Her mother and sister shared a horrified glance. “Seriously? You don’t rate a suite here at the palace?”
Another chunk came out of her armor, but she fought against the pain. “The palace is the home of the royal family.”
“Well, can’t you find us a place? Surely, they have guest rooms here.” Her mother grinned gleefully. “I’ve always wanted to stay in a palace.”
Rachel’s fingers tightened, her nails digging into her palms. “You’ll need to get a hotel if you’re going to stay here in Izara,” she told them firmly. “But I suppose you can stay at my place for tonight. But, you’ll need to get a hotel tomorrow. There isn’t much space in my temporary apartment.”
She took out her keys and waved to the guards. “Thank you so much for the call,” she said. They nodded professionally as Rachel walked straight through, out of the guard office and back into the late afternoon heat.
Rachel heard a few sputters of surprise before her family members gathered their belongings and followed her. “Well, aren’t you going to call someone to carry our luggage?” her mother demanded.
Rachel turned and looked at her family. Her mother had three large suitcases, her sister four. Her father, on the other hand, carried only a small bag and looked ready for whatever adventure was coming his way.
“As I said, I don’t live here. I don’t have a staff of personnel to carry your luggage.” She turned and headed down the long sidewalk that went along the fence line. This area of the palace wasn’t landscaped, but it was still neat and tidy. Thankfully, it was functional and practical, planned to accommodate visiting dignitaries and palace guests.
There was a rumbling of bags behind her as she strode down the sidewalk, along with a great deal of grumbling.
“Rachel Morris, you get right back here and help us with our bags!” her mother shrieked. “How dare you just walk away like that! I taught you better, young lady!”
Another crack, and this time, a chunk of her armor fell to the ground. Turning, she looked at her family, willing herself to ignore them just as they’d ignored her for so much of her childhood. But old habits came back to her and, at the familiar shrill tone, she turned back and grabbed the heaviest bag. Thankfully, it was a rolling bag, so it was relatively easy to pull behind her.
“Where is this apartment of yours?” Denise demanded, hurrying to keep up. She was stumbling a bit with her bags, but somehow managed to teeter gracefully on her high heeled sandals.
“It’s just….”
Suddenly, a large, black SUV pulled up beside them and a driver got out. Rachel knew at once that Tarin must have dispatched a car and driver for her and she almost broke down in tears. He was such a wonderful man, she thought.
“Ma’am,” the driver greeted Rachel. “I’m here to assist your family however I can.”
Pamela’s furious features smoothed into an elegant smile. But only when she turned towards the driver. When she turned to Rachel, the smile vanished. “There now, was that so hard?” her mother chided, glaring at Rachel. “I swear, Rachel!”
Rachel politely stepped back on the curb as the driver hurried around to the back. The driver loaded the suitcases into the back of the truck, but despite his careful attention, Pamela still snapped at the man, ridiculing his efforts.
“Mother! Stop it! The man is doing a good job!”
Pamela turned around and Rachel gulped. Stalking towards her, Pamela pointed a finger in Rachel’s face. “Don’t you ever speak to me like that again! I will not be humiliated in front of servants and you will do well to treat me with the respect I deserve, young lady!”
With that, she huffed and stepped into the front seat of the SUV, and slammed the door shut.
Her father shuffled closer, shaking his head. “You know how she can be,” he murmured. “Remember? We talked about just letting her do her thing?”
Rachel turned to look at her father, stunned by how he’d changed over the past three years. His hair was almost completely grey and there were significant wrinkles around his eyes. His shoulders were more slumped than she remembered and he looked defeated.
“I moved to Izara in order to get away from all of this negativity, Dad.”
He sighed, his shoulders drooping even further. “Yeah, I know honey. But your mother needs help with her business. That’s why we’re here.”
Rachel felt rage rising into her throat, choking her. Go back? To that life? Never!
“I won’t go back,” she told him firmly. “I’m happy and needed here.”
He nodded, squinting against the harsh sunlight. “Well, just listen to her, okay?”
With that, he stepped into the back of the SUV and tugged the door closed. Rachel stared at the vehicle, wishing that she were somewhere else. Anywhere else! With a sigh, she walked around to the other side of the vehicle and slipped in beside Denise.
“About time!” her sister huffed, peering at her reflection in a small mirror. “This heat is ruining my makeup.”
The driver pulled up outside of the apartment building, leapt out and, before her mother could start complaining, piled the luggage on the sidewalk.
“Thank you,” Rachel said to the driver who politely nodded to her, eyed her mother and sister warily, then jumped back into the SUV and sped away, tires squealing.
“Goodness!” her mother snapped, fanning away smoke from the tires. “Rachel, you need to report that man. That’s just dangerous driving.”
Rachel sighed as she pulled the keys out of her purse. She hadn’t been here in several weeks, so she wasn’t sure she remembered
