved himself the past three days. Drake puts his friend’s coffee on the bedside table and opens up his own bag.

“I’d say I didn’t know you were that hungry,” Drake chuckles, shaking his head, “but looking at you now, I can tell you haven’t eaten in days.”

Liam’s already done with more than half his bagel. “Truly, I didn’t realize, either.” He takes a long sip of his coffee. “I’ve been so focused on Riley, making sure she’s been getting proper attention... and what I would say to her, given the chance.” Liam stares down at the floor with his meal in his hands while Drake continues eating.

Noticing Liam from the corner of his eye, Drake tells Liam, “Riley wouldn’t want you doing this to yourself.” 

Liam scoffs. 

“I’m serious. Just because something happened to her doesn’t mean she’d want you to hurt yourself, too.” 

They sit in quiet for a few more moments while they finish their meal.

Drake sends a text over to Maxwell, letting the Beaumonts know that him and Liam were on their way back to the hospital, when someone else knocks on the door. “Your Majesty?”

“Come in, Bastien,” Liam allows while he puts his shoes back on. 

Bastien walks in and regards Drake and Liam for a moment. “Your Majesty.” Bastien clears his throat. “Riley’s mother, Charlotte, will be at the hospital today with her grandchildren.” 

Liam stiffens for a moment. Her grandchildren. Riley’s children with Theodore Blaise. He must have been a worthy man to have deserved her.

“Great.” Drake sighs. “I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but she doesn’t seem to be a big fan of our’s.”

“Will she be visiting Riley?” Liam questions. 

“That is... part of the reason they are going,” Bastien continues.

“Ah, she also works there, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, but she doesn’t work today.”

“Then... what is she going for?” Liam notices the look of reserve on Bastien’s face. “Is everything alright? Did something happen to the children?”

“Not exactly,” Bastien begins. “To be frank, the boy, Gabriel, will be of our concern today.”

“What does that mean?” Drake walks closer to Bastien.

Bastien sighs. “On Thursday evening, the Duke of Ramsford alerted me that he believes Gabriel Blaise is actually your son.”

Liam stands. “What?” he spits. 

“He is ten years of age and his birthday was recently. It aligns with the time that you and Lady Riley were having an... intimate relationship.”

Liam blinks. “She... she....” He looks around the room in a daze, his mind blurred with memories of Riley during the Engagement Tour. Could she really have been pregnant? How did I not notice? Why didn’t she tell me? 

She wouldn’t have done that. She knows how much I’ve wanted a family. He breathes in heavy air, his eyes burning. She wouldn’t have done that to me, she wouldn’t have taken that from me.

Did I break her so badly that she wanted to keep my own son away from me?

“Your Majesty?”

Taking a moment to calm himself, Liam states, “Bastien, that is absurd.”

But is it? If she got pregnant around the end of the social season, or even some time during the Engagement Tour, she would have had the child around this time of year.... 

“Your Majesty, the only way to be certain is to take a paternity test. Charlotte Brooks agreed to bring the child to have it done today.”

“The hospital does paternity tests?” Drake asks. 

“I contacted them, and they said they only did genetic testing, but they recommended me to a lab center in Brooklyn.” Bastien holds out a piece of paper with the lab’s name on it. “I’ve alerted Mrs. Brooks, and have sent a car for her and the children so they would arrive safely.”

Brooklyn. Where we saw Riley for the first time all those years ago.

Liam nods, his head and heart still shaking with the thought that him and Riley had a son. Cordonia had an heir. For the past eleven years he believed that he would never become a father, but all this time, he already was one....

While they walk downstairs, Bastien explains that Charlotte Brooks gave permission on Riley’s behalf to have the paternity test done due to her condition, and went to get a DNA sample of her daughter this morning to increases the validity of the test and to make sure Gabriel will be tested accurately. 

Liam sits quietly, simply nodding at everything Bastien said. No matter how much he wanted to believe that there was a chance Riley’s son was his, he didn’t want to think about all the complications that would come about from the test being positive.

And how she never told him. He believed he deserved a life without Riley after all he had done to her, but had the bombing never happened, had Riley never gotten hurt — had her damned husband never died — would she have ever come back to tell him that he was a father? Would she have let him continue to live a life in ignorance?

The boy is ten years old. He experienced ten years of life without me. I experienced ten years of life without him. Did she think I couldn’t handle fatherhood? Did she think I wouldn’t take on the responsibility? What did I do so wrong? Why did she marry Theodore? I ended my engagement because of her, and she married another man to act as the father of my child?

Liam’s frustration and despair were increasing exponentially, and they were nearing the lab. he decided that whether the test came out positive or negative, he wouldn’t allow Gabriel to see his frustration. There must have been a reason Riley did such a thing. He would continue to hope that she would get a chance to explain. In the meantime, that child was was still Riley’s; the mere fact that there was another being on this planet who held even the slightest amount of Riley’s personality or looks made Liam’s heart swell. His son or not, he would protect both of Riley’s children in every way he didn’t protect Riley.

- Gabriel -

Grandma scheduled Ella to have a private ballet lesson on Saturday morning. I thought she was gonna let me take a private soccer lesson, but instead she brings me to Brooklyn in a car that wasn’t her’s or Dad’s. When we get to a small building, Liam and Drake were inside waiting with another man I didn’t recognize. I wondered why they were here, since Mom was back in the hospital. Liam smiled at me and I smiled back, deciding that I would just ask Grandma about it later. 

Drake stayed behind while the rest of us were led into a room that looked like the inside of a doctor’s office: there was an examination table that Grandma told me to sit on, and another longer table were there was a jar of pens.

Two men came in: one wore a professional suit with a bunch of papers that Grandma and Liam started signing on the flat table, while the second one had a lab coat on who took out a very long Q-Tip and walked towards me. I give Grandma a questioning look, but she pats my arm and tells the man, “Go ahead.” 

He dragged the stick against the inside of my cheek. Then he put the Q-Tip in a little tube and then takes out another Q-Tip and repeats the whole process with Liam. I wonder if he’s about to do the same thing with Grandma, but instead she pulls out a tube from her purse and the man takes his three tubes and leaves.

The second man with all the papers is still here, looking over his bushy eyebrows at everything Liam and Grandma just signed. Liam and his friend look over expectantly at Grandma, who pulls out a piece of paper. 

“The birth certificate?” says Liam’s friend. 

Wait, is that mine? Or his? Or Grandma’s?

“Yes.” She hands him the paper and he begins to look over it. 

Both men furrow their brows. Liam’s head jumps back in confusion. 

"Full name,” begins Liam’s friend. “Gabriel Liam Blaise. Mother, Riley Brooks Blaise.... Why is the spot of father empty?”

“It’s allowed in the U.S.,” says Bushy Eyebrows. “If the mother is married to someone who is not the father, or if the father was not at the birth and did not sign and send in an Acknowledgement of Paternity form, then the name of the father is left blank on the certificate.” 

“Riley was already married to Theodore by the time Gabriel was born,” Grandma explains, “which is why the last name is Blaise. She thought that it wouldn’t be appropriate to have his last name be Rys since she planned to pass Gabe off to the public as Theodore’s. But she still put your first name as his middle name. It was her way of connecting you both, since neither of you knew of the other’s existence.”

Grandma takes a moment and scans the men’s shaken faces — even Bushy Eyebrows glances between everyone with wide eyes. Liam looks like he’s mixed between anger and sadness. His friend continues to examine the paper.

“As far as I know,” Grandma states, “Gabriel is your son.”

At this point, I have absolutely no idea what was going on. Grandma never explained anything to me before we got here, and now I was too scared to speak up and ask questions. 

A part of me thought that she was giving me away since Dad had died. But she had told Liam that I was her son? Did that mean he was my father? But I didn’t even know who he was? And what about Ella? Was Grandma going to give me away and then keep my sister? Would I never see her again? Could Grandma not take care of us by herself since Mom was in the hospital? 

“Do you know why Riley never told me?” Liam asks Grandma, his voice breaking.

“Oh, she tried to,” Grandma reveals. “But only once, I believe. Riley didn’t tell me anything about it, but as far as I know, it didn’t go down well.”

Liam looks down at the floor, then pushes his shoulders back and looks at Grandma. “If the test comes back positive, then I will have to present him as my heir to the people of Cordonia.”

Grandma frowns, and she looks offended. I half expect her and Liam to start arguing, but Liam’s friend says, “Perhaps it will be best to discuss the specifics when the results come back. They told me it usually takes three to five business days, but I have made sure that this will be their top priority, and we could possibly get the results back before Monday or Tuesday.” 

Bushy Eyebrows stands, shaking everyone’s hands but mine, and then leaves. We all walk out of the building together. Liam and Grandma nod at one another, and Liam gives me a pat on the back before getting in the car with Drake and his other friend.

Grandma and I get into our car and drive away, on our way to pick up Ella from her class. 

“Grandma?” I begin. I wanted to know what happened in there. I wanted to know if my family was really getting rid of me. “What was all that for?” 

She sighs. “Nothing for you to worry about right now, baby. I promise in a couple of days I’ll explain everything to you and Ella, but right now there’s nothing to worry about.”

“But Grandma, I... I... why did you tell the man that I was his son? Did you say that because Dad died? I thought I was Dad’s son. Grandma please, I’m so confused.” A couple tears fall from my eyes as my chest tightens. If those guys take me away while Mom is in the hospital, will I ever see her again? Will I ever see Ella or Grandma again? I didn’t want to go anywhere with those men. I didn’t even know them until Wednesday, and I still don’t technically know them.

