The Queen Imperial

Chapter 46

Anne-Marie could feel her hands tremble under the table. No matter how she tried to calm herself, to convince herself that she didn't have to be so scared, there was something about the way Oliver had his back against her while he stared into blank space that really gave her the chills.

It had been over an hour since she had arrived at the mansion and he had been that way, not even bothering to say a word to her. She returned her gaze to the large envelope in front of her, the one that contained sheets of Paris' account statement. She didn't even need him to say anything, she knew what it was about. The entire situation had her wishing there queen had not given her the chance to visit the mansion when she did.

She could feel Denise's warm hands engulf hers from under the table, giving her strength, encouraging her not to shiver so much up until Oliver returned his gaze to her after drawing a deep breath while he hung his hands on his hips. He raised one to his mouth and brushed it down his lips after a few seconds.

"Do you have something to say to me?"
He asked her, giving her a chance to explain what happened first before he said anything. Anne-Marie wanted to, she wanted to explain but she was just in so much fear to.

"Explain to me why my daughter's bank just called me, talking about if I was aware of a huge debit from her credit card?" He raised a brow. "Was that you? Did you do that?"

Anne-Marie summoned all the courage she could. She finally raised her head to meet Oliver's.

"Mr Vutron I can explain."

"Oh you better, as a matter of fact, you're going to, right now."

"It was a situation I couldn't help." She cut in immediately. "The prince needed a loan and he asked me. Everyone else chirped in, I didn't want it to look weird if I didn't especially since he was expecting me to."

"A loan?" Oliver asked her. "You mean to tell me the prince asked you for a loan? I'm supposed to believe that?"

"It's the truth." She sat up straight in an attempt to urge him better. "I would never lie about something like this."

"Then why?" He asked her. "What on earth would the prince be needing a loan for?"

Anne-Marie held her breath for a second. She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure Oliver needed to know what she was about to say, she wasn't sure he needed to know the truth.

"What could be so important that the prince of Breton would need a loan that huge for? Go on, tell me." He told her.  "I know I said you could spend as much as you liked when you were given my daughter's credit card, that wasn't a go ahead to burn it on irrelevant things especially those without my consent-"

"Niyagra." Anne-Marie cut him off.

Silence.

Both Denise and Oliver narrowed their gaze on her. Anne-Marie bit on her lower lip. Now she was in trouble but what could she do about it anyway? She already spilled the tea.

"The loan is to help the people of Niyagra."

"What?"

The disbelief in Oliver's voice was alarming. Anne-Marie could sense it.

"The prince is trying to provide free treatment for the V virus for the people of Niyagra. We are holding a fundraiser in Niyagra tomorrow. He asked for a loan since the king froze his account and assets and I only helped because I thought it was going to be super weird if I didn't. Everyone else did."

"Really?" Denise asked her. Anne-Marie slowly turned to her. "The prince is really going to do that?"

Anne-Marie nodded.

"He already got the permission of the elders of Niyagra to go on with the fundraiser."

Denise thought for a while right before she slowly turned to Oliver who just stood there in a lot of shock, trying to wrap his head around all he had heard.

"Oliver, if this is true, it means the people of Niyagra are finally going to open their gates to Breton. It means the prince finally managed to earn their trust, not just the prince, Paris too. If things go well, it's going to be in the history books forever, it's really good for Paris' reputation. I think Anne-Marie should have a bonus for this one instead of a scolding. She managed to earn the trust of the prince and his friends. It's a win. I don't think she caused any harm, besides, it's just fifty thousand Brents. We should praise her for this babe."

Oliver had his eyes glued to Anne-Marie wondering if he had heard her right. Was it true? Did Aiden finally get the people of Niyagra to open their doors to Breton? Did he finally get to win their trust? Were they really going to open their gates to everyone?

Denise was right, this was a win for Paris and their family, an advantage. Their attention got cut short when the Nanny walked in hurriedly.

"Mr Vutron," she bowed as they all turned to look at her. "It's someone from the palace. The queen sent him to pick up Miss Vutron and return her to the palace."

Phew, saved by the bell.
Anne-Marie had never been so excited to disappear in a long while. She had never been so excited at the sound of the words palace like she was that moment.

Goodness gracious, talk about perfect timing.

"Anne-Marie." She slowly turned to Denise when she felt her grab her hand again, urging her to give her all her attention. "You're doing a good job." She told her. "You have to do whatever the prince asks you to. Give whatever he asks, do whatever it takes to be a part of this project, to get him to trust you." She rubbed her hands. Anne-Marie wanted to smile, she tried to but Oliver's hoarse voice restrained her.

"Does the king know about this?"

She and Denise found themselves turning back at him. Even with all they had said, he wasn't impressed one bit.

"Does he know what the prince is planning for Niyagra?"

Anne-Marie held her breath. How on earth was she supposed to know? She didn't know anything about the situation at the palace anymore. Ever since the night of the sword fight, the king was scarce. He and Aiden had been avoiding each other. Oliver could already guess the answer to his question from her composure. He exhaled.

"As from today henceforth, I want to know everything the prince does as far as Niyagra is concerned. Who he meets, who he talks to, everything. You're to report everything to me."

What was he saying? Did he really mean that? Was he asking her to spy on the prince now?

"As you know, my daughter's engagement to the Prince is in three days. I don't want to be caught by surprise, nothing must go wrong on that day. That's our last chance to strengthen our position as far as the royal family is concerned. That's why we have to have our eyes and ears on ground. We have to be really careful. The people of Niyagra have closed their gates for seven years. We can't trust what they'd do anymore. No matter what the prince does, it doesn't change the fact that the King and I destroyed their home and marked them as terrorists. He won't be forgiven so easily, neither would Paris. I hope you understand what I mean."

Anne-Marie thought for a while.

She wasn't sure Oliver needed to be worried about Niyagra. They weren't who he thought they were. They weren't troublesome people but she wasn't sure she was in the position to tell him anything. What did she know anyway?

She nodded once.

"Yes Mr Vutron, I totally understand."