An Unexpected Audience

Lucien’s POV

Bree suddenly placed her hand against my chest, forcing me to pull away from her.

“What are you doing?” she whispered, her eyes wide with disbelief.

I glanced at her, then briefly looked over my shoulder at Adrian, who was still standing a few feet away.

“What does it look like?” I whispered back. “I'm proving a point.”

“By kissing me?”

“Exactly” I replied impatiently.

She stared at me as though I had completely lost my mind.

“You can't just kiss me without warning!” She said.

I almost laughed. This woman had a talent for making even the simplest things unnecessarily complicated.

“Listen, Bree. Adrian doesn't believe we're together. This is my way of showing him that he is wrong” I explained.

“But I don't want to kiss you” she said.

Her words were so direct that I almost raised an eyebrow. I leaned closer, keeping my voice low enough that Adrian wouldn't hear us.

“I don’t want to either but you don’t see my bitching about it” I retorted, my voice slightly raised.

She looked at me with subtle anger but I continued before she could speak.

“Suck it up. It will be over soon” I said.

She looked absolutely horrified.

I didn't particularly care. We were already in a difficult situation, and I wasn't about to let Adrian walk away thinking he had exposed our little arrangement.

Besides, I was enjoying this more than I should have.

Adrian let out a pretend cough that was much too obvious to ignore. He had always done something like this when he wanted people’s attention fixed on him.

I turned to look at him.

“Is something wrong, brother?” I asked.

Adrian narrowed his eyes.

“What is taking so long?”

I looked down at Bree, who was still staring at me with an expression that suggested she wanted to slap me then I looked back at him.

“I'm contemplating something” I said.

“Contemplating what?”

“Whether I should just kiss my bride or actually make love to her” I replied.

The silence that followed was magnificent. Bree's mouth fell open and Adrian looked as though someone had just poured ice water over his head.

I almost burst into laughter.

“Don't look so surprised,” I added casually. “You did challenge me to prove that we're together. Surely you didn't expect me to give you a demonstration of how we hold hands?”

“Lucien!” Bree whispered sharply but I ignored her.

Adrian's jaw tightened.

“You're disgusting” he spat.

“Perhaps. But at least I'm not the one sneaking into another man's bedroom after getting drunk” I replied.

His face darkened.

“She's not your wife!” He snapped.

I tilted my head.

“Didn't you hear the father at the hall? He accepted my claim. That makes her my bride, whether you like it or not” I replied.

Adrian opened his mouth, but no words came out immediately.

For the first time that night, I thought I had finally won.

He looked between Bree and me, then let out a frustrated breath.

“You're so insane.”

I shrugged.

“Goodnight, brother. Don't let the door hit you on your way out” I mocked.

I expected him to leave. In fact, I was already congratulating myself for successfully getting rid of him without having to explain anything further.

But before Adrian could respond, the bedroom door suddenly opened. I turned, expecting another servant or perhaps one of the guards. Instead, my entire body stiffened.

My father walked into the room. Behind him was my mother, followed by several high-ranking members of the royal court and they weren't alone.

Two servants were carrying chairs.

I blinked.

What the hell?

My father surveyed the room, his eyes moving from Adrian to me before settling on Bree, who was still sitting on the bed.

“Good,” he said. “It appears we haven't interrupted anything important.”

I stared at him.

“Father?”

My mother stepped forward, her expression unusually serious.

“Lucien, we hope you understand that the events of today have created a rather delicate situation for this family” she said.

I glanced at the servants as they began arranging the chairs around the room. One of the court members even pulled a chair closer to the bed.

What exactly was happening?

“I'm sorry,” I said slowly. “What are you all doing here?”

My father looked at me as though the answer should have been obvious.

“We are here to ensure that your night is properly consummated” he said.

My eyes widened. For a moment, I genuinely thought I had misunderstood him.

“Consummated?”

“Yes,” my mother replied. “You publicly claimed Bree as your bride, and you insisted that the two of you had been involved for months. Naturally, we cannot simply take your word for it.”

I stared at her as she continued, completely unfazed.

“The royal family must be certain that this marriage is genuine, especially after the deception surrounding your brother's wedding” she said.

I looked at the chairs again then at the people who were settling into them.

They were actually planning to sit there and watch.

“Wait,” I said, raising a hand. “Are you telling me that all of you intend to stay here?”

My father frowned.

“Of course. We will remain until the matter is settled” he said.

My gaze shifted to Bree. She looked as horrified as I felt.

Adrian, on the other hand, had stopped looking defeated. He was now watching me with an expression that was dangerously close to amusement.

I wanted to punch him again.

This was supposed to be a simple performance. A kiss, a little humiliation for Adrian, and then everyone would go back to their respective rooms.

I hadn't expected my parents to turn my bedroom into some sort of royal courtroom. And I certainly hadn't expected them to demand that I sleep with Bree in front of an audience.

My father cleared his throat.

“Well, Lucien? We are waiting” he said.

I swallowed. I had absolutely no idea what to do.

I had managed to get myself into a situation I couldn't possibly talk my way out of.