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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

Sighing, Lottie rounded the corner of the corridor, the oak floorboards creaking under their fast steps. She didn’t know why Ellie was so desperate for her to build bridges with her father. She could only assume it was to do with the guilt she felt around her uncle and Haru. But Ellie had to understand that she was everything to Lottie, the most important thing in her world, her princess and her best friend, the reason she carried the weight of Claude’s letters and why she could stay strong in her role as Portman. She’d always choose her, no matter how hard it got.

‘Ellie, I’ve thought about what you said in our dorm the other day, and you’re right – I do need to speak to my father – but Lola’s right too.’ Lottie pushed the bathroom door open, relieved to find it was empty, and she turned fast to Ellie to make sure she was really listening. ‘I know who my family is.’

‘Wait, what?’ Ellie shook her head in confusion, her fist coming down hard on the tiled wall, trapping Lottie in the corner by the sink. ‘So you are going to contact your dad?’

The way Ellie glared down at her made Lottie understand completely why the royal crest was a wolf. She was practically panting, a hunger in her eyes, determined to get her way.

Lottie’s gaze flickered down to Ellie’s ribcage, knowing that odd blister probably still lay there, and seeing the bubbling clump of stretched red skin in her mind’s eye only confirmed that she was making the right choice. She had to get to the bottom of this sickness that Ellie had inflicted upon herself and help her.

‘Yes, I’m going to get permission to call him,’ Lottie said simply, and Ellie’s whole body seemed to go slack.

‘Lottie, that’s great, that’s … that’s really fantastic. I –’

Lottie took the opportunity to dive out from under Ellie’s arm before continuing, looking Ellie right in her dark stormy eyes, making it clear what she said next was not up for debate.

‘I’m going to talk to my dad and I’m going to tell him that he can sell the house in Cornwall and that I never expect to see him again, because I’ve found my real family.’

18

This was not good. In fact, this was precisely the opposite of what Jamie and Ellie had hoped would happen. On the other side of the door, Lottie was leaving a voicemail for her father, one that would make it clear she didn’t want anything to do with him any more, and it filled Jamie with so many conflicting emotions that he felt like a piece of blown glass about to shatter.