CHASED BY THE DUKE

1. The Duke (Edited)

CHAPTER ONE

Liam Grosvenor’s hazel eyes ran over the dark inked words on the morning newspapers, the grim look on his face deepening with each sentence. The royal family, his family to be precise, was splattered at the front page again, all smiles. His mother, Queen Cecelia the second along with his father and sister, had attended another charity ball which he had once again blatantly refused to engage in. He slammed the newspaper on his desk, loosening the tie around his neck while leaning back on his seat. It was no lie he was not exactly at a great place with his family, most especially his mother and seeing her smile like that as though she wasn’t the reason, he was barely himself anymore.

At Twenty-Seven, Liam was attracting quite the attention. Standing at six point three feet, with tanned skin, natural dark hair sleeked back effortlessly and he possessed a toned body one many women would shamelessly desire. Yet, whenever the women gave him attention, he had made a pass on it not only to avoid scandals but mainly because he thought they only looked at him like that because he was the Duke of Cornwall. Of course, anyone would love to become the Duchess of Cornwall besides such a striking, proper young man with almost no scandal attached to his name.

“What has got your knickers in a twist?” Belinda questioned as she walked into Liam’s home office, a glass of pomegranate juice in her hand. Belinda along with Christopher, were Liam’s oldest friends, dating back to their childhood. At Twenty-six, Belinda was a stunning woman, dripping with luxury and beauty and not to mention, she was at the peak of her success, running her own catering and fashion companies. Not only did she dress the Royal family for royal balls and any important function, she had also won favor in the Queen’s eyes and that was the reason the Queen had been quick to approve her as the person in charge of Princess Nora’s wedding planning.

“Nothing. What are you doing here? Should you not be planning my sister’s wedding?” Liam questioned. Nora Grosvenor’s wedding had been the hot topic of the entire world since she announced it three weeks back. For once Liam had appreciated the frenzy, knowing it pulled the attention away from him.

“Nora is being…difficult. It must be the pre-wedding jitters,” she frowned, leaning against the side of the desk.

“What does she want now?”

“Apparently, she thinks beige is not good enough anymore. I almost bit her head off, “Belinda blew out a deep breath before taking a sip of the juice from her glass then setting it down on the table.

“It can’t be that bad,” Liam smiled in amusement.

“Don’t get me started Liam,”

“You know you should start according him the respect he deserves. He is the Duke now, remember? Anyway, what were you guys going on about?” Chris walked into the office, a bit of a bounce in his gait.

“Nora is being such a b***h, apparently,” Liam shrugged.

“Nothing new in that,” Chris smiled.

“How are you even in love with her? She is my sister but even I cannot handle her tantrums,” Liam implored, taking his tie off.

“When you eventually find the one Liam, you’ll realize how I feel about your sister. Who cares if she can be a little bit of a b***h sometimes? At the end of the day, she makes me the happiest man alive. Now if you two are done talking ill of my wife-to-be, how about we grab some lunch?” Chris proposed, quickly changing the subject. Love was bit of a sore subject for the Duke and hence for quite a while the two other people in the room had refrained from mentioning it.

“Unfortunately, I’m having lunch with mum and Dad. Who knows what they’ll want this time?” His face conformed into a grimace. Having lunch with his parents had never sat well with him before but then again you could never say no to the Queen of England.

“Well, you better get going then. Meanwhile, we are going to grab a delicious lunch and maybe this time I’d have the luck of running into a man hot enough to want me,” Belinda shrugged, making two men groan,“What? The only reason I don’t get anyone to hit on me, it’s because people tend to think I’m dating the duke of Cornwall and for both our sake, I do hope you found a real date to bring to your sister’s wedding this time,”

“What’s the use of finding a date? I have you and that is enough to ward off the advances of the women only thirsting for the title of the Duchess,” He shook his head once, playing around with a pen.

“No. This time I’m not going as your date Liam. I cannot keep living for you. Men are afraid to even come near me because of you. Unlike you, I do want to get married, have a family with kids and everything. I want to fall in love, Liam. So suck it up and get yourself a respectable woman. Not all women are bad and I bet there is someone out there for you,”

“Its okay if you do not want to come as my date but do not tell me to find a woman for myself,” Liam warned in a rather tight-lipped tone.

“Quit bickering you two!” Chris attempted to intervene. For the most part, Christ had never understood if their bickering was solely platonic or was it a way to disguise some hidden affection for each. Sometimes they’d be bickering like siblings, other times like lovers and he found it hard to keep up with their spurts.

“No Chris. Maybe it’s finally time someone told him the truth. We get that she broke your heart but it’s been two years Liam. Move on,” She snapped, her voice rising in the room.

The air in the room grew icy, silence filling the home office. One could even hear the sound of their breathing. Liam stared at the woman before him, chest heaving before abruptly stood up, grabbing his suit coat. Without a word and a clenched jaw, he walked out of the home office, signaling for his chauffer Sean to follow him. The moment he was his 2021 Black Range Rover Vogue, he blew out a wisp of breath, releasing a clenched jaw.

“Your Grace, if I may,” Sean started. He was a middle-aged man, always keeping to himself and so when he spoke up, the Duke was caught by surprise.

“Go ahead,”

“There was a package for you, left seat. I found it while I was cleaning the car. I was not sure of what I should do with it,”

“A package you say?” His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Yes, Your Grace,” Sean reached in the gloves compartment, retrieving an envelope, handing it over to the Duke.

There was nothing on it, not even a stamp except for the words, ‘for the duke’s eyes only’ written in an unrecognizable neat handwriting. Usually, he’d have it scanned for potential threats but it didn’t feel like there was something big in it. Out of curiosity, he tore it open, his heart squeezing in pain at the sight of the pictures in front of him. There were three pictures, all of them provocative and the woman he was still very much in love with, almost-naked with another man, his face hidden from the camera.

“D-Do you have an inkling of who left these?” his voice croaked.

“No idea, Your Grace but I could ask around- “

“No need Sean,”

His eyes stared at the pictures again, pain scouring over his heart as he tried to make sense of it. Why would someone even send him these pictures? It’s been two years and he should have moved on but why did the picture Charlotte in the arms of another man make him feel like this? Why was there a sudden need to punch something till his knuckles bled? He needed to have a grip on his emotions. Afterall, he was the Duke of Cornwall and the first in line for throne after his mother.