“Gabriel—!” The sting of her tone shuts me up, and I lean back into my seat, doing my best not to cry. 

When Ella gets in the car, she asks me what’s wrong. I shake my head and continue silently crying to myself the rest of the ride home, wishing that Mom and Dad were with us again. 

[msjr0119]

Why me? - Introduction

This is my first attempt at writing something so it is a bit rubbish so I apologise. But the idea of the story is going to get better.

There will be domestic violence further on in the story.

Riley is forced out of Cordonia unknowingly to her friends, and moves back to New York.

She is later faced with her past from Cordonia and is hiding a few new secrets. With the help from her New York friends and friends from Cordonia will she escape her current situation and find her happy ever after?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

“What was that? More fireworks?”

“Not fireworks! Gunshots! Run!”

“Riley! Get down now!”

“Brooks, Riley! Run!”

It all felt like slow motion, the room spinning. People panicking. Riley stood still in shock, searching for all her friends in the middle of the commotion. This was supposed to be a celebration ball. When suddenly....

“No.... Riley get down!”

Just then Drake sprinted in front of Riley just as the assassin pointed the gun at her, pulling the trigger.

Riley felt like in that second she had just woken up from a nightmare, shaking and feeling dizzy. She slowly managed to reach the top of her head and felt a large lump beginning to form, after removing her hand in front of her- she saw the blood. Had she been shot? Where was Liam? Where was Drake? Those were the last people she heard.

Slowly turning her head, she saw Drake unconscious on the floor next her. Hearing the words “Riley! Get down now!” “Brooks,riley! Run” echoing in her mind. A sudden adrenaline rush came over her and she crawled over to Drake.

“Drake? Wake up! Drake? Please!”

Riley quickly checked for a pulse, checked his airways. No response. That’s when she noticed the gun shot wound, tearing her dress apart she quickly tied it around the wound to provide pressure and prevent further bleeding.

There was still no response from Drake. Quickly acting, she began CPR. Unaware of all the kings guards surrounding her.

“Lady Riley, please leave this to the professionals. King Father and King Liam requests that everyone gets to safety immediately.”

“No Bastien! I’m not leaving him like this. They aren’t even here yet. I will keep going until they arrive!”

“Lady Riley please! Kings orders!” Bastien tried to remove Riley away from Drake.

“Bastien get the fuck away from me! I’m trying to save his fucking life! Do not touch me! I can’t lose him. I lo-“

“Miss can you please move so we can get Mr Walker to hospital immediately.”

Riley reached out, holding Drakes hand as they rushed him into the ambulance. She fell to the floor crying uncontrollably, surrounded by the crime scene that had just happened.

Bastien ushered the other guards to protect the Royal Family and the guests before kneeling down to Riley, cupping her cheek with a sad smile. He gently wiped away her tears.

“Lady Riley, he’s going to be fine. He’s a Walker. He’s selfless, and cares about his friends more than he does himself. Or should I say he cares about those he loves..”

“How... How did you know?”

Riley questioned him about her and Drakes relationship. They thought they had been so careful concealing it so that no one would find out. If Bastien knew, how many others knew?

“Lady Riley, please. I’ve known that man since he was a child. I’ve never seen him act the way he does around a woman as he does you and Savannah. He loves you. And he’s going to fight through this I promise you.”

Bastien lifts her up and drives her to the safe house where her friends were staying. Until confirmation from the royal guards, they were to remain in the safe houses that they had been allocated to.

An hour later, Bastien dropped Riley off at the safe house where Maxwell, Hana and Liam we’re staying. She flung the door open, nearly taking it off its hinges and ran into the bathroom. The three friends looked at each other concerned, before Hana followed Riley.

“Riley?”

“Please leave me alone Hana. I shouldn’t be here. I should be there with him.”

Hana let herself in, Riley was sat on the floor looking at the selfie her and Drake had taken that night. They both looked at the camera smiling with a twinkle in their eyes. Drake was holding her protectively. The selfie was taken shortly after the two had confessed their love and made love with each other.

“Riley, I know how you feel about Drake. We all do. The hospital phoned Liam shortly before you arrived advising that none of us visit until he is out of the.... they had to operate on him Ri, and then was considering putting him in an induced coma if the bleeding didn’t stop to prevent swelling on his brain. I am so sorry.”

Riley uncontrollably started crying as Hana pulled her best friend towards her to comfort her.

**********

The day after, the friends returned to the palace. Riley headed straight to her room, feeling dirty and guilty still wearing the dress that wore his blood. She had been silent with the three of them, just constantly roaming her fingers over the selfie. Even Maxwell, who usually made her laugh, couldn’t crack a smile on Riley’s beautiful face.

Riley jumped in the shower, the water slightly, too warm slowly running down her body. Even the warmth wasn’t taking the pain that she felt disappear. When she got out, she put an over sized jumper and leggings on, pulled her knees up and sobbed into them. A short while later she decided to ask the king if he had any updates...

“Liam, have you heard anything yet?”

“He’s still unconscious Ri. I’m sorry I don’t know anything else. They will let us know when we can visit. Do you want something to eat? I can send something up to you?”

“No thank you.”

Riley took the bottle of wine that was on her dressing table and poured a glass. Alcohol wasn’t going to solve the pain, but at least it would help ease a bit of the pain for a short while. Suddenly she was startled by a knock at the door.

“Lady Riley, the King Father would like a word with you. If you’ll follow me.”

Riley hesitated at first but followed.

“King Father.” She curtsied to him.

“Ah, Lady Riley! How are you?”

“As best as I can be. As best as we all can be, King Father.”

He sternly nodded at her.

“I asked you to come here, to ask you to leave Cordonia immediately.”

“Excuse me?”

“It has come to light, that you was having an affair with Mr Walker. And the best situation would be for you to leave and never return. I feel if you wasn’t the court whore that none of this would have happened- you was clearly a target.”

“Don’t you fu-“

“I don’t think that is anyway to talk to Royalty Miss Brooks. My decision has been made. To save my country, my son and my sons court. You will leave immediately!”

“I am not leaving the people I love because you have some vendetta against me! You can’t make me! Liam is King now. You....”

“Trust me Miss Brooks, Liam would agree with my decision. You turned his proposal down. He will hate you. Our country will hate you even more than they already do with your original scandal still not having been resolved. My son will hate you more if he realised the reason why Jackson Walker’s son took a bullet for you.... now we can cooperate, you listen to me and leave on your own accord - no one will discover your dirty little secret with Walker. Or I will call Bastien..”

“You really think I would leave? I had the whole court hate me and I came back and held my head high. Us New Yorkers aren’t afraid of anything, King Father. So no, I am not leaving. I am staying and supporting my friends. Now if we are done I am going to go back to my room and will wait for updates from OUR KING.”

Riley was devastated about how people treat her here. If it wasn’t for Drake and her close friends, she would have left willingly when the scandal about her and Tariq became the court gossip.

As she turned around to go towards the door, Constantine grabbed her arm aggressively, making Riley scream. She was pushed against the wall, with his hands covering her mouth to prevent anyone hear her pleas to escape.

“Now don’t make this hard Miss Brooks. I will pay for your silence if you pack your things and leave now! But before you go you could make one last memory of Cordonia with me to keep your secret a secret.”

Keeping one of his hands covering her mouth, his other hand ran up her thigh. He kissed her neck, all Riley could feel was him grinding up against her. She felt hopeless, and then began starting crying thinking about what he was going to do if she didn’t stop him.

“Don’t you dare cry- you have brought this on yourself. You will leave once I am done with you...” - he whispered in her ear.

I need Drake more now in my life than ever. This bastard is going to hurt me. I love you Drake.

As she thought about Drake, she knew in that time she was going to be left heartbroken and had to escape. She had to use a groin shot- her only chance of escaping him. His hand started to go up towards her chest and that’s when she aimed the shot.

He fell to the floor, holding himself.

“Bastien!!!” Riley screamed as she ran to open the door.

“You little whore! I want you out now!”

Bastien arrived promptly noticing the redness on Riley’s arm, her puffed up eyes and the King father crawling around the floor in agony.

“Excuse me.” Riley said to Bastien looking dejected as she walked out of the room. He looked at her and nodded. Before turning to Constantine, looking angry.

“Sir! What happened in here?”

“That little whore attacked me! I want her out of Cordonia now!”

“Sorry sir but I don’t take orders from you now. Liam is my King!”

Bastien stormed out of the room looking for Riley. He knew the King Father wasn’t telling the truth, and he intended on finding out the truth.

Running down the hallway to find Riley, Bastien was suddenly stopped. He knew that voice, and he knew if it was anyone else he would have ignored them and kept running to find the girl who needed everyone’s support. He turned around, fixing a fake smile on his face.

“Your majesty. Is everything okay? I asked Glen to be in charge of your security tonight.”

“Why are you running? Yes everything is fine, Drake is awake! I needed to find you and to find Lady Riley. All the others have headed up to the hospital. Can we go and find Riley and get an SUV waiting outside for us?”

“Of course sir. Let’s go to the garage now and arrange the SUV, then go and inform Lady Riley together.”

They eventually reached Riley’s room and knocked. There was no answer. Liam thought she was probably in the shower or asleep. Bastien shook his head knowing she wasn’t as he had seen her half an hour ago in the King’s study- no one falls asleep that quickly, he thought. Slamming the door open ignoring Liam advising him not to, he couldn’t believe what he saw.

