Chapter 26

America's POV

The day was overcast but bright. Maxon had come by my room to escort me to lunch. He was unusually quiet and his demeanor was stiff. This only added to my nervousness. "Do you know what your mom wants to talk about?"

To this Maxon replied, "Yes", with no explanation or elaboration.

"Are you regretting asking me to marry you?"

I was relieved when he looked at me with disbelief and maybe a little fear, "No. Why are you?"

"No, not at all. You just seem distant – like you would rather be anywhere but here." I was confused and a little hurt by his attitude. "If you didn't want to have lunch with your mother and aunt, why did you say yes?"

Maxon had the good grace to look somewhat sorry. He stopped and turned towards me. He glanced at the floor and let out a sigh that did nothing to calm my nerves. As he looked up, I was taken aback by the sorrow that was in his eyes. He looked like he was going to cry.

"Maxon, please tell me what is wrong. You are sort of freaking me out here. Should I be worried?"

"I am sorry, America. The truth is I am nervous about the conversation we are about to have with mother. I am surprised Aunt Adele is here, but as mother said, Aunt Adele is someone my mother turns to for support. Perhaps my mother is just as nervous about this conversation as I am. - I told you that mother and I spoke yesterday – that is when I told her about our engagement."

Maxon seemed to look at me for confirmation that I remembered, but seriously, how could I forget. I simply nodded hoping to encourage him to continue.

"The thing is - my mother told me a lot about my growing up, my father, and events that had occurred that I knew nothing about. It was shocking to say the least. There was so much going on yesterday that I pretty much put it to the back of my mind and tried not to think about it. But now that we are going to meet with mother, I cannot hide from the truth any longer and I don't know how I feel about that. I am also not sure if you will stay once you hear what mother has to say. I just want you to know that it is still your choice. You can leave it you want. To be honest, a part of me is disgusted with myself for not sending you away in the first place, to keep you safe. Mother says that I would not be doing you any favours if I did and that you would want to hear the whole story and then make your own decisions. –America, I don't know what is right, but I do know the thought of losing you causes me great pain and that I am sure that I am falling in love with you."

It was a good thing that Maxon had put his hands around my waist because without that support I think I might have fallen down. "This is going to be bad then...bad like finding out about your father and your back?"

"Yeah, some of it. Turns out my mother knew about father punishing me. Remember I told you that my mother was mistreated in her own ways, she told me the first time he caned me he did it to punish her for something she had done. She could not leave, she could not take me any place safe, and she could not have him charged or arrested, so she did the only thing she could. She stayed and tried to do her best for me...He has done other horrible things to her as well."

I thought I was going to be sick. I thought I hated King Clarkson before, but at that moment I hate him so much I don't know a word to describe the hatred I felt. I had to let Maxon know that he was not alone.

"I am not going to leave you Maxon. I have made up my mind. You are stuck with me!"

The corner of Maxon's lips curled up in a little smile and he let out a little chuckle. "Please reserve your decision until after you hear what my mother has to say. Perhaps I should have taken the time to recap for you my conversation with her, but we both thought it would be a good idea for her to speak to you – to us – so that she could answer any questions we may have. You also know that anything I am telling you, that she will tell you is highly confidential. You can never tell anyone. Please promise me and mean it this time."

Ouch. Yeah, I deserved that. "I know. I will never screw up like that again. I get it. I promise!" I looked directly into Maxon's eyes willing him to understand the depths of my sincerity.

All of a sudden, Maxon let go of my waist, stepped back and clapped his hands together, "Well, shall we go choke down some food, while we hear more about my lovely families lies, violence, and political intrigue. It should be marvelous entertainment. I bet your family diners are positively boring compared to mine." Maxon winked and forced a smile, as he offered me his arm. I could not help smiling as we headed towards the conservatory and whatever awaited us there. Maybe I was naive, but I truly believed that we would face the challenges together.

I hope you enjoyed this.

Thanks for reading,

L.M.