The Cursed Prince by Teresa Roman (reading e books txt) 📕

his head. “Because your boyfriend isn’t what he says he is. He’s dangerous—”

“Not this again,” I said, glaring at him. “You sound like Maria.”

“Maria has lived longer than both of us combined. She has seen a lot. You’d be wise to listen to her.”

Was he calling me stupid? Anger flared inside of me. I backed away from him. “I … I have to go.”

“Please don’t.”

“I don’t want to say something that I’ll wind up regretting.”

“Willow, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I turned to leave, ignoring Nicolai’s feeble attempt at an apology. By the time I found my way to the castle’s entrance, anger had given way to a heart-sinking feeling. I’d hoped that Nicolai would run after me and tell me that the real reason he didn’t want me to go with Peter was because he had feelings for me, but by the time I walked through the castle’s doors, I realized that wasn’t going to happen.

Instead of going home, I drove around, trying to sort through my thoughts. I’d always been a practical person, only making decisions after carefully weighing all my options. My feelings for Nicolai made no sense. It wasn’t just that he was a prince or from another country, which were difficult enough hurdles to clear, but I had no idea how he felt about me. If he wasn’t trapped in that castle, and if I wasn’t the only woman he could get close to, would he have paid any attention to me at all?

By the time I arrived home, it was late, but I’d made my mind up. I would go with Peter and see how the weekend went. Peter was the safer, smarter choice. I was just confused because of how much time I’d been spending with Nicolai, and how little time I’d been spending with Peter. But after this weekend, that would change. It had to.

I managed to half pack a suitcase before deciding I’d finish later when I wasn’t so tired. The next morning I headed to work, buzzing with nervous energy. The strange mix of excitement and nervousness made me feel sick to my stomach, but I told myself that once Peter picked me up later, he’d make everything better.

Not even an hour after I got to work, my phone rang. Though I almost never answered calls from numbers I didn’t recognize, something told me to this time.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Willow. It’s Barry.”

Barry was one of my dad’s fishing buddies.

“Hey. What’s going on?”

“I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news, honey,” he said. “Your dad was acting kind of funny this morning, so I took him to the hospital to get checked out. They think he might’ve had a stroke.”

A stroke? The news hit me like a sucker punch. Somehow, I made it to my feet and grabbed my purse. “Tell my dad I’ll be there in ten minutes, okay?”

I hung up without waiting for a reply and then raced out of my office and into my car. There was only one hospital in Beaver Falls. After parking, I ran into the emergency room.

“Where can I find James Duncan?” I asked the receptionist.

“Room H,” she replied, pointing toward it.

I made my way to Dad’s room. Barry sat in a chair beside him.

“Is he all right?”

At the sound of my voice, my father’s eyes fluttered open. “Willow, is … is that you?”

“Yes, Daddy.” I stood beside him and took his hand, trying to hide my panic. Barry was right, something was definitely off about my father. His speech was slurred and when I squeezed his hand, he didn’t squeeze back. I bit my lip to keep from crying. People died from strokes, but Dad was alive, and that was all that mattered. If he wound up needing a wheelchair or therapy, I could figure all that out later.

“What are you … doing—”

“Daddy, don’t try to talk right now. Just get some rest.”

He didn’t put up a fight. His hand slid out of mine, and his eyes closed, like he’d run out of juice. I looked up from him and over to Barry. “I’m going to find out what’s going on. I’ll be right back.”

I walked over to the nurse’s station. Luckily, the nurse assigned to my dad was a friend of mine from high school. A woman named Samantha.

“He’s had a stroke. He’s got some left-sided deficits, but those could just be temporary,” she explained. “You wouldn’t believe how well some patients recover after rehab.”

“How long will he need to stay in the hospital?”

“Probably just for a few days. Depending on how he does, there’s a chance he’ll go home after that, but most likely he’ll need to go to a rehab facility for a few weeks.”

“But he’ll be all right, right?”

“I think so, Willow.” She took my hand and squeezed it.

Despite her reassurance, tears ran down my face. “Thanks, Sam.” I wiped my tears and headed back to my father’s room. He was asleep.

“It’s okay if you need to get going, Barry. I can stay with him.”

“All right. The wife’s been bugging me about coming home for lunch. But if you don’t mind, I’d like to come back later and visit him.”

“Of course I don’t.” I gave him a weak smile. “I’m sure he’d love that.”

After Barry left, I took the chair he’d been sitting in. This was not how I’d imagined spending the day. In another few hours, I was supposed to be with Peter on the way to his cabin in the Catskills. But with my father in the hospital, there was no way that was happening. I fished my phone out of my purse to call Peter and let him know that we’d have to postpone our plans.

“Are you all packed and ready?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, Peter, but something’s come up,” I said. “I can’t go with you this weekend.”

“Tell me this is a joke,” he snapped.

“My dad had a stroke this morning. He’s in the hospital.”

“Oh, Willow. I’m so sorry,” he said in a softer voice. “Is he