“Sir? ...Lady Riley has gone.”

Liam I am so sorry for all the hurt I have caused. If you never met me, I wouldn’t have broken your heart, I wouldn’t have broken Drake’s heart. I hope you all forgive me, but I have decided to leave Cordonia for not only my own safety but for everyone’s safety. I am going back home, please don’t try and find me. I will treasure all the memories with you all, and I love you all. Riley x

[thequeenofpixels]

If things were different...(Epilogue)

Book/Who: TRR / Drake X MC (Riley Brooks) 

Summary: Few years later after Drake and Riley’s wedding and Hana being in the hospital, how is everyone going?

Author’s note: Some characters belong to PB I’m just borrowing them, but the new ones (Shophie, Leon, Lana, Rose) are mine. Be aware English is not my mother language, so if you find a mistake feel free to show me.

Word count: 3169

P.S 1= In this chapter a special thanks to: all my friends who encouraged me to continue this fic, to @a-teardrop-blog for helping me with the grammar and review, and much more for your patience with me. Thank you so much girl. ❤ And to @rileybeaumont a fervent MaxStan and @alanakusumastan a LiamStan but nevertheless continued reading until here supporting me ♥ ! 

P.S 2=  You can find the previous parts here .

Tag List: @butindeed @simplyaiden-blog @topsyturvy-dream @andy-loves-corgis @bobasheebaby @nanieuniverse @teamdraketrr @zazigah @smartlillian @camzsweetheart @kamybelen-blog @writtenbycandy @decisso @drakelover78 @cocomaxley @katherinelangfordz @kaitycole

_____X_____

Seven years have passed and now Drake and Riley were about to celebrate their wool wedding anniversary, but before heading to their trip they made a stop at the Beaumont State for their nephew's birthday party.

The couple was at their hotel room, getting ready for the party when Drake approached Riley from behind to help her close the zipper of her dress. She tossed her hair aside, giving him space, and he looked at her through the mirror.

“So… are you ready, Riley?”

She looked back at him and smiled. “I think so… So many things have changed since we’ve been here.”

He smiled and rubbed her arms. “Don’t tell me…”

She looked one more time on the mirror, giving the final touches on her hair and to the dress on her body before turning to Drake.

“So?”

He was leaning on the sofa, admiring her. “Beautiful as always!”

She approached him, wrapped an arm in his neck and gave him a quick kiss.

“Drake Walker, have I ever told you how flattering you’ve become?”

He tightened his fingers around her waist.

“I’m just telling you the truth.”

She looked him up and down and bit her bottom lip. “You don’t look bad yourself.” Her hands traveled on his chest. “But, we’re going to be late. Let’s go!” She quickly grabbed his hands and pulled him to the door.

A little while later they arrived at the Beaumont State but were caught by surprise when they saw a different and smaller house. When Savannah showed up to greet them, she hugged them both. “Oh, God, I’m so happy you guys came!”

Drake hugged his sister back but couldn’t hide the shock.

“Drake-”

He interrupted her. “Oh, God, what happened, sis? I didn’t notice the different address on the invitation.”

Before Savannah could answer, Bertrand showed up with little Sophie in his arms.

“Oh my God! How big you are!” Riley exclaimed and Sophie blushed.

“They grow so fast! It’s almost crazy!”

They laughed.

“How about walking, little one?” Bertrand put a hand on his back. “Papa is not young anymore.”

He put his daughter on her feet and grabbed her hand while shaking Riley and Drake's hands.

“Please, come in, the party is just starting.”

They all went to the back of the house, where other children were playing, and next to two of them were Liam and Hana. When Liam saw Drake, he opened a large smile and came to greet his friend with a hug. “Oh, brother, I didn’t know you would really come!”

Drake hugged his friend back. “How could I miss my nephew's birthday? Besides, it’s on the way to our trip.”

Liam looked at Riley. “Oh, I see.” He shook her hand. “How are you?”

Riley smiled, shaking his hand back. “I’m great.”

“That’s wonderful to hear.”

“Yeah… I can see you’re doing good too after all.”

“Oh, don’t remind me about any of that, I can no longer be king, but I can say I was never so happy before. I can almost say that now I have all I've ever wanted.”

His eyes lingered on Hana and their two kids playing and eating.

Suddenly, Savannah showed up and lead Riley to another room. “Excuse us guys.”

Riley, unable to understand why she did that, asked: “Oh, what happened, Vannah?”

“Nothing big, I just wanted to save you.”

“Save me? From what? I’m not following.” She frowned.

“From the awkwardness there.”

Riley laughed. “That? Don’t worry, Vannah! It’s ok, we may not be friends, but Drake and Liam are and, after all these years, there’s no point in holding grudges.”

“Are you serious?”

“Come on, Vannah, look at me and your brother. Do you really think I’m not the happiest woman in this world?”

Savannah nodded and looked at her happy brother.

“Seriously, Vannah, you don’t have to worry about me, or even about them. Maybe just with your kids and the party.”

The two women shared a laugh and Savannah left to open the door for the newly arrived guests.

Meanwhile, Drake and Liam were chatting in the backyard.

“You know, I still don’t believe your father didn’t give up, even in the end.”

“Really. It is still unbelievable, he died from lung cancer, he saw how fragile and short life is and even that way he wouldn't stop trying to separate Hana and I, only because she wasn’t able to keep a baby in her uterus for nine months. He drove everyone crazy when he heard we hired a surrogate mother, but damn it! It was still our child, just growing on someone else's belly!”

“Right? I hope he can see his mistake, wherever he is.”

“So do I.”

“But… Don’t you miss being king at all?”

“Sometimes… you know? I was raised for that life, I learned almost everything I could since I was a child to rule Cordonia and fight for it, and have this being taken away from my hands wasn’t easy. I couldn’t sleep for months, worried about Cordonia and it’s future and the possibility of Hana’s father no longer accepting us together.”

“Rough times, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through.”

“Yeah, and not to mention I wanted to make Hana a queen. My queen. And I couldn’t.” Liam had a somber face.

“Liam, I’m sure Hana doesn’t care about that.”

“I know, but I wished I could do that. But let’s forget about this because now I think all things are going well, I have Mr. Lee's support and Hana and I have two amazing children today. Look at their faces!”

They looked at Hana and the kids.

“You know, Liam, looking again she even seems younger.”

Liam smiled, admiring his family.

“I think I can say you even seem lighter…” Drake said, wondering.

“Maybe is the weight of the crown that’s no longer on my shoulders.”

They both laughed.

“But you are different too Drake, you seem less grumpy now if you know what I mean.”

Drake smiled blissfully. “Happiness does that to us.”

“Totally agree!”

They toasted and drank their soda.

After all the guests have arrived, Savannah and Bertrand called everybody to sing happy birthday and cut the cake. After all the best wishes to the kids and cake eating, Riley was chatting with Maxwell.

“So, you guys are doing so great in NY, huh?”

“Yeah, now Drake has his own law firm, I have my own publishing company and we have two dogs. You know… I can’t imagine my life different now. However, let's stop talking about me, I heard you are a dancer now, huh?”

Max opens his mouth in shock. “How do you know that?”

“Max, I have internet, we are on the twenty-first century!”

He laughed.

“Yeah, you’re right. But I can’t waste my dance skills. I’m not Agent Breakdancing for no reason, right?”

Riley laughed and hugged him tightly.

“I missed you so much, Max!”

He hugged her back.

She released him and asked: “Max… Didn't Bertrand try to stop you not even once?”

“Well… you know him. He said: 'You can’t do that, you are going to throw the Beaumont name in the mud' more times than I can count, but in the end, we needed the money.” He looked down.

“Max, if you don’t want to talk about that, it’s ok.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… It was a rough time for him and if we were broke before… after Liam lost his throne and when the new king made changes on the court, our house was unsustainable. We had to move, we sold the house and with the money, we paid our dues and bought this new home, smaller as you can see.”

Riley put a hand on her mouth, in shock. “Oh, God! But the new king kicked all of you from the court?”

“No, but we no longer had the same influence as we had before.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that Max, I can’t even imagine how hard all this was for all of you.”

“Nah, you know this is harder on him than on me.”

Riley tried to smile in comfort. “I know.”

Max touched Riley’s arm. “But everything is going to be better, I’m planning on opening my own school dance!”

“Wow! Look at you!”

Maxwell opened his mouth.

“Oh! I realized there's someone I wanna introduce to you!”

“Who?”

“Come here.”

Max pulled Riley with him and approached a young lady in the other room.

“Lady Rose.”

The woman turned and looked at Max, grinning widely, and when she saw Riley she blushed.

“Lady Rose, this is Riley, my best friend in this world.”

“Oh! It's you, the famous Riley!”

“I don’t know about famous, but… that’s me.”

Rose extended her hand and Riley shook it.

“Nice to meet you, Rose.”

“I’m glad to finally meet you, Max always talks about his American friend that once lived in Cordonia.”

“Always? How long would that be?”

Max laughed.

“Riley, actually Rose and I are engaged.”

“What? And you didn’t tell me about this sooner?” Riley punched Max’s arm.

“Ouch! I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to tell you this on the phone!”

Rose laughed.

“So, tell me, how did you meet?”

“Well… the new king called for a meeting and I was there with Bertrand when Lady Rose Victoria came with her family.”

