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Back Princess at Heart Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Cover
  2. About the Author
  3. The Rosewood Chronicles
  4. Dedication
  5. Prologue
  6. Part One
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. 9
  16. 10
  17. 11
  18. 12
  19. 13
  20. 14
  21. 15
  22. Part Two
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. Part Three
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. 33
  42. 34
  43. 35
  44. 36
  45. 37
  46. 38
  47. Author’s Note
  48. The Rosewood Houses
  49. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING

‘She said she didn’t want me, that I was just her Portman and our relationship would end when she became queen, but since we got back she’s pretending it never happened. She asked me … she asked me to pretend to be her Portman in the way it used to be, before Leviathan.’ Lottie choked on the words; having not even spoken them to herself, they felt fresh and raw like an open wound. ‘I know her. I know she was pushing me away on purpose, but I don’t understand what she’s doing now. Everything feels fake, and I can’t stop thinking what if it was always fake? What if this whole time I’ve been a complete fool, and the moment I stop being a useful Portman, they’ll throw me away?’

Binah absorbed everything, then let out her breath in one steady stream, taking her hands off Lottie’s now-dry cheeks. ‘That’s stupid. Why does it matter if you’re her Portman?’

It wasn’t the great bang Lottie had been expecting; it was quiet and controlled.

‘Because that’s all I have,’ Lottie confessed, downing a big gulp of air to steady herself. ‘Everyone keeps wanting me to figure out what I’m going to do next, to find out who I am. But until I came to Rosewood, until I met Ellie, I didn’t have a home. I don’t know anything else. Being her Portman is the closest thing I have to a family.’

‘I understand,’ Binah said, and Lottie knew that she did.

They sat in silence for a moment, Binah resting her head against Lottie’s shoulder, letting themselves digest the conversation.

‘May I offer some advice?’ Binah said at last.

Lottie smiled, and it hurt a little less now. ‘Always.’

‘You need to remember that Ellie is afraid. She’s lost part of her family, and she must feel like the Wolfson name is a bad omen. She wants you by her side, but she doesn’t want you to get hurt, especially after what happened to Jamie.’ Moving her head from side to side, she continued. ‘Maybe right now what this problem needs isn’t Lottie Pumpkin the Portman, but Lottie Pumpkin the friend. Do you understand?’

Behind Binah, Lottie caught sight of her tiara, the opal glittering, and there, above it, was Lottie’s reflection, as bright as the sun itself, her unstoppable determination.

How could she have been so stupid? It didn’t matter if she was Ellie’s Portman. It didn’t matter how useful she was. They were so much more than that.

‘Yes,’ she said, smiling back at her own image with a warm welcome. ‘I understand.’

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