The Royal Heir - The Valtoria Diaries 2

Awkward lobby moments (parts one and two)

Jen woke up the next morning in an extremely disorientated state. She was completely alone, which was weird for a start, she'd woken up naturally, which was very unusual given Bella's early morning wake up calls, and she wasn't sure where she was for a moment.

Then it all started to sink in. I'm in Auvernal. Bella's at home with Bertrand and Savannah. Maxwell's...

Oh shit... Maxwell.

Did he not come back to bed?

She sat up and glanced around the room, but there were no tell tale signs that he had returned. His bag was still where it had been earlier when they'd had their little spat. His side of the bed was undisturbed. He was terrible at making beds, so he definitely hadn't been in it.

She felt a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach, as she checked her phone to see that he hadn't been in contact. Not even a RISE AND SHINE LITTLE BLOSSOM followed by the usual emojis.

I shouldn't have said what I did. I wasn't nice to him.

But, wait, no, he had such a nerve, assuming like he did...

Still, I should go find him, really. As annoyed as I am by his very existence right now... I freaking miss him already.

She took a little while readying herself for the day. Doing this alone was a rare luxury, but it didn't feel all that luxurious this morning. It felt lonely. She looked out of the window at the picturesque rolling countryside beyond the cottage, and sighed deeply because she had nobody to admire it with. If Maxwell was here right now he'd probably be making some random observations about the trees or the fields or something even more bizarre she hadn't thought of.

She showered, then dressed in the smart suit dress she'd packed to travel home in, which would work well for today's engagement. After making sure her hair looked presentable, she took a deep breath, prepared to swallow her pride, and headed out of the room and down the stairs. It was eight-thirty. He'd be awake by now.

But as she entered the open plan living area, she could only see Olivia in there. She was wearing a red velour nightgown, sitting in the middle of one of the sofas, intently examining her laptop. She didn't look up to acknowledge Jen's presence.

Jen glanced around, but nobody else seemed to be about.

Ugh, why does he always do this? He'd better not have done anything stupid like head off home on his own. Hopefully he's just gone for a walk to clear his head. And perhaps to reflect on what an insensitive rat he was last night.

She'd have to message him to track him down. He always had his phone with him, after all. He pretty much lived through it these days. Her phone, however, was still up in the bedroom. She decided to head back upstairs to get it; first, though, she'd quickly check in with Olivia, who seemed just as anxious as she was, tapping her long red fingernails on her laptop erratically.

"I thought we were moving at dawn," she said sarcastically, coming to sit next to her friiiend.

"Don't be ridiculous, Jen. I only said that for dramatic effect." Jen's USB stick was plugged into the laptop, and Olivia was scrolling through information so quickly Jen couldn't register it. But what she could register were Olivia's sad, puffy eyes. Had she been crying?

"Olivia, are you okay?"

She tensed up, no doubt incensed with herself that she'd displayed what she considered a sign of weakness. "Yes. No. I don't know."