A Muse Her

Chapter 34

Maia sat cuddled up next to Mateo on a cushioned couch on the balcony of their room overlooking the moonlit gardens with a cup of coffee as they read over the files and photos his father gave him.

"I'm so sorry," Maia said, sitting the photos of Jorien and Saskia on the coffee table and sliding her hand to Mateo's cheek. "I know you didn't want to believe the rumors, but this has to hurt having it confirmed that your brother planted Saskia in your life."

Mateo sighed, sliding his hand over hers. "Yeah, it does, but it's still not like him to do something like this." He shook his head. "I don't know what he's gotten himself into and I don't know how I never saw it happening."

Maia raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling that you think your brother getting involved with this Arnaud Haro character is your fault? Wasn't your father the one grooming him to be king? Shouldn't he have warned him about that guy?"

"Yes," Mateo said, looking away from her. "But I've always felt responsible for my siblings and I should've been looking out for him."

"No. You're not responsible for your brother getting into this. How could you be?" Maia said, curling her fingers under his chin and turning his face to her. "You didn't know anything about Arnaud and his shady conglomerate. This isn't your fault and don't get me wrong, I like your father. He's a lovely man, but at the end of the day, if he didn't want Jorien to get caught up in this, he should've made damn sure it couldn't happen instead of putting this on you to fix."

"I know and he admitted that he's not going to force me to be king because of this, but it doesn't change the fact that something needs to be done before my brother sells out this country and the people."

"I understand that, but does it all have to fall on you? Can Adrie and Eline help?"

"I'd prefer to keep Eline out of this and Adrie lives for a quiet life," he said, dragging a hand through his hair. "She's never been one to ruffle any feathers. She's just happy to do what she's told."

"Yeah, I kind of felt that from her," Maia murmured. "So, if you don't want to involve them, what do you want to do?"

"I want to figure out what Arnaud has over Jorien. I think there's more to this than my brother wanting to make a name for himself and usher in a new era for Oost den Burg. He was always meticulous about doing everything like our father. None of what he's doing is like him."

"Alright, so we need to figure out a timeline of when these changes started," she said, reaching for the folder on the table. "That way we–"

"Wait," Mateo said, wrapping his hand around hers. "Before we do that, I need to know what you want to do."

"What do you mean?" Maia frowned. "I already told you. I want to be here with you and I know it scares you," she said, wrapping her hands around his. "But I want to help you too. Whether you become king or not." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "This is all content for our book, remember?"

Mateo chuckled softly and nodded. "Yes, I remember, but this could get dangerous. I don't know how deep Jorien's ties are with Arnaud or his conglomerate and if we start digging into this, I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is Jorien doesn't want me here."

"Yes and Sven doesn't want me here with you either." She smirked. "I saw the look on Gesina's face at dinner. They're definitely planning something stupid."

"I saw that too and I just..." Mateo said, sliding his hands to her cheeks. "I won't be able to forgive myself if something happens to you."

"I understand that," she said, sliding her legs over his. "But isn't that why I have a team of guards to keep me safe and watch my every move?"