“I’m from a minor house in Cordonia, and in that meeting, Max looked at me…”

“I couldn’t take my eyes off of her! I swear!”

“I was very intimidated at first, but when he came to talk to me, he introduced himself and apologized for staring so much.”

“Look at this! Maxwell was caught by love at first sight.” Riley teased him.

Rose blushed again, but Max wrapped one hand around her waist and kissed her forehead.

“Indeed.”

"Bertrand was demanding for me to stop courting her... He thought her parents would not accept me because we're broken and I'm a dancer."

“But my father always said if I were to marry one day, it would be for love and not for money or position, like people used to do at court.”

“Wow, I don’t even know your father but I like him already.”

“Don’t tell me! Now I’m saving money to buy our own house, her dad already gave us the wedding party.”

Riley looked at Max with a questioning face.

“Don't worry! We'll make sure you’re invited when we choose the date!”

“Good, and if you don’t, you know…”

Someone bumped into Riley’s back before she could finish the sentence.

“God, I’m so sorry!”

When Riley and the other person turned and looked at each other, there was Hana trying to clean her dress, and when she realized she had bumped into Riley, she was paralyzed.

“It’s ok.” Riley tried to calm Hana down.

“I’m sorry, one of the kids was running and pushed me over you. Please…”

“Hana, It’s really ok. Don’t worry.”

“Hey, I have to go… over there…” Maxwell took Rose’s hand in his and left, leaving Hana and Riley alone.

The two women shared a look.

“I… I’m going… I don’t want to bother you…”

“Hana…”

“Y… Yes…?”

“Look, since I’m here, let me say something. Years ago, I did read your letter, ok? And I’m glad you are still alive.”

Hana opened her mouth in shock.

“Are… are you serious?”

“Yes, I am. Look we aren’t friends anymore, but I never wished your death, I heard about the times you were in the hospital because of some pregnancy that almost killed you, and today I saw you so happy with your kids…”

Hana looked down and smiled.

“Yes... I was miserable when the doctor said I was sterile, and when I got pregnant it was like a miracle, but no longer after I discovered my uterus would not support a pregnancy, and that’s why I always lost the babies…”

Hana told Riley how she had her children and Constantine dethroned Liam.

“This does not surprise me at all… But who is the king now?”

“A Liam's distant cousin. You know… royal blood and blah blah blah…”

“Yeah, I get it. Maybe it was for the best, who knows, huh?”

“Right? It’s what I try to tell Liam. Anyway, I’m sorry for taking your time.”

“It’s ok, I was the one who started the talking.”

“Before I leave… Riley, can I ask you something…?”

“Go ahead.”

“You and Drake… how are things going?”

Riley looked at Drake talking to his sister on the other side of the house and smiled, sparkles in her eyes.

“I… I couldn’t be happier.”

Hana grinned.

“I’m so glad to hear that!”

“So…”

“I… wish you the best, Riley. I meant that back then and I still do.”

“Thank you, Hana. I wish you the same.”

They nodded in agreement and parted in separate ways. Riley approached Drake and kissed him on the cheek from behind. He recognized her sweet and floral scent and responded by wrapping her shoulder and pulling her against his body.

“Hey, babe.”

She leaned her head on his chest and smiled.

“I’ll give you some space.” Savannah left them together.

“Something happened?”

“Oh, no. Nothing. I just wanted to feel you.”

“Oh!” He smiled fondly. “Anytime you want, you know I’m always here for you, right?”

He gave her a peck on the tip of her nose.

“I know.” She tilts her head and looks at him. “Me too. Ok?”

He tightened his grip on her. “I know.”

After staying like this for a while, Drake whispered.

“Babe, I… It’s better we get going, we have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Well, let’s say goodbye then.”

He intertwined his fingers with Riley's and they walked to greet Max.

“Max, we’re leaving.”

“Oh! So soon?” He made a sad face.

“Yeah… But you already know what you owe me, right?

They laughed.

“Don’t worry, Riley, I’ll make sure you both are invited!” Rose shook Riley and Drake’s hands.

“It was a pleasure, Lady Rose, I wish you two the best.” Drake smiled.

“Just make my older brother happy, and don’t forget to be happy too, ok?”

Riley hugged both of them and they left to talk to Liam.

“Liam, we’re leaving.”

“So soon?”

Riley laughed.

“Oh, sorry.” Liam said, embarrassed.

“It’s ok, Liam, it’s just that Max said the same thing to us.”

He laughs.

“So he agrees with me” He extended a hand to Riley. “You look great by the way.”

She responded to his greeting. “Thank you. You guys too, Liam.”

Hana approached, holding Liam’s arm, and he said. “Hon, they’re leaving.”

“Oh, It was good to see you today!”

Riley smiled and waved while Drake hugged Liam.

Hana shouted to her son. “Hey, don’t do that to your sister!” She looked at the couple. “Excuse me, guys.”

“Go, go. We get it.”

Liam smiled. “If you guys excuse me too, I’ll go help her, Leon is impossible these days and Lana is not getting behind.”

Drake and Riley smiled back and when they were going to look for Savannah, she surprised them.

“Are you planning on leaving without saying goodbye?”

“Of course not, sis! We’re just saving the best for last.”

“Are you learning to be funny now, Drake?”

“Just come here.” Drake hugged his sister tightly.

Savannah hugged him back and when she released him, she looked at the couple and held their hands.

“Before you two go, let me ask you something.”

“Bring it on.”

“I saw you two leaned over there looking at the kids running… But when do you plan to have one?”

Drake and Riley looked at each other and tried to give a straight answer, without being rude.

“Look, sis, I know you are going to insist on this and just so you know, we decided to not have kids.”

“What do you mean by that? I want my own nephews too!” Savannah said with a dour face.

“Look, sis… really, Riley and I talked about this years ago, and this is a taken decision. We won’t change our minds.”

“I can’t believe that!”

“Uncle Drake!” Bartie and Sophie ran into Drake’s legs.

He taps the kids' hairs.

“Just don’t get your uncle naked on your party, ok?”

They all laughed and Riley bent down to hug the children and say goodbye, so they ran away letting the adults talk.

Bertrand approached. “So is it time, huh?”

“Yeah, we’ll get our plane tomorrow morning.”

They said their proper goodbyes and returned to their hotel room.

On the way, Riley was leaned on Drake’s shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. “You know, it was good to see all of them after all this time, Liam seemed so happy, like I never saw him before.”

“Hana told me what happened, at least they found a way to be happy in the end. Too bad Constantine couldn’t enjoy and be a part of that.”

Drake nodded in agreement.

Not long after they arrived at their hotel room, Drake closed the door behind them and Riley started to undress, but he quickly held her hand.

“Don’t…”

Riley turned and looked at him. “What? I’m going to take a shower.”

“It’s not that. Just let… let me help you out of this dress.”

She smiled playfully, aware of his intentions.

_____X_____

A while later, after a lovely time together in the shower, they were cuddling on the bed and he kissed her forehead.

“So, are you excited to start our trip tomorrow?”

“As ready as ever. With you by my side, every year I have a reason to celebrate.”

Drake smiled and looked thoughtfully at the lights of the city through the balcony’s door.

Riley put her finger on his chin, turning his head in her direction, making him look at her.

“What are you thinking, Drake Walker?”

“I don’t know… But seeing Liam sad about his throne made me think that if he had married you he would still be king.”

“What is that now?”

“Think about it.”

“No, I can’t think about it, simply because I see all of this in another way.”

“How?”

“Seeing Hana and Liam together and with their kids today, I realized something I couldn’t see before. That this isn’t the kind of life I ever wanted, and if things were different then they are now, I would be miserable… and I think it would not be just me.”

Drake smiled and kissed her passionately and adoring.

“You know, Brooks? You’re completely right.”

She kissed him back and smiled.

“I know I am. Never forget how much I love you.”

She kissed him one more time and lied on his chest.

He pulled her fiercely against his body and kissed her.

“Happy wool wedding anniversary.”

They fell asleep, resting to catch their plane and head to their trip where they would celebrate their love, as they’ve been doing every year since they got married.

The end.

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 2

International News

Summary: Drake finds news about Riley and goes to tell Liam

Word Count: ~2.7k

Warning: Mention of character death

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen​ @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019

- DRAKE - 

Taking the leftover pizza out of the microwave, Drake eats his dinner leaned against the kitchen counter, facing his empty living room. He had Bartie over last weekend. When the boy walked in, the entire place felt more illuminated. Not only was the place more lively with some company, but Drake was finally able to see exactly how boring his cabin was — of course, the initial plan was to go camping, but it started raining, so Drake thought his place would be the next best thing. But alas, it wasn’t. He did his best to make the place a little more fun and to make Bartie’s time with him enjoyable. All he wanted was to give his nephew a break from courtly life. When Savannah came to pick him up Monday morning, the house felt dim again. He knew that even if he preferred being alone, he wouldn’t enjoy it as much as he would’ve enjoy being with friends or with the people he cared about.

Tonight was supposed to be the night that he and Liam went out drinking, but Liam had to reschedule due to an overload of meetings. Drake didn’t take it personally, and was recently used to Liam distancing himself from everyone.

