A Love that Endures 3 Page 22

  “I tried to call you, Katy,” David replied, sharply, his eyes suddenly flashing with intensity. “I tried texting. I emailed you. Nothing.”

  Nothing? “But . . .” But that couldn’t be right. Katy knew her shock was showing on her face, because David went on, gaining traction.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I think someone blocked my contact information from your phone, Katy.”

  It was the same kind of thing that Cerise had been hinting at during their phone call. But she had tried calling David herself, time and time again.

  “Why didn’t you answer my calls, then?” Her eyes widened as she walked through it herself. “I called you so many times. I tried for days.”

  David shook his head, something that looked like relief going over his face. “I never got a call from you, Katy. Please believe me. But—”

  Their eyes met, and Katy knew David didn’t need to finish his sentence. They blocked me from him, too.

  She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. Who would’ve done this? Kept them from even speaking to each other? Her parents? How would they have had such unfettered access to her and her devices, even if they were capable of the acts? And how would they have been able to control David’s things?

  David ran his hand through his hair, over and over, mussing the slightly longer curls on top, perhaps because he saw the war going on in her head written on her face. “I know this all sounds crazy, Katy. Trust me.”

  Katy tried to imagine the uphill battle David had faced when he tried to argue his case in a court of law. If it sounded crazy to her—someone who had loved, respected, and trusted him—then how must it have sounded to unbiased listeners?

  “I would’ve thought it was crazy, too, if I hadn’t found all of this surveillance equipment in my room and in my laptop.” He looked down. “I’d packed it all into a backpack and I was going to the police . . . but then they showed up at my door. They must’ve taken it out of my backpack at the same time they planted that cocaine. But I know how it looks. I don’t have that evidence to show you. Or really any way to substantiate my claims.”

  Katy watched his face as he spoke, feeling herself irresistibly drawn closer to him with every passing second. He sounded just as she remembered; everything about him told her that what he was feeling was real. And she was no longer the naïve girl who had fallen for Alexei’s lies. Katy could look back, now, and see the parts of that story that should’ve tipped her off, the way he’d manipulated her. And to her, David still looked just as honorable as he always had. Could she trust him? Could she trust herself to make that call?

  David sighed deeply, his eyes clouding over with a pain held for five long years. “All I can give you is a promise that nothing those people said ever happened. None of the cheating. None of the crimes. None of the lies. And I always hoped you would believe me, if I could just get ahold of you. I would’ve told you everything.”

  He took a purposeful step toward her again, and Katy felt her heart clench in her chest.

  “You were everything to me, Katy. Honestly, you still are. You always will be. And I would never have played with your heart like that.”

  The tears slowly came to her eyes, more powerful now even than when she’d first seen him.

  David was looking her straight in the eyes now, on his face an openness and an offer. “And, Katy, if you’re happy with the duke, then I won’t ever bother you again. I’ll leave you be. I’ll wish you the best. Truly. I just . . . I had to tell you that I’m innocent. That’s why I snuck into your party. Even if nothing came of it, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t try to tell you the truth. That all I ever wanted was to love you.”

  Katy’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I left Oliver,” she said. “I left him because I love someone else.”

  In the stillness that followed, she watched as David took one last breath, his whole being seeming to still. She watched as he took the final step to close the distance that separated them. Her own breath seemed to stop when their chests touched, and she could feel his warm breath. The piney scent of him flooded into her nose once more, bringing with it so many memories.

  “I love you, Katy,” David said.

  “I love you, too,” Katy confessed, allowing herself to revel in the beautiful words. And then her mouth was closed by the firm, sudden presence of David’s lips over hers.

  And she knew then that she believed him, fully and unconditionally. She knew that this man in her arms was still the most wonderful, genuine person she had ever met. She trusted her heart, and her heart trusted David.

  What she didn’t know was how she could ever make amends to him.

  Seconds ticked by as they passionately embraced, but no one was counting them. When they finally pulled back, Katy felt like it could’ve been days or weeks since she’d showed up looking for him. Time felt meaningless now. Years of emotion and desire had rushed back. And that brought a new and horrible guilt, too.

  “David,” Katy choked out through tears, holding on harder to his chest. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that I didn’t try harder, that I wasn’t there for you, that I couldn’t . . .”

  David gently pressed a finger against Katy’s lips. “You have nothing to be sorry about. None of this is your fault.”

  “But . . . my parents? They really did this? How could they? How could I ever make those years and that pain up to you?” She sniffed, trying to suppress the emotion that was threatening to overpower her. But, just like he always had, David stilled her restless thoughts.

  “I wish that wasn’t it, Katy. And I still don’t know. I don’t have any proof yet. It could be someone else, but they seemed like the only ones with something to gain out of all of this. All logic points to them. I just don’t know what to say.”

  Katy kept her arms around him and looked up, trying to still her shaking voice. “If you think that they were conspiring against you, David, then I believe you. I support you. But how will we clear your name without evidence?”

  David shook his head. “That doesn’t matter to me. Having you is all that matters to me.”

