THE DISGRACED HUSBAND IS A HIDDEN PRINCE

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: The Truth Laid Bare

Alexander Petrov’s POV

Alexander led Isabella into a side room of the safe house. Small. Sparse. Just a table and two chairs.

Isabella sat down without being asked. Her hands were shaking.

Alexander remained standing. His mind was still processing what had just happened. Elena. The attack. Isabella showing up at the worst possible moment.

Isabella saving his life.

“You’ve been a Prince all along,” Isabella said finally. Her voice was steady, but her eyes were wide. Stunned.

“I take it that you’ve been told. And I wanted you to hear it from me first, but I guess there’s nothing I can do anymore.” Alexander ran a hand through his hair.

“I still want to hear it from you, Alex.”

No one called him Alex except Dmitri. Hearing it from Isabella’s mouth felt strange. Intimate.

He sat down across from her. “Like you rightly said, I’ve been a Prince all along. From the Valdorian Court to be precise, but I left home twelve years ago when I was sixteen.”

Isabella listened in silence. He could see her processing each word. Remembering every time her family had insulted him. Every time they’d treated him like he was worthless.

“I left home because of a coup that scattered the entire Valdorian court, and with everything that I was taught since I was a kid, I built a life outside of my royal family.”

He paused. Looked at her directly.

“Right from the moment I survived that coup, I’ve had just one purpose and it was to build a defense so strong that my parents’ enemies wouldn’t be able to stand me when I finally come out of hiding.”

“How did I come into the picture?” Isabella asked.

“I married you because I needed to get close to the Circle of Crowns, and I knew that your family had a connection with it. I didn’t even know until recently that you all controlled the circle. But I needed an aristocratic family as a cover too. You were the perfect cover.”

The words came out clinical. Strategic. And he hated how they sounded.

Isabella didn’t flinch. “Continue.”

“I’ve been building defense and strategic alliances for twelve years. And my uncle—the one who orchestrated the coup—would do anything to have my head on a stake the moment he sees me. And guess what?”

“What?”

“Viktor Romanov is affiliated with him. You should know my uncle too. He goes by Petrov now. He has a spy who has been moving around the Summers family for quite some time. The Ghost.”

Isabella’s eyes widened. “I definitely know Mr. Petrov. He’s quite powerful. How had I never thought that you were both related?”

“Yes. He’s the one. The Ghost is his spy and he was the one who approached you on that gala night. He must have asked you questions about me, and that’s where I got to realize that I’ve dragged your family into my mess too. My uncle has his eyes on everyone I’m affiliated with, but most importantly, you.”

“I’m in danger too?”

“Yes. You have been in danger for a while now but you don’t know. Right from the moment Viktor Romanov showed interest in you, he has been coming up with a strategy. He doesn’t work alone. And with all that I’ve been seeing too, he has your whole family under his finger, yeah?”

Isabella nodded slowly. “He’s always trying to get in everyone’s good books.”

“I knew it.” Alexander’s jaw clenched.

“Are you done?” Isabella asked.

“No. The person I thought was dead—my sister Elena—she finally surfaced. We used to be really close while growing up, and now she’s being used by my uncle as his knife. Her main intention is to kill me, and she won’t rest till she does that.”

“She’s your sister?” Isabella’s voice cracked. “Doesn’t she recognize you?”

Alexander’s expression darkened. “She was eight when the coup happened. They’ve spent twelve years filling her head with lies. Telling her I betrayed our parents. That I orchestrated the coup. She’s been trained to hunt me. And tonight… tonight was the first time we’ve seen each other since we were kids.”

Isabella’s hand moved across the table. For a moment, Alexander thought she was going to touch his. But she stopped just short.

“I’m telling you this so you’ll know how fucked up this war is. There are a lot of things at stake, and I wouldn’t want to drag either you or your family into a mess I created for myself. That’s why I want to give you an option.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’ll arrange your protection and disappearance. I’ll help you run away and provide you with a new name, and a completely different identity. You don’t have to worry about me or this war. You can get away from this.”

Isabella was quiet for a long moment. Then: “I have a question for you too if you’re done.”

“Alright, I’m all ears.”

“In three years of marriage, did you ever feel anything real for me, or was I just a strategy?”

The question hit him like a punch to the gut.

Alexander opened his mouth to answer—

BEEEEP. BEEEEP. BEEEEP.

The alarm.

“Fuck!” Alexander shot to his feet. “We have been found again.”

He ran to the door. “Stay right here, Isabella. I’ll take care of this.”

But when he burst into the main room, he froze.

Standing in the doorway, calm as death, was the Ghost.

Isabella Summers POV

Isabella pressed herself against the wall of the side room, heart hammering. She could hear voices from the main room. Alexander’s. And another voice—cold, calculating.

The Ghost. The man who’d approached her at the gala.

She should stay hidden. Alexander told her to stay here.

But her feet moved anyway. Slowly. Quietly. She edged toward the doorway and peeked around the corner.

The Ghost stood at the entrance of the safe house, flanked by two armed men. But his posture was relaxed. Almost casual.

Alexander stood in the center of the room, unarmed but radiating danger.

“We need to discuss,” Alexander said.

“I didn’t come here to discuss with you. I’m sure you know me very well just as I know everything about you. Say your last prayer now, and you have just seconds to do that.”

The Ghost raised his gun. Aimed it at Alexander’s chest.

Isabella’s breath caught. He’s going to kill him.

But Alexander didn’t move. Didn’t flinch.

“You can kill me. But I’m a prince and I fear nothing, not even death.”

The Ghost’s gun didn’t waver.

“You’ll collect your bounty, and then what? You go and serve another master again? Or you can choose to listen to me and see everything I’ve been building for the past twelve years. Before you pull that trigger, remember who you once served, and why.”

Isabella watched the Ghost’s face. Saw something flicker in his expression.

“Even as a sixteen-year-old, you know how smart I was. The choice is yours to make now.”

Silence.

Long, terrible silence.

And then—

“Stand down.”

The Ghost lowered his gun.

Isabella’s legs nearly gave out from relief.

“I’ll give you a chance, but it comes at a cost too.”

“What cost?”

“No more hiding and no foul play. You have to prove to me that you’re not playing around. You’ll start by revealing yourself publicly. Let everyone know and see that you’re a prince that you have claimed to be.”

Alexander’s jaw tightened. “Is that all?”

“No more pretending to be a common man. Let the people see you. You want a revolution? Start by looking like a Prince worth following.”

“Fine. I’ll show up at the Circle of Crowns gala coming up in two weeks.”

The Ghost’s eyebrows rose. “That’s the most public and dangerous venue possible.”

“I know.”

A moment of assessment. Then the Ghost stretched out his hand. “We have a deal then.”

Alexander took it.

They shook.

The Ghost turned and left with his men.

Isabella stepped out of the side room.

Alexander turned to face her. Their eyes met.

“If you’re going to war,” Isabella said quietly, “you need a Queen who knows how to navigate the aristocratic society. I’m not leaving. Show me how to fight.”