Her Unwanted Mate On The Throne

#Chapter 25 A little romance

Doris got back to her room only minutes beforeWilliam did the same. Her heart was still pounding even

though she knew she had nothing to be worried about. She did nothing wrong by meeting Daemon—

William would have done the same if it was him.

She hid the book under some others in case he noticed that it was a sort of book this palace wouldn’t

have. She didn’t want to explain where she’d gotten it from. It was easier to hide it for now and tell him

later if it ever came to that. Still, she didn’t like hiding things from him.

William smiled when he entered the room and saw her on the couch. It made her stomach fill with

butterflies and heart race against her chest as if it was the first time all over again. Only his smiles

could ever do that to her. No one else compared.

He crossed the room and gripped her chin with his free hand to kiss her. “How did it go?” He asked

when he pulled away. She had to catch herself from falling into him and begging for more.

“Oh, it went well! The dress is being altered and I'll have to try it on again when it’s finished. I also had

her set a few aside for a bridesmaid. I want Beth to try them on when she comes to visit.” Doris said as

William handed her the baby. She almost melted to the floor when she saw Alec’s innocent face and

tiny smile as he gazed up at her.

How did she get so lucky?

“Have you eaten yet?” William asked as he took off his jacket. He ran his fingers through his hair to

make a mess of it—just how she liked it. She had to stop herself from jumping on him and kissing every

inch of his face while she ran her fingers through his wild hair.

“Hmm? Oh! No, not yet.”

“Good, let’s get out of this room. I feel as if I’ve had enough dinners in here to last me a lifetime.” He

said as he threw a small smile over his shoulder. She remembered the time she used to pray that he

would smile at her. Just a small glimpse would be all she needed to get through the day. Now he threw

them at her as if they were hers to claim and he never smiled at anyone else the way he did for her and

their baby.

It was the kind of smile that was painted into her heart.

Doris brightened at his words. She quickly changed Alec and freshened herself before she followed

William out of their room. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her down the long halls.

Two guards appeared on each side of them and she tried her best not to trip over them when they got

too close.

It was strange to think that soon she would have two guards to follow her around constantly like they

did to William. Once she was a queen, she wouldn’t have the luxury of telling them no. They would

follow no matter what and no matter where she went. At least now she was allowed to enjoy a bit of

freedom before that happened.

William led them down to the garden where a fancy little table had been set up by the lovely fountain.

Beautiful vases of pink and purple flowers and gold dishes and candles. It looked stunning in the

middle of all the greenery around it—it also looked incredibly romantic.

She glanced up at him to see him trying to fight the smile on his face. She bumped his arm. “See, I

knew you were romantic.”

“It’s rare when the moment strikes me.” He shrugged and lifted his hand. The guards fell back and

stayed by the doors as they walked the rest of the way to the table.

William pulled out her chair and Doris felt her cheeks redden. She wasn’t even sure the last time he

acted this way with her—perhaps months and months ago when they were freshly in love.

He dropped his cloak over her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her neck before he took Alec and put

him in his little golden highchair. His wide eyes gazed up at William and Doris bit her lip just to calm her

grin. William was handsome no matter what he did—but when he was a good father, it made her want

to have a hundred more of his kids.

He sat across from her and not even a full five seconds had passed before a servant came out with a

steaming tray. The chill in the air didn’t even bother her warm skin. Not when William looked at her like

that.

Doris laughed when she saw what plate was set in front of her. It was her favorite— sweet pancakes

with chocolate and potatoes on the side. Normally she only got this on special occasions.

“What’s this for?” She asked. Alec was busy guzzling his own bottle of milk to pay attention to the world

around him.

“T think I have been much too in my head lately and I started to forget what matters.” William ran his

fingers through his hair twice before he continued. “You’re my bride, not the reason that things go

wrong but my rage always wants to blame the thing closest to me. Sometimes I think that my mind

wants to ruin the only good thing I have in life.”

Doris reached across to grip his hand. “I know it has been hard. I’m sorry if you have felt alone in any of

this, I just want to remind you that you don’t have to take your anger to bed. I’m always here for you

even on your hardest days.”

He squeezed her hand once. It was rare to catch William so soft. He was normally hard around every

edge he had but occasionally he would let her see through the door and allow her to come inside. Even

if it was temporary.

“One day you will be my queen and you will always be by my side. I only hope you want to be there.”

Doris smiled a little. “I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.”

He lifted her knuckles to his lips and kissed softly.

It felt as if a small hole in her chest was slowly being filled. All the nights she tried to convince herself

that he would leave her or that he didn’t love her anymore was her own insecurities trying to ruin what

she loved.

“Promise me we will have more nights like this.”

Doris whispered. “We need to remember what we fight for.”

“PL give you a million more, Doris.” He said softly. He kissed her hand once more before he let it go.

Alec looked between both of them as if they were beautiful wonders. “And you too.”

Doris laughed and for the first time, she realized that she wasn’t worried what tomorrow would bring.

Even if it was a taste of hell.