The Disgraced Husband Is Actually Royalty In Hiding

Chapter 4_The Winter Crown Ball

Ethan did not sleep for the rest of that night.

He sat on the edge of his small bed in the dark, holding the black phone in his hand. He kept thinking about Tomas. About his laugh. About the photos of his two little girls that he always showed everyone. About the last message Tomas had sent him, just one week ago: *Stay strong, my prince. Your father would be proud.*

Now Tomas was dead. Because of him.

*The boy is in America. And he has a wife.*

Ethan looked at the wall. On the other side of that wall, down the hallway, Sophia was sleeping. She had no idea that the most dangerous men in Europe now knew she existed.

At five in the morning, he called Leo.

"Send money to Tomas's wife," Ethan said quietly. "Enough so that she and the girls never have to worry about anything again. Then move them somewhere safe. Tonight."

"Already done, sir."

"And Leo. Double the men outside this house. Triple them. I don't care what it costs."

"Yes, sir."

Ethan was quiet for a moment. "Kael did this, didn't he?"

"We think so. It's how he works. He kills one man to frighten a hundred."

Ethan closed his eyes. "Then on Saturday, I will be standing in the same room as the man who killed my parents and my friend. And I will have to smile."

---

Saturday came fast.

At seven in the evening, the Whitmore family stood in the front hall, dressed like royalty.

Diane wore a long purple gown covered in tiny crystals. Chloe wore a tight red dress and had spent four hours on her hair. Gerald looked nervous in a black tuxedo that was a little too small around the stomach.

Then Sophia came down the stairs.

Everyone stopped talking.

She wore a simple silver gown that flowed like water when she moved. Her dark hair was pinned up, and there was no jewelry on her neck. Only one thing on her wrist.

The little silver star bracelet.

Ethan, standing near the door, felt his heart do something strange.

Then Diane turned and saw Ethan, and she screamed.

"Oh my God! What are you wearing?"

Ethan looked down at himself. His tuxedo was old and gray-black, faded at the elbows. The jacket was a little too big. The pants were a little too short. One button was missing. Leo had found it at a secondhand shop for twenty-five dollars, exactly as Ethan asked.

"It's a tuxedo," Ethan said calmly.

"It's a disaster!" Diane cried. "You'll embarrass us in front of the most powerful people in the world!"

Chloe was laughing so hard that she had to hold onto the wall. "He looks like a sad waiter from the 1980s!"

"Ethan, maybe you should stay home," Gerald said quietly.

"He's coming," Sophia said. She walked over and stood next to Ethan. She fixed his crooked bow tie with gentle fingers. "He's my husband."

Diane's face turned red with anger. But before she could say anything, a horn honked outside.

A long white limousine was waiting in front of the house. Brandon Sterling stepped out in a perfect black tuxedo that probably cost more than most people's cars.

He saw Ethan, and his smile grew very wide.

"Oh, this is wonderful," Brandon said. "Ethan, you came dressed as the help. How thoughtful. You'll fit right in with the kitchen staff."

He opened the limousine door. "Ladies. Gerald. Please."

Diane, Chloe and Gerald got in. Sophia stopped and looked at Brandon.

"And Ethan?"

Brandon smiled. "Sorry. Only six seats. He can take the bus."

He got in and closed the door.

Sophia stood on the sidewalk, her face hot with anger. Then she turned around, walked to her own small blue car, and opened the door.

"Get in," she said to Ethan.

"Sophia, you should go with your family."

"Get in the car, Ethan."

He got in.

---

The Winter Crown Ball was held in an old stone mansion on a hill outside Boston. It looked like a castle. Hundreds of candles lit the long driveway. Men in black suits with earpieces stood at every door.

Inside, the main hall was huge. Golden lights hung from the ceiling. A small orchestra played soft music. Men in tuxedos and women in diamonds moved around the room, talking quietly and drinking champagne from crystal glasses.

Ethan saw faces he knew from the news. A senator. A famous banker. An old Italian duke. A Saudi prince.

And people were staring at him.

He could hear the whispers as he walked in beside Sophia.

"Who is that?"

"Look at his suit."

"Is he a servant?"

"I heard he's the Whitmore girl's husband. Some refugee nobody."

Ethan kept his head down. Good. Let them laugh. A man people laugh at is a man nobody looks at closely.

Brandon was already standing in the middle of the room with the Whitmore family. When he saw Sophia, he waved her over.

"Sophia! Come, I want you to meet some very important people."

Sophia looked at Ethan.

"Go," he said softly. "I'll be fine."