After Riley had left, Hana, Maxwell, and Drake went to Los Angeles to try and find Tariq by themselves. When they got him to give an announcement, it was sent out in the middle of Liam’s and Madeleine’s engagement shower, even though the group wanted desperately to do it quietly. Drake remembered Liam’s face after Madeleine had calmed down the crowd and was giving her own thoughts about how the court had treated Riley; Liam had scanned the crowd for her face, his eyes passing over the faces of his three friends, no Riley in sight. Afterwards, Drake had to tell the entire group that Riley had left the night before. He thought she was bluffing, so he did nothing to stop it.  

The court remained in New York for another long week, in an attempt to try and find Riley. They’d gone anywhere they thought could help find her, even the bar they first met her at and her old apartment. They even tracked down Daniel, Riley’s co-worker. Liam had gone as far as to tell Bastien to do a background check on her parents and had a security team monitor her mother’s house for any signs of her. 

Drake had been the one to put the issue of finding Riley on his shoulders. His guilt for letting Riley leave that night was something that he knew he would take to his grave. Sometimes he’d work with Olivia and Maxwell — Hana had left court after there was no sign of Riley returning. They’d send small search parties internationally and contacted any establishment that they thought she would have any association with. 

Of course, nothing turned up, but Drake still kept his eye on international news, while Maxwell and Olivia continued their own searches. Even though they’d all lost hope for finding Riley long ago, she still remained in the back of their thoughts.

The two best friends were beginning to distance, but Drake was glad that him and Liam were at least trying to stay connected — even though he had moved out of the palace a while ago, his cabin wasn’t a ten minute drive away. 

After putting his plate in the sink, he took out his phone and decided to scroll through the internet and current news.

Out of all the states in the country Drake paid attention to in his search, he slowly began to ignore New York. He figured that if she didn’t want to be found, that would be the last place she would go. 

He begins pouring himself a glass of whiskey, when he stumbles upon a vague article title: 

America Left in Shock as Country's Largest Museum is Bombed Over the Weekend.

With the slight hope that the museum wasn't in New York, he clicks on the link and reads about a bomb going off in a new exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He almost exited out before noticing that an internationally known CEO had been found dead and a Senator was badly injured.

He keeps scrolling and sees the subtitle Known Visitors around Time of Incident and Their Conditions. Beneath it was a list of names with either “dead”, “injured”, or “unknown” written in bold next to them. 

He scans through the names, as he's always done with any list ever since Riley left, a dull hope in the back of his mind that one day there'd be a list with her name on it. His heart gives a jolt when he reads “Riley Brooks injured”.

- Liam -

After hours of back to back meetings with dignitaries and ambassadors from all over the world, Liam finally gets a chance to close his eyes and lean back in his chair. A rare moment of peace. 

He didn’t mind the workload. In fact he embraced it. It allowed him to distract his mind and his heart from the void Riley had created when she left. Years after her departure, Liam never stopped putting the blame on himself. He regretted the heartache he put her through during the Engagement Tour. He regretted that she had to suffer her name being dragged through the mud by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. He regretted every moment he didn’t tell her that he loved her. He regretted every moment that he didn’t cherish her. Every moment he hadn’t held her in his arms had been a moment wasted. 

Of course she’d want to leave me, he told himself routinely. I never deserved her. What type of man forgets to cherish such a precious being? How did I forget to cherish the woman who stood by my side even when she was experiencing Hell? 

Diving head-first into his work was a necessary reprieve from this thoughts. He would never want to forget her, but he hated remembering how he didn’t keep her safe. This life of loneliness was his punishment, and he believed he deserved it.

When the door opens and the light thud of Drake’s foot steps barrel towards him, Liam doesn’t open his eyes, but asks, “How are you Drake? Did you have a nice weekend with Bartie?” 

Drake freezes. “How did you know I spent the weekend with him?”

“Maxwell told me.” He looks at Drake and goes to fill a glass of scotch for himself and some whiskey for Drake. “He usually calls to tell me how his day’s been going. That day he was particularly upset. Sunday, I think it was. I heard Bertrand or Savannah trying to cheer him up in the background, though I couldn’t make out the most of what they were saying through the sobs.”

Drake takes the glass of whiskey. “He cried to you? About what?” Maxwell crying or showing any emotion wouldn’t have been surprising when Riley was around, but after she left, everyone had bottled up their feelings. It seemed unnatural, but everyone was so focused on hiding their own emotions from one another that they didn't even notice that they were all doing the same thing. Lately though, the walls they had built around themselves were crumbling. Their decade of ignored pain was becoming too much to handle, but none of them were ready to face it yet. 

Liam sighs, looking down at his drink. “About how Riley never got to meet Bartie.”

“She saw him in Paris.”

Shaking his head, Liam says, “It’s not the same.”

The men take a moment to finish their drinks, the silence hanging between them, as was usual when anything about Riley, her social season, or the Engagement Tour ever came up. 

“Speaking of Riley,” Drake starts, pulling out his phone. “She’s in New York.” 

“What?” Liam jolts to attention and reaches for the phone, scanning the screen that Drake opened up for him. When he looks at her name, he can’t take his eyes off of it. 

Riley Brooks. His Riley. 

Injured, but alive. 

The article was uploaded less than two hours ago.

Disbelief, shock, pain, and hope all flash through Liam’s face when he looks up at Drake, who explains what happened at the Met, and when he’s done relaying the information that he has, Liam takes a moment to absorb it all. He pulls out his own phone and looks for more articles to read; he was alive with the need to see her name again, the need to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. After all this time, it felt too good to be true.

He’s only able to type “The Met NYC” before he looks back at Drake and breathes, “Maxwell and Hana. We need to let them know.” 

Drake takes a moment to respond. Liam scans his friend’s face, and is shocked to find himself expecting Drake to disagree. 

And he does: “I don’t think that’s the best idea right now. We should take our time and approach this slowly.” 

“Not the best idea?” Liam stands, abandoning his phone. He blinks a couple times, making sure that he's really in the moment, and that he really just heard those words come out of Drake's mouth. “When will it be the best idea?” He stands, leaning against the table to close the distance between himself and Drake. “Eleven damn years isn’t a long enough wait for you?” 

“Liam that’s not what I meant. I just think we should give her space. Reach out to her. She's been hurt—.”

“Space?" He turns around and begins to pace. There are too many words, and he doesn’t know how to get them all out. After a desperate decade of trying to find her, trying to find the only woman he’s ever really loved, he has to wait even longer? "Where was ‘give her space’ when you ran after her car the night of my coronation? When you wanted to jump on the plane to New York and follow her?” He took a moment to stare down at Drake. “Do you understand how hard it’s been, religiously searching for her name in every one of Bastien's daily reports? Waiting for Maxwell or Olivia or you to call and say that you've found her or had a lead? Do you understand how hard it is, traveling without her by my side, or without her waiting for me back home? How hard it is, during every damned press conference,” his voice breaks, “being asked of my marrying or at least producing an heir? I can’t get over it. I can’t get over her.” He puts his head in his hands. “Ten damned years and she’s still the person I work to be a good king for...." He takes a deep breath, trying to control his volume. "I understand that you are in pain as well, Drake, she's a sore wound to pick at, but we’ve all been hurting. Maxwell cries about how his ‘little blossom’ would have enjoyed the last Beaumont Bash and how she would have made it more memorable, or how there’s no one else he would want to star with him in his ‘breakdance opera’. We have been calling Hana incessantly over the past five years about returning to court. Do you know what she said to me a few weeks ago? She said she doesn’t want to return without Riley. That it won’t be the same without her. And when I gave my speech to the court and to the people at Applewood last month, it felt just like that, so so empty. All these years—.”

A knock on the door interrupts Liam. He leans back, dusts off his clothes and takes a moment to compose himself, making sure no tears escaped him. He calls for the person to enter and Olivia walks in.  

“Liam,” she starts, but stops herself as she notices Drake sitting in front of his desk, and how tense Liam’s shoulders are. 

“What is it, Duchess Olivia?” Liam asks. 

“It’s Riley,” she starts, all business. “She’s in New York, but has been injured after a bomb went off in a museum she was visiting. I don’t know which hospital she might be in, but I have a list of places I assumed they'd put her.”

“We know about Riley,” Drake scoffs. “Since we know where she is, finding the hospital they put her in shouldn’t be too hard.” 

“Actually, there’s quite a number of hospitals she could be in. I called some to check if her name was on their list of patients brought in from the bombing, but they said the hospital they put the victims in would depend on the type of injury. And since I’m not exactly in New York, they wouldn’t let me know if she was there or not, and said I’d have to be there in person for them to give me information.”

“I’ll have Bastien look into it,” Liam suggests. 

“Hopefully he’ll have narrowed it down before you get there,” she says. 

The men fall silent, looking between themselves and Olivia. 

“What?” she spits, taken aback. “You two have been an emotional mess because of her for the past decade and now that you know where she is, you don’t want to see her? You’ve given up, just like that? At the most crucial moment? I didn’t take you two for such cowards.”

Drake stands, balling his fists. “Giving her space isn’t called being cowardly.” 

“Maybe not,” she speculates, “but what is cowardly is letting someone you love leave without fighting for them.”

Liam puts his hand up, asking for peace. “We will go.” Drake looks back at him, but Liam doesn’t meet his eyes. “We were discussing whether we should tell Hana or Maxwell yet.” 

“Tell them before you take off. They’ll catch up.” 

“Will you be accompanying us?” Liam asks. 

Olivia’s face falls. “I think it’s best if you all greet her first. If she’s to receive a reminder of Cordonia, I’m sure my face isn’t one she’d want to see first.” 