  Katy was able to muster a gentle smile for the first time since she had arrived in this intimidating place. David was so noble and so pure. He didn’t even need retribution.

  But Katy wasn’t feeling so sure.

  “David, if this is true, then my parents need to atone for it. We have to clear your name. It’s important to me.”

  David watched her wordlessly as she spoke, a shadow hiding behind his eyes.

  She shook her head, her mind going back to the problem that now gaped before her, racing over the evidence in circles. “But it doesn’t make sense, David. Even if they wanted to, even if they would, how could my parents have framed you? How could they have gotten into your room in Cambridge? How could they have reacted to the surveillance videos and planted evidence and everything! How could they do that from halfway across the world?”

  “Ah. Yes.” David took a deep breath and looked down again, and Katy realized that there was something that he still needed to tell her.

  “David?”

  “Katy, it’s hard for me to say these things. It’s hard for me to accuse people who you love and trust without much evidence at my disposal. I don’t like seeing you hurt or confused.”

  Katy felt the anxiety in her belly deepen. What could be worse than hearing that her parents had been so cruel and possessive of her behind her back, if that really was the case? She willed herself to be stronger even than she had been so far.

  “I know it’s hard,” she said, “but I promise I can handle it. I’m not going to blame you. We’re going to figure this out.”

  David took a deep breath. “Right. Here goes. Katy, I don’t think the king and queen were the ones doing the legwork. I think it was someone else. Somebody who was with us at Cambridge.”

  Katy’s eyes narrowed, her heart beating painfully fast.

  “Someone who had easy access to me.
To you. Someone who could watch us and then think and act quickly when they needed to. Someone who was right under our noses.”

  She began to slowly shake her head, the horrifying realization of what David was about to say dawning on her. Even though she’d promised herself to be strong . . . even though she’d begun to suspect what he was going to say next.

  “It must have been Cassie, Katy. I think that she’s in on this. She’s working with your parents to control you.”

  Katy released David and took a step back, hugging herself as her hands went cold and clammy. “I don’t know. I believe that you were framed, but . . . There has to be some mistake. I know Cassie. I grew up with her. She’s my best friend and my cousin, but it’s more than that. David, we’re like sisters.”

  David’s shoulders were hunched, but his voice was clear. “She’s not who she seems, Katy. I don’t have any evidence against your parents, but I do have evidence against Cassie. I wouldn’t have believed it either, but then Mia found me here and told me that Cassie had threatened her career. That’s part of why Mia wanted to help me get in contact with you. Katy, we have firsthand accounts that say she’s been indirectly terminating anyone on the palace staff who overhears something that they’re not supposed to. Multiple people have told me about this.”

  “But—” Katy interjected, the knots in her stomach back, twisting painfully tight. “My parents, they have something to gain. You said so yourself. So, as much as it hurts, it makes sense to me why they would want to control me. I have to consider them as suspects. But . . . Cassie has nothing to gain from this. She was hurting right along with me when I went through everything. She was there for me.”

  David looked plaintive, but he nodded slowly. “I trust you, Katy. I trust your judgment of character. But if we’re really going to try to find out who did this to us, I think we need to consider the most logical options. And Cassie is a very likely suspect. From everything that I’ve seen and heard, something is off about her. I know I can’t quite explain why, but I think you should pay attention to what you say around Cassie. Keep your eyes open. Just in case.”

  Before Katy could reply again, her phone buzzed in her pocket. In and of itself, that wasn’t a remarkable occurrence.

  But, as she clicked it open and saw the name on the screen, the fact that it was Cassie texting her . . . that was a bit coincidental.

  David saw the name too and looked back up at her, a muted but knowing expression on his face.

  Katy shrugged, trying to lighten the tension that weighed on her shoulders and keep her voice light. “She’s just checking in on me, David.”

  “Could she be checking in on you because she already knows where you are?” David countered.

  Katy wanted to argue. But before she could, David turned around and looked at Edward standing nearby. He turned back to Katy, his jaw set and his gaze determined.

  “Come with me,” he said. “I want to test a theory.”

  29

  David

  “Is this about Cassie’s text?” Katy asked, keeping up with his own strides as they made their way toward the man whom he guessed to be Katy’s driver.

  David reached down and took her hand as they went. He didn’t want to say too much, when showing her would be better. “Just trust me, Katy.”

  Slowly, Katy’s grasp on his hand tightened.

  “I do,” she replied.

  As they approached the man, he looked David up and down anxiously, as if sizing him up in case of a physical altercation. David understood the wariness. As far as this man was concerned, the princess was hand-in-hand with a criminal and a vagrant.

  “Mate, can I have a word?” he started, hoping to convey with his tone that he meant no harm.

  “His name is Edward. He’s worked for my family for years,” Katy said, her hand still entwined in his by his side. “Edward, this is David. You . . . probably know of him.”

  Up close in the flickering streetlamp, Edward looked no less defensive and wary. Which wasn’t really the tone that David wanted to set. He took a breath, let his face smooth out, and reached for his reserves of honesty. And the next words he said, he really meant.

