Drake had been making his way through the train when he heard a scream that shattered the previous silence like a bolt of lightning. He quickly localized the scream to Jaina's train car.
As he entered their train car, he heard sobbing coming from the bathroom while Maxwell stood on the other side of the door trying to calm her down.
It took a while before she let him in. When she opened the door after what seemed like forever, his breath caught in his throat. Her face was smeared with tears, her lower lip quivered, her eyes looked blank. She looked worse than Savannah did the day she disappeared.
„What happened?" Drake asked in horror.
Jaina didn't answer, just looked sideways at the sink.
Drake followed her gaze and saw a positive pregnancy test lying on the edge of the sink. He immediately took her in his arms while Maxwell kept trying to reassure her that everything would be fine, that they would find Tariq.
Two months later, however, they were sitting together at the table in one of the dining cars. It was the day after Liam and Madeleine's wedding shower. Despite their best efforts, they hadn't found Tariq.
As Liam entered the carriage, Jaina looked up hopefully. She really thought he would run away with her...
But that wasn't why he came. He wanted to talk about various forms and sections of the law book that he could use to protect Jaina and his unborn child while he was married to Madeleine and he had also brought a stack of papers for a Cordonian Arrangement, the prospect of the Valtoria Manor, with him appropriate financial support from the Crown.
In all the years of their friendship, Drake had never felt anything like disgust or other hard feelings towards Liam, but that day it happened and he wasn't the only one, even Olivia seemed to look at Liam with different eyes after this incident.
Jaina stormed out of the carriage crying before he could even get into the details.
Drake left the carriage after her to check on her, stunned at what his best friend was trying to pull off.
She laid crying in his arms for over half an hour before she was able to even talk to him. She had told Drake several times during the engangment tour that if Liam really went through with it and married Madeleine, she would return to New York. Neither able to see Liam with Madeleine nor able to look at herself in the mirror if she really did return to Cordonia as Liam's mistress. However, her train of thought changed with the positive pregnancy test. She had no job, no money, no home, just a mountain of debt and no prospects for improvement. Running away would mean that her child would grow up under poor conditions and in constant danger of being found and harmed by someone who wanted to harm Liam. Staying would mean watching helplessly as Madeleine and the rest of the crown abused her child as 'the symbol of Cordonia's strength' and left it to grow up in unloving circumstances, who knows if she would be even allowed to be a part of his life or if it would just be taken away from her. Drake accompanied her to abortion clinics three times. They came back three times without going through with it. Unable to remove the symbol of her and Liam's love, and confident that they would find Tariq in time. Also, Liam had offered to step down if they didn't find Tariq. That had made Jaina optimistic, she had believed Liam, trusted him completely and so instead of ending the pregnancy she started to prepare for the baby.
„How can he?", she murmured through sobs, „I'm so stupid."
„You're not stupid." Drake whispered to her, stroking her head in comfort.
„Yes, Drake, I am. How could I be so stupid? So naive?" Jaina replied, shaking her head. „How many times have I promised myself the first time I see a red flag on a man, I'll run away!? And what have I done!? I put everything on one card again, hoping to have found the right one this time... Only this time it ended worse for me than the times before."
Jaina sniffed. „I should have had an abortion when I could. I should have walked away when Liam chose Madeleine or when, despite his optimistic statements about our future, he kept whining to me that the very thought of having to marry Madeleine was repugnant to him."
Drake handed her a handkerchief. Jaina thanked him and dabbed at her tears. – It was a fight she couldn't win, like a waterfall more and more tears found their way down her cheek. „I will go down in history as the woman who was not only naïve enough to enter a social season despite her waitressing status, but was also too stupid to use birth control. I'm the prime example of my then sex ed teacher at school saying we should use protection or our lives are over." Jaina started sobbing again at the thought of having to endure Madeleine's spiteful ways forever. „I can't even run away anymore. Thanks to these damn designer clothes I'm broke, my apartment has already been re-let, I'm jobless and thanks to the scandal I won't find a new job anytime soon and I-... I-... what am I going to do now? What other option is there for me but to agree to that disgusting Cordonian Arrangement?"
Drake stroked her hair soothingly as she cried into his chest. „Maybe you don't have to," Drake replied thoughtfully. There was one person they hadn't told yet who might be able to help.
