Annalise Stark, orphaned after losing her parents in the military, is desperate to find a way to pay off her sister's medical debts. She finds work at the palace, home to the infamous Prince William. Despite her efforts to ignore him, Annalise soon...
"There are no secrets that time does not reveal." ~Jean Racine ********************
Everly
Mia and I kept our heads down while we walked down the street, our faces obscured by hats and some impressive makeup contouring done by me if I do say so myself. It also helped that Mia let me use one of her wigs, so instead of my regular raven locks, I was a blonde bombshell.
Mia started humming a familiar tune, and it took me a moment to recognize it. "Are you humming Mission Impossible?"
"Yes. We're on a mission that could very well backfire on us if we don't get it right, so I'm humming an appropriate song," Mia said. "Could you not leave this to the detective you hired?"
"Yes, but if I'm the one to break it to Will, then I want to say I saw it with my own two eyes, and that I had a witness to it all if it comes to that. Annalise didn't want to be a part of it because she's worried the press will think she's doing it out of jealousy."
"So, you asked me?"
"No, I brought up what I was doing in front of you, and you offered to help. I accepted."
"You brought it up when Annalise wasn't around because you knew I wanted to get back at the red-headed bitch for manipulating Will into hurting my sister."
"Maybe. You still asked to join."
Mia sighed. "What do you expect a chemo patient and a pregnant woman to accomplish that the detective can't?"
"Nothing except for the fact Will will trust my word over a detective's, so I want to have proof of my own," I said. "Now, Lorraine should be leaving her apartment in twenty minutes. Would you go get some coffee while I wait and watch?"
I handed her a twenty-dollar bill, and she entered the coffee shop behind us. I sat on a bench, pretending to be a weary pregnant woman taking a break, which wasn't far from the truth. My feet were killing me; I seriously needed to consider getting special inserts for my shoes.
Mia joined me a few minutes later with coffee in hand. We sipped it slowly.
"Didn't you and Lorraine used to be friends?" Mia asked.
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"A long, long time ago. We fell out of touch when she went to school and reconnected right before she met Will. When he told Annalise that Lorraine and I were friends, I should've clarified how loose the term was. It's more like we were acquaintances at that point." I fiddled with my necklace, thinking about everything that had happened between my best friend and cousin. "Anna's never asked me about it, but I know she's wondered. Would you tell her for me?"
"I'll work it into a conversation."
"Thanks, Mia. And thank you for joining me on this. I didn't want to do it by myself.
"How come?"
I shrugged. "I didn't feel comfortable doing it by myself, and I guess having someone come with me confirmed that I might genuinely be onto something here."
