Free Corrupted by the Prince (A is for Alpha Book 5) by Shelli Stevens Page B

stiffening and swinging his hard gaze to her.
    “You know this family?”
    Surprise flickered in her eyes. “Of course. They are hard to miss.”
    “Who are they?” he ground out.
    Pregnant . The article was claiming Eva was pregnant.
    His mother pursed her lips. “Well, I consider them to be like a mashup of the Kennedys and Kardashians. They’re old money and quite well known in New York. The father is a senator, the mother a socialite, and the daughters are notorious for misbehaving.”
    “Oh, but not this one, Your Highness,” the chef protested quickly with animation. “Evelynn is never in the limelight; she’s got an impeccable reputation. Which is why I clicked on the article, because I cannot believe it.”
    Kostas was having a hard time believing anything at this moment.
    Eva was not just some weekend beach bunny partying in the Hamptons—she was Evelynn Fairchild. The Fairchild name was beginning to register in his memory a bit more.
    Pregnant .
    He couldn’t think about how she had deliberately hidden her identity from him. There was another, larger concern. Was it possible that their one-night together had resulted in a pregnancy? Could the child be his?
    His mother touched his shoulder. “Kostas, do you know this girl?”
    He ignored the question and tried to scroll down through the story. “Does the article say how far along she is? Or if the pregnancy has even been confirmed?”
    The chef shook his head. “No, Your Majesty.”
    “Oh my god,” his mother whispered. “Kostas, you didn’t .”
    “Sorry, Mama, but on the chance that I did, I’ll need to fly to New York immediately.” He spun on his heels, his blood pounding and his muscles taut as he strode back out of the kitchen. “Prepare my private jet.”
     
    “Oh God. Why would you do this, Lilly?” Eva shut her laptop and pressed her fingertips to her throbbing temple. She sat cross-legged on her bed with her sister hovering nearby. “Why would you ever think it was a good idea to leak my pregnancy to the media? It hasn’t even been a week since I found out.”
    Lilly shook her head, looking only slightly chagrined. “Because I knew you wouldn’t tell the prince—sorry, he’s the king now—about the baby, and I hoped by leaking it he’d see the story.”
    Eva’s chest tightened as the panic swelled into full-blown alarm. While she’d confessed to her family about the pregnancy, she’d refused to name the father. She hadn’t told anyone except Annalise about sleeping with the prince, and her sister had sworn to keep that a secret.
    “The king?” Eva asked slowly, trying to stay calm. “What about him?”
    “The game’s up, sis. I heard you and Anna talking, and I suspected you hooked up with Kostas after you two left the party together.” Lilly gave her an overly confident look that befitted her eighteen-year-old self.
    She was impulsive and unapologetic, having no idea what sort of consequences could result from her actions.
    Eva rocked back on her heels as dismay washed over her. Panic thrummed just beneath the surface. “Oh, Lilly, what have you done…”
    “What needed to be done.”
    “You were out of line.”
    She now knew why Kostas had left so suddenly the morning after they made love. The entire world had known within hours as the news broke. Two members of the royal family of Mykorini—the king and crown prince—had been killed in a devastating earthquake.
    Horrified and knowing he must be grieving, she’d sent a letter of condolence. She hadn’t known what else to say, to do. He’d never replied, and she hadn’t really expected him to. He probably hadn’t even read it.
    They’d had a night of passion, but also a night of conversation. The one talk she remembered most was his confession about not wanting to be a royal. How he was simply the spare to the heir. Now fate, and irony at it’s sordid worst, had placed him on the throne.
    And from what she’d deciphered from the media, he was close