Page 73 of Not-So-Perfect Princess
She’d been sleepwalking through life out of duty, but there was a higher duty: to be true to one’s self.
However much we love people or have loved them, we still have to be the person we are meant to be.
Alejandro had been talking about his family when he’d spoken those words to her. Jules hadn’t realized how much the words spoke to her soul until now.
Being true to one’s self had more power to improve lives than she realized. Alejandro had taught her that. And she wanted to teach that to any children she had, both sons and daughters.
It was time for her to wake up for good. She needed to stand up for herself and go after what she wanted. She wanted to be the person her mother wanted her to be, the kind of person the women of Aliestle could be proud of.
She squared her shoulders. “La Isla de la Aurora might be more progressive, but you and Alejandro are as selfish as the men in Aliestle. Neither of you value women for who they are, but for what they can provide you.”
“Why are you so surprised?” Enrique asked. “You agreed to an arranged marriage. Did you think this would turn into a love match?”
“Yes. I hoped it would.” Ridiculous fantasy that it was. “Like my parents’ arranged marriage.”
Enrique laughed. “Love is a childish notion that royalty cannot indulge in.”
His words strengthened her. “I appreciate you wanting to marry me, but I can’t marry you. I ask to be released from our arrangement.”
His eyes flared with surprise. “Because of Alejandro.”
“No. He doesn’t want me.” The knowledge bit into her, but she refused to give it any measure. She’d awoken to possibilities thanks to Alejandro for which she would always be grateful. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t find love, a real love I can count on.”
“What have you done?” King Alaric looked as if one of the blood vessels in his forehead might burst. “You march back in there and tell Enrique you were mistaken.”
“I’m not mistaken about this, Father.” All she’d learned while on this island paradise empowered her. “Enrique only wants my dowry.”
“So?”
She boldly met her father’s gaze. “So I want more from a marriage than that.”
“You’ll see what you end up with when we return home and you marry an Aliestlian.”
His words unleashed something deep inside of her, something lying dormant for too long. “I’m not returning to Aliestle,” she said with a new sense of conviction. “I’m not going to be forced into a marriage I don’t want.”
“This is your duty.”
“Perhaps once, but no longer. I believe my mother would’ve understood.”
“I will not stand for this impertinence.” He stood, his nostrils flaring. “You will obey me or I will disown you. You will lose your title, your home, your allowance. I will strip you of your passport. You will have nothing left. No money. No home. No country.”
The thought of losing everything hurt, but she had to follow her own path. Her own heart. Jules didn’t need to be claimed by a man or rescued. She could take care of herself. “If that is what you must do, Father, go ahead.”
“You are dead to me,” he screamed.
Tears stung her eyes. She felt an odd mix of sadness and joy. But she held firm. For the first time in her life, she was completely free of duty. Until now, everything in her life had been planned out, dictated by others. “Father…”
He turned his back on her.
She would have to make her own way, create a new life for herself. She was in charge now. She got to decide who she would be.
But Jules already knew.
She was like her mother, Queen Brigitta. Jules was a sailor, and a sailor sailed. She needed to get back into the Med Cup race even if Alejandro didn’t want her. She needed to do it for herself, her mother and for all the women in Aliestle.
“I’ll always love you, Father.”
And she walked out of the room to an uncertain future.
Alejandro barely slept. Early the next morning, he wandered through his villa, unable to shake his uneasiness and loneliness. Strange, given he was back home, free to race and do as he pleased.
