Chapter 11
About ten seconds after telling her that he had a brother; Nathan lifted his gaze to see what her reaction would be. Haley's eyes were huge, her face was practically drained of colour and her mouth was parted as her lips formed a small 'o'. He chuckled at her reaction and that snapped her out of her trance.
"I'm s-sorry," she stuttered as she started to digest the information. "Your brother?"
"Half-brother, but brother nonetheless," Nathan clarified.
"How?" Haley asked.
"Before I was born, my parents went through a 'rough patch' and my dad strayed," Nathan started to explain. Haley nodded slowly. She knew all too well what it was like to learn that one of your parents had strayed from their marriage. "He went to his old girlfriend; someone he dated before he met my mom. They spent the night together and Lucas was conceived."
"Oh, my God," Haley remarked.
"It gets worse," Nathan said. Her eyes went wide with disbelief.
"Worse than your father cheating on your mother?" she asked. He nodded.
"My dad's old girlfriend was originally Karen Munroe. When she married, she became Karen Roe," Nathan said. Haley latched onto that information.
"Roe? Wait a minute. Isn't that your grandmother's maiden name and his brother's last name?" Haley asked. Nathan looked at her in surprise.
"How did you know that?" he asked.
"Are you kidding?" Haley retorted. Nathan responded with a blank stare. "The king of Polar's falling out with his brother was huge. Something about how Keith was passed over as heir when he and Dan were younger. He was so angry and insulted, he changed his last name and went to live with their mother who was also the king's ex-wife."
"You remember all of that? It happened before either of us were born," Nathan said.
"My aunt is a huge gossip but she also has a disease that affects her memory. She thinks it's around that time so she doesn't realize that the 'courtier' she's telling all of the 'latest' gossip to is actually her niece," Haley said. Nathan stared at her in disbelief.
"My family is very, uh," she started to stay but her sentence trailed off as she searched for the right word. Her eyes brightened as she finished, "…eccentric." He started to laugh.
"So if your uncle changed his last name to Roe and this Karen became a Roe when she was married, that must mean that… oh, my God," Haley said, as she connected the dots. Nathan just grimaced. "Your dad slept with his brother's wife."
"Yeah," Nathan confirmed sadly.
"That is unbelievable," Haley said.
"It's the truth," he said.
"The truth sucks," Haley said sympathetically.
"Yeah," Nathan agreed.
"How did your dad tell you?" she asked.
"He didn't," Nathan replied.
"Then how…?" Haley started.
"I always knew there was something that my dad was hiding but I didn't know what it was until last night," he said.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Haley assured him. She knew she wouldn't want to but he shook his head.
"I don't mind. Besides, I like talking with you," he admitted. She smiled. Then she nodded for him to continue. "Something my father said while he was here stayed with me."
Haley went over what she could remember of the king's words in her head and shrugged. "What?" she asked.
"He said something about a new scandal," Nathan replied. Haley nodded. She remembered him saying that the last thing the family needed was a new scandal. "At the time, it didn't mean much because I was caught up in telling them about Sienna but I was thinking about it last night."
"And?" Haley asked.
"I realized that I had no idea what he was talking about. Our family hasn't had a 'scandal' since you and I broke off our engagement and I wouldn't call that a scandal," Nathan replied.
"So what did you do?" she asked.
"I called home and Tim told me about it," he replied. At her questioning gaze he added, "Tim is my governor. Remember?" She nodded. Nathan told her about how he and Lucas were in the military together and that they were good friends. "And all that time, he was my brother."
"Now that I think about it, my dad was always fond of him," Nathan admitted.
"Your father should have told you when he found out," Haley said.
"But Lucas had no idea or I don't think he did because he acted as if he thought Keith was his father. What if he did know?" Nathan asked.
"I doubt he did," Haley said dismissively.
"But Karen did. Who's to say she didn't tell him?" Nathan pointed out.
"She could have," Haley said, realizing that it was a definite possibility.