„What do you mean by that? How am I going to raise Cordonia's next monarch alone? And how am I supposed to get out of here? Like Liam is letting me disappear with his heir."
Drake pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and scrolled through his contacts until he found the person he was looking for.
„Who are you calling?" Jaina asked interested while wiping away her tears with the tissue.
After two rings, a male voice rang out. Jaina needed a moment until she could assign the voice to a person. „Hey Drake, what's up?" Leo.
„I'm pregnant.", Jaina blurted out without thinking.
„You must have dialed the wrong number.", Leo replied hastily, the panic in his voice unmistakable.
„Calm down man, that was Jaina. Liam's the father.", Drake said quickly before Leo decided to end the call early.
Leo exhaled in relief. „Man, you can't scare me like that." Leo said mock accusing. „Pregnant, huh? And that outside of marriage, I would have loved to see Father and Regina's faces when they heard the news." Leo chuckled. „Well I guess congratulations are in order."
„Not really." Jaina replied sullenly, her lip starting to tremble again.
„We haven't found Tariq yet and Madeleine and Liam's wedding shower was yesterday.", explained Drake.
„Oh." Leo murmured, adding thoughtfully, „So my father gets his way after all."
„That's what we wanted to talk to you about-..."
„Wait." Jaina interrupted. „How do you know your father had anything to do with it?"
„I was also present at the coronation ball, standing on the podium next to my father and Regina, don't you remember?" Leo sighed. „Besides, I was once in Liam's position myself. It was very obvious that something like this was coming. My family and Madeleine's have had an agreement regarding a possible marriage, to this day it baffles me that Liam didn't see that coming, but he's always been dad's golden boy."
„I know you don't want anything to do with the court, but-"
„I'm in." Leo replied firm.
Drake and Jaina looked at each other in surprise. „That was quick.", remarked Drake.
„Like I said, I was in Liam's position." Leo sighed, cringing at the memory of his time with Madeleine as his fiancé. „I may no longer care about the court, but I still wish my brother a happy life."
Jaina nodded appreciatively. „Is there anything we can do about the marriage?"
„You can marry him." Leo replied simply.
„I think that's out of the question." Jaina replied bitter.
„A grand public wedding is out of the question, yes. But there is nothing to prevent you from saying yes in a small circle. Once Liam is married, all marriages thereafter are void.", said Leo as a matter of fact.
„Aren't there any rules? Madeleine and Liam are to be married in an old historic chapel with your father conducting the ceremony." Jaina found it hard to believe it could be so "easy".
Leo chuckled. „The monarchy would have died out in Cordonia decades ago if only former monarchs can appoint and marry descendant monarchs." Leo shrugged. „I can understand your concern though. Some noble houses are still obsessed with the old forms, even if they were abolished long ago. If you want to be on the safe side, see that you get Regina to perform the ceremony in Dad's place. Although she is the former queen, she was merely married into the family. She is also related to Madeleine, so you could very easily accuse her of high treason if Madeleine ever causes you trouble and even though she has considered Madeleine her protégé for the last few years, she has never been in such close contact with her family that she would take the penalty of high treason for her. Father's signature on your coronation papers would also be good, but that should be fairly easy to achieve."
„What makes you think he'd sign the documents? He hates me!"
„I don't think he hates you. My family has always been surrounded by enemies, but particularly during my father's reign there have been the most attacks against the crown. Madeleine's father is very well connected and has a reputation to match. My father is probably hoping this will give Liam some sort of life insurance in case all the measures he's taken to prolong his life so far fail... and while we're on the subject, the treatments father is undergoing are leaving him quite confused. Just a few weeks ago, he complained about my lifestyle, only to wire me a large sum of money a day later. So it shouldn't be a problem for Liam to cleverly slip him a document."
„For someone who has never wanted anything to do with the court, you've been paying pretty good attention to your lessons about the court.", remarked Drake.