“Nonsense,” Liam claims. 

Drake looks back at Liam. “I’ll go tell Bastien,” he says. “Get some things together, Liam. I don’t know how long we’ll be gone, but pack quickly. Hopefully we’ll be able to take off within the hour.” 

...

Liam had taken many trips across the Atlantic after Riley left. Though more than half of his trips were for political conferences or parties, the other times Liam would come to just absorb the atmosphere of the city: the constant motion, the consistent energy of people always going somewhere, needing to be in another place, waiting to start something new, unafraid of any interruptions as long as no one stopped moving. It reminded him of her.

Looking down at the water under the plane, Liam imagined what Riley would have been thinking about on her first flight to Cordonia with Maxwell and Drake. Was she nervous, excited, regretful? All of the above? He wondered if she ever crossed the Atlantic again, after she left. Did she ever dream of visiting Cordonia, the same way Liam dreamed of greeting her at the airport after all that time? 

He couldn’t even remember what it felt like, to be in her embrace, to force himself not to look back at her during courtly functions when they were on the Engagement Tour. He carried the memories of their stolen moments like talismans, and more than anything he wished he had savored those moments more. 

After the men are off of the plane, Bastien told them that they all have to go through a mandatory security check, a precaution after the city had been closed off for the weekend. He notified Liam and Drake that he wasn’t able to get farther than what Duchess Olivia had found. He suggested visiting the hospitals one by one. 

“That could take days,” Drake protested. "There has to be a faster way."

Liam thought about contacting Riley’s mother, hoping that the woman had heard something about her daughter and could help them locate her. He decided against it, not only thinking that the woman might not be alive, but he thought it better to respect her family’s privacy. After all, they were in the same city. Their reunion was inevitable.

[cordonian-literature]

The Aftermath - Ch. 3

More Visitors

Summary: The Beaumonts find out about Riley’s condition

A/N: I know the last chapter was Liam and Drake, but their first encounter with Riley is actually here, in the preview. Check it out if you haven’t yet!

Word Count: ~3.4k

Warning: Mention of character death

*All characters belong to Pixelberry, except those that are unique to my story (I’ve also used some characters and fictional instances from Donna Tartt’s “The Goldfinch”)*

Catch up here!

Tags: @captain-kingliamsqueen @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gkittylove99 @lovablegranny @loudbluebirdlover @mom2000aggie @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @shanzay44 @cordonianroyalty​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @hopelessromanticmonie @cinnamonspongecake

- Maxwell - 

“If it be true that thee shall not cease insulting mine own family nameth, then I dare thee to a battleth!”

“A hurlyburly thee sayeth? Well, then I'll seeth thee on the dueling ground!”

“Ah, but this isn't a normal battleth, because I dare thee to a breakdance hurlyburly!” 

“But I knoweth not how to doth the breaketh danceth!”

“Thou art a blinking idiot, and were bound to loseth!” 

“Uncle Max, why do I always have to play the character that loses?” Bartie tosses his copy of the script on the coffee table. 

“Because I’m the one with the killer dance moves!” Maxwell strikes a pose. “You only get to where I am after a lifetime of practice, muffin, and you’ve still got a long way to go.”

“But can’t you lose to me at least once?” Bartie picks up the booklet and starts flipping through the pages. “Like how you pretended to lose to Count Appleton in a rap battle, but then won against him in another rap battle in the next scene!”

“That was to catch him off-guard! I gained his trust and then his respect,” Maxwell argues

“Don’t you want my character’s trust and respect?”

“Your character keeps insulting my character’s family name!” Maxwell cries.

“Whatever.” He throws the booklet back down. “I’m going go to my room for a little while.” 

“Wanna run through your fork placement again?” 

“No, I’m okay. I’ve got it down. Thank you, though.” Bartie heads up the stairs towards his room.

“I’ll see you at dinner, muffin,” Maxwell calls. He plops onto the couch and begins to reread his script as Savannah walks into the room. 

“So how was rehearsal?” she questions. “Did you get a chance to teach Bartie that move you were talking about?”

He shakes his head. “No, we didn’t get to it. Don’t think the little muffin is interested in breakdancing, so I won’t bother him anymore.” 

Savannah doesn’t say anything. Maxwell had started working on his breakdance opera years ago after he tried to finish his novel but then gave up on it, claiming the topic was too depressing. He tried his best to get Bartie interested in his opera, even though Bertrand said it wasn’t appropriate for a boy of his status to be learning how to breakdance instead of perfecting the Cordonian Waltz. In the beginning, Bartie was thrilled that he got to spend more time with his Uncle Maxwell, but as time went on the boy became bored and started to look more towards Uncle Drake for some fun — which Bertrand thought was even more inappropriate (”My boy should be learning how to properly host the royal family, not learning how cut wood or put up a tent!”), though he allowed it after Savannah insisted — and so Maxwell felt increasingly alone at Ramsford.

He could spend some time with Liam and Drake in the capital, but both men were so closed off lately that the air around them would become stifling. He wanted to plan a trip to Shanghai so the Beaumonts could visit Hana, but Bertrand was always so caught up with maintaining the estate — and he never let Maxwell help him — that a moment to relax as a family was uncommon. 

At dinner, Bartie half-heartedly explained to his father how his lessons had gone. Bertrand asked Bartie if he wanted to do some work with him tonight, just to get a feel of what it was like to run the estate, but Bartie simply shrugged and walked off without finishing his dinner. 

Bertrand was about to go after him and demand Bartie to return to his seat, but Savannah put a hand on his shoulder and told her husband to let the boy go. 

“He’s not feeling too well lately,” she reasoned. “Let him go. If he wants to talk to us he will.” 

“There is no reason for him to be behaving in such a manner. I will remind him tomorrow morning, and I will make sure he sits with me... he needs to learn how to run the house sooner or later, and the former would be most preferable.” Bertrand took a sip of his wine. 

Even though House Beaumont’s finances had improved tremendously over time, Bertrand was still obsessed with keeping everything in order, almost desperate to make sure there was no chance of any sort of decline happening again. He wouldn’t hear anyone who tried to tell him that he should take a break or loosen up a little.

“Go easy on him,” Maxwell suggests. “He’s been working really hard on his lessons and barely gets any time to go outside.”

“He needs to spend his time learning all he can so he can be a reputable duke when the time comes!”

“Bertrand, please,” Savannah says. “He’s just having a couple bad days. It’s normal.” 

Bertrand sighs. “I don’t understand why he feels this way. Just last week he was fine. What happened now?”

“He went to Drake’s this weekend, so maybe he misses him,” Savannah speculates. 

“I’ll call him up later,” Maxwell declares. “It’s been a while since I’ve talked to my old pal. I kinda miss him, too.”

The three finish their meal in quiet, but Maxwell sits impatiently for the moment he could jump up and go call Drake. 

After their plates were taken away, Maxwell said his good nights to Savannah and Bertrand and raced up the stairs towards Bartie’s room.

He knocks on the door and waits for Bartie to unlock it. “Yes?” Bartie says. 

“I thought we could give Uncle Drake a call! It’s been a couple days since you’ve seen him and it’s been a while since I’ve talked to him.”

“It’s barely been two days,” Bartie scoffs. “But alright, I guess.”

Bartie goes to sit next to Maxwell on the edge of the bed and leans in while they wait for Drake to answer the FaceTime call. 

He declines the call. Maxwell calls again, Drake declines again.

“Maybe he’s busy?” Bartie wonders aloud.

“It’s more likely that he just doesn’t want me bothering him.” Maxwell’s phone vibrates. “He texted me!”

On flight. Will call in morning.

“He’s traveling? Where? Do you think His Majesty sent him away again?” Bartie asks.

“I don’t really know. Hopefully he’ll keep his promise and call back in the morning. Until then there’s not much we can do.” Maxwell sighs and stands up, ruffling Bartie’s hair. “Good night, muffin. Sleep well.”

In his room, Maxwell lays in bed thinking of all the places Drake could be going. Olivia was the one who led independent investigations and never told anything to anyone else until she was sure of what she had, so it was unlikely Drake had gone to find something upon her suggestion. Maxwell had tried to reach out to Riley through social media, but soon after he contacted her, she’d deleted all of her accounts, blocked his number, and blocked his email — then when they tried to trace her number through Olivia’s phone, they reached a dead end. 

Drake on the other hand, did work together with Maxwell and Olivia, but also with the division of the King’s Guard that Liam had made to search for Riley. Their king was constantly sending out people to thoroughly examine every place that yielded even the smallest hint of a lead. Rarely was anything found, and when it was, it was either useless or highly questionable.

Recently, they were having difficulty finding new leads — they had already checked so many places around the world that it was hard to think of any place they may have disregarded. That was when Liam and Drake started distancing themselves even further. Maxwell knew they usually spent time together near the end of the week, but when Drake suggested Bartie visit over the weekend, Maxwell knew that both men had started losing hope.

The next morning during another quiet meal, Maxwell noticed Savannah stealing glances at her son.

“Did Uncle Drake call you back yet?” Bartie directed his question towards Maxwell.

“No,” Maxwell said, his mouth stuffed with blueberries and waffles. “I’ll check in on him in a few.” 

Bertrand continued the conversation by telling everyone what he planned to do for the rest of the day. Maxwell could tell that he was trying to get Bartie to want to work with him. He was glad Bertrand wasn’t pushing Bartie too much, and was sure that Savannah had probably talked to him about it last night.