"But then why didn't Lucas say anything if he knew?" Nathan went on. Haley shrugged and Nathan furrowed his brow as more possibilities came.
"Maybe he didn't know," Haley reminded him. Nathan stared at her again. "Maybe he just found out and he's as shocked as you are."
"He's probably devastated," Nathan realized. He would be if he had found out that his entire life was a lie; that the man that he thought was his father his whole life actually wasn't. Haley scoffed. "What?"
"I wouldn't be devastated," Haley said. He looked at her in confusion. How could she not be?
"What would you be then?" he asked.
"Furious," she replied. Nathan nodded again. He guessed Lucas was probably furious at his mom and Dan for letting him believe something that wasn't true and for depriving him of his birthright.
"He is royalty," Nathan said.
"And he never knew about it which means that he has a claim to the throne," Haley said.
"Yeah, he does," Nathan said. Haley's face softened at his defeated tone.
"I'm sorry, Nathan," she said.
"For me?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied.
"What for? I'm not the one who's been living a lie," he replied.
"But haven't you?" Haley asked.
"What do you mean?" Nathan asked.
"Well, you were raised as the heir. You were educated and taught how to rule Polar and now that might not happen," Haley said.
"I care more about my brother's life being turned upside down than not being able to rule Polar," Nathan said.
"Really?" Haley asked doubtfully. He smiled at her.
"Don't sound too surprised," he remarked. She looked at him in confusion and then laughed when she realized what he was thinking.
"That's not what I meant," she said.
"It's not?" he asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.
"Not at all. I wasn't talking about how you might be jealous or even bitter about Lucas being able to take over. You're not like that," Haley said.
"Then what did you mean?" he asked.
"Well, I've been raised to take over Toraan and even though it's happening a little sooner than I anticipated, I am honoured to rule. If it turned out that I had a long-lost, older sibling from one of my father's indiscretions and I couldn't take over, I would be devastated," she said.
"That's where you and I are different," Nathan said. Her face clouded with confusion.
"What?" she asked.
"You are a born leader," he said. She smiled at the description. "You care about your people, you're tough but fair and you're honest. You might dread the day you take over, which I think has more to do with you doubting your capabilities than not wanting to rule because I know you do want to."
"How does that make us different?" Haley asked.
"Because I dread having to rule. It's not about self-esteem with me, though. I know I can rule but I don't know that I want to have that much responsibility," Nathan replied.
"So maybe Lucas becoming the heir isn't so bad then," Haley suggested.
"It's more like a blessing in disguise," Nathan replied as he looked down in shame. Haley put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. He looked up at her and she shook her head.
"There's no shame in realizing that you don't want to be responsible for the lives of your people. It's a heavy burden to carry, having to put their needs ahead of your own all the time," Haley said.
"I was brought up to be the leader. If Lucas weren't my brother, we wouldn't be having this discussion. I would rule even if I didn't want to. And I don't," Nathan said sadly. Haley nodded in understanding.
"But it doesn't mean that you don't care," she pointed out.
"Doesn't it?" he asked. Haley shook her head.
"No, it doesn't because if Lucas weren't your brother, you would rule, wouldn't you?" she asked. He nodded. "Even though you know you don't want to?"
Nathan nodded. "I would be the only heir. No one would be left to lead the country," he replied.
"And that is why it doesn't mean that you don't care because you were willing to put aside what you wanted in order for them to have a king," Haley said. He looked at her doubtfully for a long time. She nodded, signalling that she was right. He smiled and hugged her.
"Thank you," he whispered into her shoulder. Haley pulled back and smiled.
"What are friends for?" she asked casually as she leaned in and gave him a friendly kiss on the mouth. Their lips made contact for a brief second and burst of electricity surged through her.
Embarrassed, she lifted an apologetic gaze to Nathan's and she saw that his face mirrored what she was feeling. They stared at each other in disbelief. Haley opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she realized she had no words.
Nathan, catching her sudden speechlessness, flashed a huge grin at her as he said, "I know the feeling."