Maid For You 4

Chapter 40

Melaniya arrived shortly thereafter, apologizing profusely for not being there earlier, and I assured her it was alright. I inquired after the king, and she told me—thank goodness!—that he was still alive, but it would be any minute now. I finally got out of that dress, took off my makeup, took a shower, and dressed in comfortable clothes. I felt anxious, knowing that Nikolas was probably distraught facing his father's death, but there was nothing I could do about it. I wouldn't dare interrupt his last few moments with him, though I wished I could do something.

I told Melaniya that she was excused, but asked her to please let me know any updates about King Andrei's condition. I sat down on the couch. I was exhausted, but it felt wrong to go to sleep now when I knew that Nikolas's father was on the edge of death.

I ran my hand over the couch cushion that I sat on and fingered the silver embroidery. Only a couple of hours ago, Nikolas held me in his arms on this sofa. Somehow it already felt so long ago, and yet it was so recent that I could still feel his skin if I concentrated hard enough. I pulled my legs up against my chest and started to cry. I told myself I was crying for Nikolas losing his father, but in my heart, I knew that I was crying for much more selfish reasons—I was crying for me.

I cried because our beautiful time we'd shared the night before, with the whispered sweet nothings and the tender kisses, was now completely overshadowed by a tragedy. A tragedy that would only take Nik further from me. He was already a prince, but now he'd be a king. It felt like the clock was clanging at the midnight hour, and all the magic from the Winter Ball was falling apart and would amount to nothing more than a smashed pumpkin.

So I cried. For all the wrong reasons.

Melaniya returned thirty minutes later, her blue eyes red-rimmed and puffy. "King Andrei..." she began, her lip quivering.

I looked at her in the eyes, and my voice was soft. "He's gone, isn't he?"

Melaniya nodded, and wiped at the tears pooling in her eyes. "Yes, Miss."

I stood up from the couch, walked over to Melaniya and pulled her into a hug. I could feel her tense surprise, but she eventually softened and hugged me back. "I'm sorry," I said.

"He was a good king," she told me. "A very good man."

Tears, in turn, pooled in my eyes for a man I'd never met. In that moment, it struck me that he hadn't only been Nikolas's father, but he had also been king to millions of people. It wouldn't just be Nikolas mourning the loss of King Andrei—it would be a whole country.

We broke off our embrace, and I looked at her very seriously. "I have no idea what the protocol is in these situations, but you don't need to look out for me for the rest of the day. Do whatever it is you need to do, or just take the day off if you can, okay?"

She paused for a moment. "Okay, miss."

However, only thirty minutes later Melaniya returned with Ivan.

"Ivan?" I asked, looking up at the large blonde man.

"Miss Cassie," he started. "I—" He looked at Melaniya, his eyes wide, but she just nodded at him. He sighed. "I no speak much English, but...I think the Prince need..." Once again, he looked to Melaniya, only this time, he said something in Russian, and she stepped into translate.

"Ivan thinks that you should go see Prince Nikolas," she said.

***

I took a deep breath as I faced Nikolas's door. I'd jumped at Ivan's suggesting to see Nikolas, to try to comfort him, but now that I stood outside of his door, what was there to say? How could I even begin to lift the pain and sorrow of his father's loss? Maybe he'd want to be alone, but at least I'd let him know that I was here.