After breakfast, Maxwell gave Drake a call, but it went straight to voicemail. Maxwell left a message asking Drake to get back to him. 

In an attempt to get Bartie out of the house before his tutor showed up, Maxwell went to his door and tried to persuade his nephew to go on a jog with him.

“Maybe later,” Bartie called out from inside his room. “I’m a little tired right now.”

Some time after noon, Drake still hadn’t called back. Finishing his lunch, Maxwell decides to give Drake a call to make sure everything was alright.

The phone rings for so long Maxwell thinks Drake isn’t going to answer, but then hears his voice from the other side: “Hey, Maxwell.”

“Drake!” Maxwell shouts. “What’s happening? You said you’d call this morning but then you didn’t.”

“Sorry about that,” Drake’s voice doesn’t seem directed at Maxwell, who can tell that he’s distracted. “Got caught up.” There’s people talking in the background, but Maxwell can’t tell who it is or what they’re saying.

“So where did you fly off to?” he asks. 

Drake doesn’t answer. The people in the background keep talking. After a few seconds, Drake’s voice is more purposeful when he says to Maxwell, “Listen. Liam and I are in New York. We’re with Riley.”

The rest of Drake’s monologue cuts out as her name echoes through Maxwell’s mind. 

Riley? Our Riley? They found little blossom? How long has it been? Ten years? Almost eleven? Feels like a hundred.

Are they there to bring her back? Does she even want to come back? Would she want to see me, the person who set in motion the series of events that led to her name being dragged through the mud, to her disappearance, to heartbreak?

“New York?” Maxwell finally brings himself to speak through the lump in his throat. “Little blossom’s in New York? When did you find out?”

“Like I said, we found out just last night.” Maxwell didn’t want to mention that he wasn't listening when Drake had said that. 

“Is... is she alright? Have you talked to her? What did she say?”

“Pay attention, Maxwell,” Drake scolds through his teeth.

“I was paying attention! But if you would be so kind as to repeat what you said....”

“She was visiting a museum and there was a bomb. She’s in New York Presbyterian, and we’re here, too. She got a serious head injury and had surgery on Sunday. Her legs are pretty beat up, but the doctor says some rest will help her get back on her feet within a few weeks.”

“Where is she?” Maxwell yells. “Are you with her?”

Drake sighs. “No, not at the moment. The doctor and a nurse checked her and said they wanted to take her for another CT scan to see if there was anything they might have overlooked.”

“So you... you didn’t speak to her at all?”

“I didn’t, no, but Liam did before they took her away. He won’t tell me what she said.”

“So she is talking, right? She’s alright, technically? Nothing permanent?”

“I don’t know, Maxwell. I’ll let you know what happens when they bring her back.”

“Let me talk to her. I want to see my little blossom,” Maxwell requests. Drake says something, but his voice is far away. He’s talking to someone else, and doesn’t bring the phone back to his ear. “Drake? Hello?”

The line disconnects. Maxwell stands there, shocked. His feet were rooted in place as he stares down at his phone. 

Did they really find Riley? If they did, could they convince her to return?

I was the one who convinced her to come to Cordonia in the first place. I should be there helping bring her back.

“BERTRAND!” Maxwell shrieks, running out the room towards the study.

“What happened?” Savannah screams as Maxwell flies past her. 

“BERTRAND!” he calls again, announcing his arrival.

When he opens the door to the study, Bertrand is on the phone, staring at Maxwell with a grim face. “My apologies, sir, but I will have to call you back,” he says to the person on the other end, hanging up. He stands. “What on Earth was that Maxwell? I’m on an important phone call and you come dashing in, screeching my name like a banshee! Do you understand how incompetent that looks?”

Maxwell knows he’s about to be at the receiving end of another one of Bertrand’s never-ending lectures, but he doesn’t care. He’s jittery and out of breath, but in between pants manages to say, “Liam and Drake found Riley. They’re with her right now. We have to go.”

Stunned, Bertrand takes a step back. “Riley?! Uh, er... Lady Riley?” He clears his throat, composing himself, but can’t get the words out. “They’ve... they’ve.... Where is she? His Majesty is with her?”

“In New York. Yes, he's there with Drake.” 

Bertrand blinks. He finally manages a solemn voice and asks, “She is well, I hope?”

Maxwell shakes his head. Moments pass, with Bertrand deep in thought. Maxwell worries about what his brother will say next.

“Everything alright in here?” Savannah walks in. “Saw Maxwell run past and wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong.” 

“His Majesty and Drake have found Lady Riley.” Bertrand’s voice is more prominent now.

“What?” Savannah brings a hand over her mouth.

Confidently, he declares, “Maxwell and I will be joining them in New York as soon as possible. I am sorry to leave you and Bartie, my dear,” he sighs, “but we must go. She is still House Beaumont, after all.”

After a moment, Savannah says, “We’ll come with you. I want to see her, too, and I know Bartie would enjoy the trip.” 

Bertrand’s mind is already racing, and he doesn’t have the heart to tell his wife that he wants her to stay here. She seemed certain of herself, and so he would not dissuade her. “Alright then,” he replies.

“Aw yeah!” Maxwell cries. “Family vacation!” 

“Yes, yes, now go pack,” Bertrand commands. “I’ll prepare a flight for us. We must go quickly. Time is of the essence.”

... 

On the flight, Maxwell and Bertrand anxiously look out of their windows. Savannah talks to Bartie about the appeals of New York — after him and his mother had come back from Paris, the family had never taken Bartie out of Cordonia, and since Bertrand was persistent in having Bartie receive his education at the hands of tutors, the boy was never given the time to travel with his family, nor did he have any friends who could either relate to him or tell him tales of their travels.

Eventually, Bartie gets tired and takes a nap. Maxwell feels tired as well, but the excitement to see Riley again doesn’t stop sending jolts through his body. They were so close to her. So close to having her with them, and having everything be the way it should have been from the beginning.

Hours later, he wakes up Bartie and tells him that they’ve landed.

Once they’re out of the airport, Bertrand manages to tag down a driver. They drop off Savannah and Bartie at the hotel where they got a last minute reservation. When Maxwell and Bertrand are outside the hospital, Maxwell jumps out of the car and races inside. 

“Maxwell!” Bertrand calls in a stiff whisper. Maxwell slows down and matches Bertrand’s pace. They walk up to the receptionist, who’s having a discussion with a doctor. They wait for her to notice them, and after a few moments Maxwell debates running off to try and find Riley’s room himself, but Bertrand clears his throat and asks, “Excuse me, could either one of you direct me towards Miss Riley Brooks? She’s a patient here, I believe.”

The doctor looks up. “Are one of you her designated support person?”

“No, not exactly—.”

“We’re family.” Maxwell chimes in. “We just heard what happened and flew in from Europe.”

“Visiting hours are over,” the doctor says. “You fellas can come back at nine in the morning. ‘Til then I can’t help you.” 

“You will tell me where she is or you will face the wrath of House Beaumont’s lawyers!” Bertrand shouts.

“Beaumont? That your last name?” the doctor interrogates.

“Yes and—.”

“The lady’s last name is Brooks. Clearly, you guys aren’t family. I’m gonna need you two to leave. Unless you want me to get security?”

Bertrand looks at the doctor, fuming, ready to give him the worst tongue lashing the man has ever experienced, but someone grips his and Maxwell’s shoulders. 

“They’re with me, Doc,” Drake says. “I’ll take them to Miss Brooks and there’ll be no more trouble. Sorry for the inconvenience.” 

Drake leads the two of them away from reception and towards the ICU. 

“Drake!” Maxwell exclaims, putting an arm around his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks for that. We really needed it.” 

“Yes,” Bertrand adds. “It was much appreciated. Now, where is Lady Riley?”

“Did they find everything alright after the CT scan?” Maxwell asks. 

Drake sighs. “Riley’s asleep right now. Today must have been stressful for her, I imagine. You guys can talk to her in the morning.” 

Maxwell is about to repeat his question when he notices Liam sitting in the ICU waiting room, looking at the floor. “Liam!” he calls. 

When Liam looks up, Maxwell looks in shock at his red, swollen eyes. 

“What happened?” Maxwell breathes. The air in his lungs is suddenly painful.

“She—,” he looks back down and speaks slowly, as if every word sent a stab to his chest. “She didn’t remember me. She looked me right in the eye and asked me who I was.” His voice cracks, and he puts his head in his hands.

Maxwell takes a seat next to Liam, but says nothing. Bertrand stands in shock, staring at his king breaking down. Brows furrowed in confusion, he looks at Drake. “What does that mean?”

“She lost her memory.” Drake answered in a quiet voice. Every word seemed to break him. “The doctors didn’t tell us everything, but they told us that they doubted she even knew who she was. After they brought her from the CT scan and explained everything to her, she started crying. Her mother was there, too. She’s actually a nurse here. They’ve decided to question her tomorrow, to try and figure out what she remembers and doesn’t remember. Some detectives are also coming in to question a couple victims. They’re hoping to find some information, or at least something that’ll help them connect some dots.”

“Little blossom doesn’t know who we are?” Maxwell asks, as his shoulders begin to shake. 

Bertrand manages to maintain his composure, though his voice cracks a couple times when he says, “Well. There’s nothing... there’s um... nothing we can do at the moment.” He clears his throat. “Have you two been able to acquire any accommodations?”