She hesitated. Then she walked away.

Ethan moved slowly to the side of the room, near a tall stone pillar. From there, he could see the whole hall. Every door. Every guard. Every face.

His eyes moved from person to person.

He was looking for one face.

---

At eight-thirty, the music stopped.

A man in a red jacket stepped onto a small stage and tapped a glass.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Members of the Circle. Please welcome our guest of honor, all the way from the Kingdom of Ardenia…"

The tall doors at the end of the hall opened.

"…Count Dorian Kael."

Ethan's body went cold from head to toe.

Kael walked in slowly, like a king entering his own palace. He was tall and thin, with silver hair combed back perfectly. His dark blue suit had a silver wolf pin on the collar. Two big guards followed close behind him.

He smiled at the crowd. That same thin, cruel smile.

Ethan was twelve years back in time. He was sixteen. He was standing in the smoke at the bottom of the palace stairs. His father was shouting. His mother was screaming. And at the top of the stairs, Dorian Kael was watching it all with that exact same smile.

Ethan's hands shook. He pushed them into his pockets.

*Not now*, he told himself. *Not here. Breathe.*

People rushed to shake Kael's hand. Brandon was one of the first. Ethan watched as Brandon bowed his head, smiling like an excited little boy. Kael patted him on the shoulder like an old friend.

So Brandon knew Kael. Well.

Ethan filed that away.

Then Kael turned and looked across the room.

Ethan quickly turned his face toward the pillar. His heart was pounding. He counted to ten. Then slowly, very slowly, he looked back.

Kael was not looking at him.

He was looking at Sophia.

Brandon was introducing them. Ethan could not hear the words, but he could see Kael take Sophia's hand and kiss it. He saw Kael's sharp blue eyes look at her face for a long time. Too long.

Then Kael's eyes moved down to her wrist.

To the little silver star bracelet.

Kael's smile stayed exactly the same. But something changed in his eyes. Something cold and interested, like a cat that has just seen a mouse.

Ethan's blood turned to ice.

A waiter walked past with a silver tray of champagne. Ethan stopped him.

"Excuse me. That woman in the silver dress. Who is the man with her?"

The waiter looked. "That's Count Kael, sir. They say he's the second most powerful man in Ardenia." He lowered his voice. "They also say you should never let him notice you."

Too late, Ethan thought.

---

The orchestra started playing again. A slow, beautiful waltz.

Couples moved onto the dance floor. Diane danced with Gerald. Chloe danced with a young man who looked bored. Brandon held out his hand to Sophia, but before she could answer, another hand reached her first.

Count Kael.

He bowed his head politely. "Mrs. Cole. Would you do an old man the honor of one dance?"

Sophia looked surprised. Then she looked across the room and found Ethan's eyes. He gave a very small shake of his head. *No.*

But Diane was already pushing her daughter forward. "Of course she will! What an honor, Count Kael! Sophia, go!"

Sophia had no choice. She took Kael's hand.

They moved onto the dance floor.

Ethan watched every step. Every turn. He started walking slowly around the edge of the room, getting closer. He kept his head low and stayed behind other guests.

Kael was a good dancer. Smooth and elegant. He smiled and talked softly as they moved. Sophia smiled back politely, but Ethan could see her shoulders were tight. She was nervous.

Ethan got closer. Ten feet away now. Behind a group of laughing women. He could almost hear them.

"…a lovely bracelet," Kael was saying. "Very simple. Very… sweet. A gift?"

"From my husband," Sophia said. "For our anniversary."

"Ah. Your husband." Kael turned her in a slow circle. "Brandon tells me he is a refugee. From Europe, I believe?"

"I… I don't really know where he's from," Sophia said. "He doesn't talk about his past."

"No?" Kael's voice was soft and friendly. "How very interesting. A man with no past."

The music grew louder. Kael pulled Sophia a little closer. He looked over her shoulder, across the room, his sharp blue eyes searching the crowd.

Ethan quickly turned away and stood very still behind the women.

He heard the waltz begin to end. Heard the last notes of the violin.

And then he heard Kael's voice again, very quiet, very calm, right next to Sophia's ear.

"Mrs. Cole, I noticed your husband standing by the pillar earlier. Such an ugly suit." Kael smiled his thin smile. "But such familiar eyes. Gray eyes. I have only ever seen eyes like that on one family in the whole world."

Sophia's body went stiff.

Kael stopped dancing. He held her hand a moment too long.

"Tell me, my dear," he whispered. "What is your husband's real name?"