Chapter 276

"Cousin! How are you?" Erik said as he opened the door. The last several days had been calm and quiet. Pearl was still processing everything from their conversation. Sebastian walked in and looked around.

"This house is incredible." He said.

"Thank you. Yes. I was fortunate to find it in such a location. Would you like a drink?" He asked.

"Yes, please." Bash said.

Pearl was outside, with Iris, reading by the pool. The sun seemed to make everything better. London was so gloomy. They would return there before Christmas but decided to spend the fall in the LA weather. Erik led Sebastian out to the patio. Sebastian looked over at Pearl and gave a nod and a wave. Pearl nodded back. She hadn't told Erik about the kiss yet, and she didn't know if she should. She was hoping to get a moment with Sebastian alone to discuss it with him during his visit.

"How are things at home?" Erik asked.

"Good. I leave for a month of reserve duty soon. I will be back by Remembrance Sunday. My father will be in London for Christmas. He would like to see you." Sebastian said. Erik lifted an eyebrow.

"I can't imagine it's for a friendly visit." He said, taking a drink of his wine.

"No. It isn't." Sebastian said. He glanced over at Pearl. She was in a bikini with the roundest little belly. "Pearl is really showing now." Sebastian said.

"Yes. It's absolutely adorable, isn't it? She was so beautiful before, so attractive, but now... now she is absolutely radiant. I can't keep my eyes or my hands off of her. There's something about a woman with child, your child, that makes her incredibly alluring. She glows. I can't believe how much I love her." Erik said, smiling. Sebastian nodded. "Well, why don't you make yourself comfortable. You're here for a week. Put on some trunks and take a swim?" Erik asked. Sebastian nodded and smiled. "In a bit. Just enjoying the sun right now." He said.

The royals were always perfectly put together. Erik's father, the king, had rules about attire. They always had to have on a suit or jacket or dress shirt and trousers. Always formal or semi formal. No sweatpants or shorts. Jeans were a rarity. It drove Pearl mad, she couldn't understand how that could ever be comfortable.

In the meantime, Iris was going over all the happenings with the company while Pearl was on tour. Maggie and Auggie would be meeting them for dinner the upcoming weekend. Maggie was having success as CEO and had an idea for a new line of marketing for auto companies that she wanted to go over with Erik and Pearl. Erik had been helping Maggie with big decisions while Pearl was occupied and things were going well. Maggie had texted Pearl the day before and told her that Erik was an absolute shark when it came to business. "You have no idea." She thought.

"Hello Sebastian. Welcome to LA." Pearl said, walking over to the patio table and greeting him.

"Thank you. The weather in incredible. Nice change from the dreariness of October in London." He said. They were being formal and avoiding eye contact and the weirdness between them was blatant.

"Yes. It's lovely." Pearl said. She then looked at Erik. "I'm going to shower and change for dinner." She said and left.

Erik knew she wasn't acting entirely herself the last several days. She was withdrawn and quiet and formal. Not at all like herself. It was a fear of his, when it came to honesty. Telling her all that went on with himself and the people he associated with came with consequences. It changed things, views of one you love. Seeing the ugly and not so perfect sides of people. It was what she wanted. What she deserved, but the unfortunate result was always seeing someone in a different light. He knew she was disgusted with his actions. But if she only realized, he would do the same for her or their son, or anyone he loved to protect them. It was the nature of the world she was in now, it was ugly and cut throat. Elitists were a different breed, and he wanted her to see why he stayed away for so long. It was a world she hadn't been exposed to and he made her a promise to stop protecting her from it. He wanted this reaction form her. He wanted to not shield her from it. And maybe, he thought, just maybe, something inside of him wanted her to tell him to walk away from it all. No one wanted a normal life more than he did.