Liam sits up, his face wet. “Yes.” He sniffles. “Though we haven’t actually been to the hotel yet. We’ve been here for... oh, a little less than ten hours.”

“Your Majesty I believe it would be wise to spend the night at the hotel and rest. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Perhaps the doctors will let us ask questions as well.”

"Thank you, Duke Bertrand, but I would rather stay. Drake, if you want, you can go and get some sleep. I'm sure you need it. I'll be fine right here."

Drake, Maxwell, and Bertrand share a silent look, then take a seat near their friend. Bertrand sends Savannah a text, telling her that him and Maxwell will not be returning to the hotel tonight.

[msjr0119]

Why me?

Part 4- Confession

Riley is forced out of Cordonia unknowingly to her friends, and moves back to New York.

She is later faced with her past from Cordonia and is hiding a few new secrets. With the help from her New York friends and friends from Cordonia will she escape her current situation and find her happy ever after?

Tags-

@burnsoslow @drakesensworld @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @choiceslover-24-7 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @pedudley @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @kennaxval @larryssunflower @insideamirage @carabeth @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld

******

Riley started her new job tonight, she had mixed feelings- nervous, anxious and excited.

“Good luck sweetie! You’ll be great. Myself and Lola will meet you there later, check it out. Oo by the way, I got you a new SIM card - here.”

“Thanks Dan, I owe you!”

“Don’t worry about it. Hey, maybe you can contact that handsome stranger you met the night you got back? I know how much you like attracting strangers.”

He winked at her laughing.

“Not funny Daniel! But I might just do that.”

As she was walking to the bar, she decided to pluck up her courage and ring Nate, wondering if he would still want to meet up- she did leave it a week before contacting him. But he did say to contact him once she had settled back in the city.

“Hello?”

“Hi, my knight in shining armour.”

“Riley! Nice to hear from you. Are you still in New York?”

“I certainly am! I told you I was never leaving again. I am actually on my way work. I got a bar job at the new bar - The Masons.”

“It’s their opening night tonight isn’t it? I’ve heard it’s going to be big! I may have to come in for a drink and to see a certain bar maid?”

“Oo really? Do you usually flirt with bar maids?”

“Only beautiful ones.”

“Okay charmer. I’ll see ya later.”

Riley couldn’t wipe the smirk off her face. Could she really move on from Drake? She didn’t want to- she loved him but having being exiled out of Cordonia she would never see him again. Of course she would eventually get over the feelings she had Drake, her feelings she had for all her friends, she’s a strong independent woman- considering all the shit that had happened the last few months.

********

Liam and Drake was due to talk to Constantine the previous morning, however he was busy with Regina. So they headed up to his study today to try and get some answers for the questions they had.

“Father? Can we come in?”

“Of course you can son. Ah Drake! Nice to see you up and about.”

Drake nodded. He really wasn’t in the mood to discuss anything apart from Riley. Hearing her voice broke his heart even more.

“So Father, I understand that you was most likely the last person to see Lady Riley before she mysteriously disappeared. Am I correct?”

“How do I know Liam? Yes she came to my study on my request after returning from the safe house.”

“And what exactly happened when she came to see you?”

“What’s with all the questions Liam? If you must know- I asked her to come here to leave Cordonia. She had another scandal brewing. Did you know she was having an affair with someone in this room?”

Drake stood up abruptly and stormed out of the room, before Bastien ushered him back in explaining that he would want to hear what Liam was about to say. Constantine stood there smirking knowing his words got under Drakes skin, hitting some nerves.

“No she didn’t have an affair Father! The night I proposed marriage to her, she confessed that she had feelings for Drake. I knew everything. Unlike you she is honest, she told me. They are both... they were both my best friends and I was happy for them. I love them both, so that didn’t bother me. I was furious when I found out that she had gone. I was cursing her. I hated her, for leaving us all but especially for leaving the man she loved in that situation. That was until Bastien explained what he had witnessed when she screamed for his help. What makes you think you can throw people out of MY country? I am the King now - not you! Do you have anything to say?”

“She.... she deserved what she got. If she didn’t kick me in the groin, I’d have hurt her. I was so close. Was she always so timid when you both kissed her? When you both felt her? She is beautiful, no wonder she was messing around. Who else did she bed, I often wonder though? What about you Bastien? Was it you that was next on her prey list? I was giving her one last memory of Cordonia, she likes to keep her men within the court. Maybe I should have invited Leo back home to have a go too? That one last memory she would have had would make her leave for good and never return.... if only I pinned her down instead.... I-“

Suddenly a fist hit Constantine, making him fly into wall losing his balance- the smirk he previously had now turned into a furious scowl.

“How dare you do that to me! That is treason!”

“Don’t you ever talk about Lady Riley like that! She deserves so much more respect, I don’t regret the action I’ve just taken towards you. You are not my King anymore as I said to you that night. If you had of violated her even more that night and I hadn’t heard her, there wouldn’t be only myself packing a punch towards you. Your Majesty, Drake, I think it’s time that we left and track down Lady Riley.”

“Bastien could you please take King Father to the cells. I will deal with him later.”

Bastien nodded. The two men walked down the corridor, both in shock with Constantine’s confession. Anger and sadness building up inside of them both- neither dared to break the silence within the hallway.

“I’m so sorry Drake. I didn’t know any of this. If I’d have known I’d ....When she arrived at the safe house she swung open the door and stormed into the bathroom. Her dress was ripped, she was covered in... in... your blood. She was an emotional mess, which was expected. She and hana both ended up sleeping on the bathroom floor. When we got back the day after she text me asking for updates. I don’t even know if she was still here at that point?”

“Li it’s not your fault, I’m sorry for falling in love with her. I didn’t mean to... it just...”

“Drake, you heard what I said in there, I’m happy for you both. We need to get her back!”

*******

Riley was enjoying her first shift, the time was going quick. There was a live rock band providing the entertainment, they mainly covered 70s/80s rock songs. The atmosphere was great, it kept her mind off everything linking to Cordonia.

“So what do you recommend a single man should drink in a place like this?”

She heard him, and turned around smirking.

“What do lawyers tend to drink? Wine? Or the hard stuff such a whiskey?”

“Surprise me!”

Nate stayed sat at the bar keeping Riley company. They both kept glancing at each other.

“Daniel! Lola! What you guys having?”

“Hi Ri, shots and lots of them!”

“Nate, this is Daniel my old colleague and his girlfriend who I went to school with - Lola. Guys this is Nate, my knight in shining armour.”

They all stayed up at the bar, listening and singing along to the music whilst keeping Riley company.

Lola noticed Riley looking at Nate but then her face showed guilt every time she looked away from him.

“Hey! What’s up Riley? You keep looking at him smiling, then your face changes- like it’s showing guilt or something?”

“Lola it’s complicated. I like Nate. He’s been lovely since the day I met him. But I had to leave someone who I love more than anything- it’s hard to explain why. I just feel guilty leaving him without an explanation. But I can’t ever see him again. I’m constantly pining for him in my head. But when Nate talks to me or texts me, that pining disappears for a short while. I don’t know what to do?”

“If you can’t ever be with this guy you love, no point waiting on something that isn’t going to happen. I don’t know what happened but you can’t make yourself miserable Ri. You know what they say- rebound. If you try a relationship with Nate and still don’t feel any emotional links cos your still hooked up on the other guy- you know what to do. You dump Nate out of your life and go and win your guy back!”

Riley thought about all those words Lola had said, if only Lola knew the whole reason why she couldn’t go and win her man back. She wanted to do this more than anything but she kept thinking back to that night in the study- the threats that were made, the abuse from the apparent well ‘respected’ former king. If Liam knew the truth, he was the King now- maybe he could rescue her from this god forsaken city and reunite her with Drake. But surely he would have done it by now, it’s been days since she left.

Come closing time, the friends walked out of the bar. Daniel told Riley that he would stay at Lola’s tonight whilst winking at her, hinting at her to take Nate back to the apartment.

“So Daniel has given me the apartment to myself tonight? You can come for a night cap if it want?”

“I’d love to.”

On arrival, Riley poured them both a drink. He sat on the sofa and she came over to join him. Nate put his arm around her, and she pulled him in for a kiss.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to... I-“

“It’s fine Riley, to be honest I’ve been waiting for that all night.”

Riley smiled properly for the first time in a week, she stood up, grabbed Nate’s hand and lead him into her bedroom, shutting the door.

I’m so sorry Drake. I will always love you but I need to get over you. I can’t return or see you ever again. I’m so scared what would happen if I returned. I’ll always hold our memories in my mind.

*****

“Your Majesty, Drake, as I was returning from the cells, Glen had updated me on Lady Riley’s whereabouts. We was able to track the last location known. When she rung Lord Maxwell, she was at the Statue of Liberty. However we cannot track the number any further. The number is now not recognised.”

Liam and Drake looked at each other, their hearts sinking, that place held a different memory for both of them with Riley. For Liam, it was where he proposed to her and where Riley had pulled out all the stops for him to see it that first night. For Drake, it wasn’t exactly at the Statue of Liberty- they were stood on Brooklyn bridge, where the statue was in the distance. Standing on that bridge was when they both had confessed their love towards each other- with Drake saying he would always be waiting for her to chose him.

“Bastien, tomorrow afternoon I have to go away for meetings for a week- I can’t get out of them. When I return, I want us all on the Royal Jet to New York. Drake should be fit enough to fly by that time too.”