There was no level of preparation that could have readied him for this moment. Coming face to face with the only woman he ever truly loved. The woman he had shipped off to New York to pursue her dreams as a dancer. To save her from being a casualty in his turbulent and toxic life.
It had been over 6 months since he had seen her.
All he wanted to do was rush toward her and throw her back into his arms where she belonged.
But he stands with his hands clenched into fists by his sides and his jaw tightly clenched.
"Marcus." Liam finally forces his former bodyguard's name from his lips. "What're you doing here?"
Marcus had mysteriously disappeared from the palace around the same time that Ophelia went back to New York. He resigned with short notice and never gave an explanation to his old best friend. But at the time, Liam had bigger fish to fry than worry of his whereabouts.
Marcus is dressed in a casual black knit sweater and jeans. He looks almost unrecognizable without a suit and tie. However his rigid stance, stern expression, and piercing stare resemble his former job position.
"How did you get in here," Liam presses as his eyes bounce back and forth between the two standing before him.
"It's the least of your worries at the moment your highness," Marcus responds taking a quick glance at Ophelia.
She stands in a light yellow summer dress with her hair in a braid to the side. Her arms are tightly wrapped around her body with a gaze that hasn't left the floor.
"We're not safe," she softly speaks.
Liam does a mental eye roll at her remark; clearly he wouldn't have just gone on an 8 hour plane ride to find her if he hadn't been concerned for her safety. But even though an unfamiliar rage had grown within him like a wildfire over the last 12 hours, he still loved the woman standing before him.
And she had just lost her father. He knew the feeling.
"Well you can stay here as long as you need," Liam replies setting down one of his bags. "Still doesn't exactly explain why you are here."
Marcus nervously readjusts his position before clearing his throat.
"She needed me, Liam."
"Well, hero, I'm glad to see that you found her first," Liam snaps referring to his luggage. "My jet just landed a little over an hour ago."
"He doesn't mean today.. he doesn't mean since last night," Ophelia speaks even quieter than before. "When you came to visit me in America a few months ago.. and I told you to leave.."
Marcus slowly moves closer to her side putting his hand on her back. It gradually moves in small reassuring circles as she resumes eye contact with the ground.
Liam lightly giggles to himself scratching the back of his head as the harsh reality begins to soak in. He was quite certain this was just a huge joke the two of them were playing on him. Surely this couldn't be real. Surely the only woman he ever loved and someone he used to call his best friend would never become lovers.
"You have two seconds to give me one good reason why I shouldn't flatten out your nose mate," Liam threatens storming toward Marcus.
"Liam stop!" Ophelia shouts getting in between them. "I wasn't with Marcus. He's been here, with you, the whole time. Protecting you. And protecting me."
Liam inhales a few deep breaths desperately trying to keep his anger at bay. "Protecting us from what exactly?"
"Dominique."
The Island
Running on maybe 2 hours of sleep, Eleanor's eyes involuntarily close as she tries to focus on the makeshift pot of coffee her brother was brewing. She slumps over a hand carved wooden table while sitting on a wobbly straw bar stool of some sort.
It was rather impressive what Robert had managed to come up with. It was as if she was in the middle of that Disney movie Tarzan she watched as a child where the humans managed to turn a piece of bamboo into a working faucet.
The shack that hung over their heads shielding the sun rays was made purely by bark from trees and random leaves. It made sense that Robert had gotten in such incredible shape over the past couple of years. Apparently all he did on a day to day basis was labor in order to survive.
The hut itself was about the size of her bathroom back at the palace, and it was next to impossible for her to understand how he managed living here.
"Bloody hell," Eleanor gripes as Dominique slams a fresh mug of coffee underneath her nose.
"Sorry," she coyly replies before returning to Robert's side.
Eleanor snarls making eye contact with the back of her head while taking a sip of the coffee. It tastes like shit. It tastes like watered down coffee beans with a hint of dirt. But then again, what else was she expecting on a deserted island?
She has trouble not spitting out the washed down coffee beans in her mouth but forces herself to swallow it. Jasper accepts the other mug of coffee from Dominique without saying a word. He too was running low on sleep, if any. Knowing how protective he was of the Princess he most likely didn't close his eyes once last night.
"How did you two sleep?" Robert asks with a tone in his voice that makes his sister want to strangle him. He knew damn well how mortified she was after being caught in the act. She had been on magazine covers in the nude, videoed streaking around the streets of London, but nothing was more horrifying than having her older brother catch her going down on a body guard.
"Why is she here?" Eleanor groggily diverts the conversation lazily pointing in Dominique's direction. "You still haven't answered my question."
Dominique sets her mug down before strutting toward the table and sitting across from Jasper and Eleanor.
"I'm here because I saved Robert's life," she says making threatening eye contact. "If it wasn't for me, both of your brothers wouldn't be alive right now."
"Why not be honest with Liam then?" Jasper cuts in, simultaneously pushing the cup of coffee further away from him. "Why not tell him his older brother, the King, is still alive?"
There's a loud crashing in the kitchen making the three of them jump. Robert stops in his place after sending a plate made of clay crashing to the ground. He spins on his heels and charges toward the table before pointing his finger in Jasper's face.
"I am not the King," he growls making Eleanor's breath hitch in her throat. "I never have been. And I never will be."
Dominique looks at him in a way that makes Eleanor's stomach turn.
"The Henstridge family is toxic," she matter-of-factly states while tossing some hair behind her shoulder. "Your uncle wanted Robert dead. And that Gran of yours was in on it the whole time."
"You're wrong!" Eleanor shouts standing from the table. She herself is shocked at the knee jerk reaction to defend her uncle. Surely Cyrus had done some questionable things as a person. Well, questionable was an understatement.
The Grand Duchess, on the other hand, was unfortunately an undeniable suspect. But would they really go as far as to murder a member of their family to get closer to the throne?
"Who do you think paid off Boone to shoot down Robert's jet?" Dominique whispers moving her face closer to Eleanor's. "It wasn't my father. It wasn't Domino. And it wasn't Pryce. It was our lovely King Cyrus Henstridge."
The Palace
"She's been watching you for longer than you think, Liam." Ophelia finally takes a few strides toward him grasping onto one of his hands. "She told me that if I-"
Liam stares into her large, saddened, glossy blue eyes that begged for understanding.
"It's okay Phe, you can say it," Liam encourages her, finally letting his guard down.
"She told me that if I took you back, if I even returned your calls.. that she would personally find me.. and would not only kill me, she would kill you too."
Liam furrows his eyebrows moving his eye sight over to Marcus who had been closely watching them.
"It's not only that, your highness," Marcus adds. He takes a few steps closer so only the two of them are within ear shot. "Your brother, Robert, is alive sir."
Liam's eyes widen shaking his head in disbelief. He lets go of Ophelia's hands wiping his brow with his fingers. "It's not possible. I don't believe it."
"You don't have time to contemplate whether it's true or not." Marcus places his hands on Liam's shoulders. "I have all reason to believe that she is with him on an island somewhere off of Scotland. We must find them. If we don't move fast, she'll kill him. That is, unless the rest of Domino finds him first."