The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

That next adventure

(note - this chapter is briefly NSFW)

(Book release party pic by choicesxdidi (IG) 💙 )

***

For the third day in a row, Maxwell was making it his job to skim the pages of the tabloids to see what they were saying about them now. Hana was looking over his shoulder, her face pale, because today's developments were not good. Bertrand was gonna freak.

"One of you, just tell me, how bad is it?" Jen sighed. "Surely it can't be any worse than the other day?"

"Uhhh... well you remember those flashes of light we kept seeing on the beach? That we figured was some sort of natural phenomenon or something..."

"...mmhmm, until we saw that paparazzi boat on the last day, and then decided they could have been cameras, but crossed all our fingers and toes that they weren't cameras?"

"Short answer? They were cameras." He dramatically flipped the newspaper around so she could see it. "So this is all getting published in Cordonia Now! today. They gave the Daily Apple exclusive rights to the pics."

"They took a lot of pictures, and they're completely misrepresenting them," Hana explained.

"Yup. And the pics are all over the internet too."

Jen sighed, reading. "Duchess Jen spends honeymoon putting future heir at risk... But this is stupid! We didn't even know then!"

Hana nodded. "It might be worth checking with Madeleine as to what she thinks you should do..."

At that point, Jen's phone rang, and she glanced at it, then answered it on speaker. "Madeleine. How are.."

"Enough pleasantries. We need to deal with this mess you've caused."

"I'm sorry? We didn't even know about Rick's plans for us when these pictures were taken, and it's not like I'm even pregnant yet!"

"But to the public, you might as well be," Madeleine's curt voice snapped through the phone. "And the truth isn't nearly as important as appearances."

"But they're making everything they did on the island seem criminal," Hana pointed out.

Maxwell read another snippet. "Duchess Jen rides horseback, sips champagne, and soaks in a hot tub, with no sign of care for the future heir to Cordonia's crown."

Jen grabbed the picture. "But there weren't even any horses on the isl..." Now she'd seen it. Their eyes met, and they both burst out laughing.

Hana glanced at the picture and soon looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"What is all this unnecessary giggling for?" Madeleine fumed. "Duke Maxwell?"

"Never mind," Jen said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Let's just say these journalists don't know their horses from their husbands."

"Ooh," interrupted Maxwell. "They got exclusive footage of our desert island all day party! Oh god. Mr Hippo alert..."

"Oof," Jen giggled. "I wouldn't want to be you when Bertrand sees those pictures.."

"It's too late. He's seen them. I can already feel his angry glare burning into my soul all the way from the States... Remember me as I was..."

"Dancing on the beach with a rum cocktail," Jen declared.

"Jen," Madeleine went on. "Focus. If it looks like you aren't taking the prospect of an heir seriously, Cordonia will seem weak. Unstable."

"Okay," Jen called. "We'll show them how serious we are about producing an heir!"