  “Edward, it’s nice to meet you. I’m sure you have some preconceived notions about me. That’s all right.”

  The man looked between David and Katy. “Um. Nice to meet you,” he muttered awkwardly.

  David knew well enough that he was lying. But he didn’t blame Edward for that.

  “Edward,” Katy said firmly, “I know what everybody has been talking about. But please trust me. It’s not what it seems.”

  “Look, I don’t know what you’re telling the princess, but I don’t want to be involved in this. I just brought her because . . .” Edward said, his face turned toward David. But he was quickly cut off.

  “You brought me because you are in my employ and I requested it. And the beliefs I hold about David are beliefs I established on my own, Edward,” Katy said, her voice as queenly as David remembered as she took control of the situation. “Now please. I’m not asking you to commit a crime. Just talk to him.”

  The man looked at David expectantly, but with obvious distrust.

  “Edward,” David began, trying to choose his words carefully so as not to offend either party present, “by any chance, have you told Cassie where the princess is?”

  Katy looked over at David curiously, apparently not having expected his question at all. Edward, however, didn’t seem nearly as surprised by the accusation. In fact, his reply seemed almost formulated for exactly this kind of occasion.

  “What the princess does is her business and her right. My position requires the utmost confidentiality and respect for my king, my queen, and my princess,” he replied indignantly. It definitely sounded like a practiced spiel, but David also believed that his irritation and devotion to the crown were real.

  Cassie, however, probably didn’t operate with the same sense of integrity. And, if David’s suspicion was correct, if she’d gotten to Edward, it wasn’t even Edward’s fault.

  “David,” Katy chimed in. “I trust Edward. He’s served my family faithfully. He was the only person I could ask to help me find you.”

  “I don’t doubt that Edward is a good man, Katy,” David said, though he was still looking at the driver. “All I ask is that he prove this to us.”

  The driver’s eyes widened. “How can I prove anything to you? My word is my proof!”

  Katy turned to David, her reservations evident on her face. But when he held her gaze, trying to determine whether she was okay with him continuing, she nodded slightly, and David got the distinct impression that she was getting the same strange vibe he was from her trusted driver.

  “What you just said wasn’t a yes or no,” David observed to Edward, still trying his best to keep his tone calm and steady. “If you are really protecting the princess’s privacy, I’m sure you won’t have a problem proving it to us. Could you show us your call log, or your text messages? Right now. Just to prove that you haven’t been in contact with Cassie.”

  The driver looked frantic suddenly, his eyes darting between David and Katy, as though he realized that he had been caught.

  “Edward?” Katy prompted, her voice full of compassion, but also truly questioning. It seemed that she knew then, too.

  The driver inhaled, his eyes wide and afraid, and then he looked down. “Princess, I’m so sorry. But you don’t understand. She already knew where we were. She just wanted to know why.”

  Already knew?

  Katy seemed to have the same thought.

  “She knew where we were without you telling her?” she asked, her face etched with confusion.

  Edward shrugged in an exasperated manner. His face was still fearful. “I don’t know about all of that. All I know is I answer her questions.”

  “But why?” David prompted. He felt like he already knew exactly why Edward had to answer Cassie’s questions.

  But now Katy needed to hear it.


  “She said she’d have my job if I let anything like this happen without telling her about it. My wife only works part-time. I have two kids in university. I can’t afford to lose my salary and my references!” Edward’s voice was frenzied. He clasped his hands in front of him in a pleading gesture, obviously distraught at the situation.

  David understood. He’d seen it firsthand. He turned back to Katy.

  “I think he’s telling the truth, Katy. From everything I’ve heard, this is Cassie’s MO. She threatens people’s jobs and careers. Threatens their income. Rufus, the man who led you to me? He lost his job less than a week ago due to Cassie. All because he heard something he wasn’t supposed to.”

  David decided not to share precisely what Rufus had heard. Hopefully he could convince Katy of her cousin’s betrayal without informing her about the nasty things Cassie was apt to say about her. He didn’t know if he could handle causing Katy that much pain.

  Katy turned to Edward in the dimness, her face set.“Is this true, Edward? Are you . . . afraid of her?”

  Edward’s face was crestfallen. He looked down ashamedly. “I’m sorry, Princess. I never wanted to betray your trust. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Edward. I . . . I understand,” Katy comforted him. “But you have to tell me that you won’t give her any more information.”

  Edward looked afraid again but nodded. David’s heart ached for him, knowing that he was being torn in multiple directions.

  “Okay, Princess. I promise,” the driver said, his voice low but genuine. “But we have to get back to the palace soon, or she’ll keep asking.”

  “I just found David, Edward,” Katy said, and the determination in her tone sent warmth coursing through David’s limbs. “I have to . . .”

  “He’s right, Katy,” David interrupted, though not without a flash of disappointment, given what she’d been about to say. “If Cassie knows where you are and that we know about her—if she really is behind all of this—then I’m in danger. And our . . .” He swallowed, the words sounding unreal on his tongue. “Our future could be in jeopardy.”