„That was before I even considered to abdicate. From the time my father started talking about my marriage to Madeleine, I informed myself about possible ways out and safeguards. Madeleine and her family have never been to my liking, why my father would put his trust in them is still a mystery to me.", said Leo, „It would not be the first time in history that a King has been murdered from his wife by virtue of political preference. This is partly the reason why in so many other countries this form of arrangement was abolished and the constellations became known as Cordonian Arrangements. It was originally created by a Lord whose daughter had caught the attention of the then reigning King. Having lost her virtue to the King, the Lord had great difficulty marrying her to find a good match for her. He was lucky that this happened when the stories about King Henry VIII's wives spread. He managed to get the King and Queen to draft a treaty with him stating that his daughter would take the role of the King's mistress and would not aspire to a higher position in exchange for financial and political benefits for her and her family. Over the years, the Cordonian Arrangement has been reinterpreted by some of the succeeding monarchs and used through many insidious actions to protect their loved ones. Liam would not be the first King in Cordonian history to have his own κανονιοτροφές."
„κανονιοτροφές?" Jaina asked confused.
„κανονιοτροφές is Greek for cannon fodder. At that time, this was how the spouses of the monarchs were described, who were sacrificed to the enemy in an attempt to assassinate the crown so that the monarch's love could flee." Leo laughed. „There are indeed some spouses of the cordonian monarchs who are revered to as such in the history books."
A smile formed on Jaina's lips at the thought that Madeleine's goal, which she is trying to achieve with all her might spite, would one day backfire tremendously for her.
Drake was glad to see her smile after everything that happened. „What's the earliest you can be here, Leo?"
„You're currently in New York, right? - Four hours."
As previously announced by him, Leo arrived in New York four hours after their phone call. He had brought a number of documents with him. Together with their friends, they sat in the small study of Liam's train car and created Plan B.
„Jaina still needs a husband to showcase in public." Leo said after they checked off most of the requirements in order for their plan to be successfull.
Liam looked at Drake expectantly.
„Why?" Jaina replied, reluctant to drag anyone else into this mess.
„To protect you and the baby.", Liam explained, „If we could convince the public that you're in love with someone else and that you just assumed the role of my mistress for financial and political gain, potential attackers would be less interested in you."
„Wouldn't it make more sense to wind up Jaina being forced into this arrangement?", interjected Hana.
„That would show Liam's interest in her.", countered Olivia.
„Depends on how you do it." Hana defended her proposal.
„We can work out the details later.", Liam interrupted the conversation and looked expectantly at Drake. „Can we count on you?"
Drake scratched the back of his head uncertainly. „Geesh, Li, I don't know. Me as a nobleman? I don't think that will be convince anyone."
„Quite the opposite, Drake.", interjected Maxwell. „The commoner who overcomes his reservations about the nobility for the woman he loves. Would make a good story for a book."
Drake's heart was beating madly in his chest, he looked uncertainly over at Jaina. „What do you think?"
„I think we're a good team and if Liam's okay with that then I'm okay with that too." Jaina replied calmly. „Provided, of course, that you also agree to it."
"Maybe it would be different. Maybe everything would be different." The words Jaina had said to him when he had confessed his feelings to her rang through his head.
Maybe that would make the difference she had been talking about. A warm, pleasant feeling ran through his body at this thought and so it happened that he agreed without giving it second thought.
With that, it was certain that Jaina and Liam would be married among friends in a small circle. Jaina would be Queen of Cordonia by law, albeit in secret, at least until they found Tariq and Jaina was accepted by the people again. Until then, she and her unborn child would be safe in Valtoria with Drake as her public figure husband.
Leo and Liam pulled a few strings and arranged a venue where they could have the wedding that same day. Bertrand had fired Justin before Jaina and Liam's wedding. The fewer who knew about Plan B, the better. Jaina was wearing a white designer wedding dress, her hair was down, Hana had even managed to get her something old, something new, something blue and something borrowed.
Bertrand led her to the altar.
Jaina named Maxwell as her best man, Liam named Drake as his best man. Jaina's corgi Zeus acted as the ring bearer. Hana acted as the flower girl. Olivia was the only guest at the wedding who did not have a role in the wedding ceremony.
Jaina and Liam exchanged self-written vows. They spent their wedding night in Liam's train car.
Upon arrival in Cordonia the next day, they completed the remaining formalities. Cordonia had gotten a queen, unknown to them, her name was Jaina Johnson.