Baby after One Night with the Prince

Marco's POV.

I wait to hear Tanya step out of the room and that's when I finally open my eyes again. Trying to pretend I had been drunk was such an annoying affair, but it was necessary in order to have Tanya all to myself without her questioning the truth of my feelings. Course that's when I hear Manuel speak up.

'Come on man, just tell her you love her. I can't stand it any longer. I've felt so drawn to her, and now she's starting to emit a scent that I just can't ignore. She almost smells like Lily. Wait. What if she's our fated mate? She must be!' I don't discredit Manuel's assumptions entirely, but I'm not confirming them either. Not till I'm sure. Instead, I withdraw Tanya's ruby necklace that I've kept hold of. "Don't worry, I've come up with a plan."

'Another plan? First you used Isabella as an excuse to marry her, which she later found out about. And then you were using Claire as your reason. And then you pretended to be drunk and got Oliver to call Tanya to come pick you up just so can have intimate contact with her. Oh Marco... I strongly doubt if you can come up with better plans!' he says in a playful tease.

I just roll my eyes, choosing to ignore him, and connect with Oliver on the mind link.

'I need you to do two things for me.' 'Of course.'

'First, I want all the information you can find about the day Lily and Tanya were born, including the exact hospital, the delivery room and the doctors and nurses involved. And the other thing,' I can't help but pause, taking a deep breath in before saying. 'I want you to help me find information about my mother's death. Particularly about the maid who was in charge of my mother's food and living situation, and where this maid went after my mother's passing.'

I can sense Oliver's discomfort over the mind link, but like the loyal friend I know him to be, he doesn't question my requests. We end the mind link and I return to look at the ruby necklace, saying to both Manuel and also to myself. "It's time for Lily to tell us the truth about who she really is."

***

Tanya's POV.

The next morning Marco greets me in the kitchen as I prepare coffee for the both of us. "Eric's agreed not to cut down the Blue Moon Tree."

I look at him with surprise as a broad smile graces my lips. "Really?"

He nods, softly smiling back at me in return.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" I hand him his mug of coffee before picking up mine, and he clinks our drinks together playfully.

"Cheers. We did it Tanya. We saved the Blue Moon Tree."

I nod in agreement, sipping on what feels like liquid gold with renewed enthusiasm.

"I also got you your job back at Eau de Lune Parfumerie." Again, my eyes widen in utter shock as he explains further. "That's why I went to the party last night, so I could talk to Philip and Thomas. They spoke to their mother and Vivian gladly agreed to have you go back to work."

The butterflies in my stomach flutter chaotically at the promise of being able to work at the famous perfume store again and being able to continue doing something I am so passionate about.

"Also, I didn't invite Lily to the party, she came on her own accord. Nor did I interact with her intimately. Not last night and not in the last five years," I can feel the sincerity of his words, his eyes looking ever so seriously into mine as if to prove that his words are true.

But I believe him. I always would. And nothing can stop the happiness that rummages my system when hearing this.

***

Not wanting to waste any time, I plan to head straight there. I pack my things and give Claire a kiss goodbye knowing she'd be looked after by one of the palace maids. Marco drops me off at the shop and I once again thank him for giving me the opportunity.

I smile broadly, looking up at the shop sign with sincere delight before heading inside. I notice that there are many new employees who I'm glad to see. And they all greet me kindly. Course, my excitement doesn't last long as Lily comes into my field of view, and she appears to mirror my discontent.

For most of the day, I'm unfortunately forced to spend it with Lily. Despite the fact that she's no longer able to work on perfumes as I have been told, she still plays a major role in the management of the company. And sadly, I would still be in direct contact with her on a regular basis.

Nevertheless, I am getting to work at my favourite perfume store and I'm willing to suck it up because of it. Since it's been nearly five years there are obviously a couple of changes to the workflow, so Lily shows me my station and how things

are run now.

Eventually we come across one of the old employees, Kathy, who I used to work with, and she greets me with a friendly smile. Although I notice a flash of confusion cross her face. "Are you both using the same perfume?"

My face scrunches in puzzlement as I don't know how to first respond. Kathy sniffs the air near me, before finally coming to a conclusion. "No wait... actually, it's not perfume. It's your scent. The whiff I got smelt like Lily's body scent. Why is your body emitting her scent?"

I'm frozen in place, still not totally sure what to say, nor do I know the answer. Instead, I see Lily stiffen beside me. She hurriedly attempts to negate the presumption. "You're wrong," both I and Kathy look at her, surprised by her abruptness. But I watch as Lily corrects her panicked state, calming her tone of voice. "I just mean, Tanya has no wolf, so she has no body scent. So, it would be impossible for her to emit anything," she says logically.

Kathy goes to sniff at me again, and her brows narrow in confusion. "Oh, you're right Lily. The scent's gone. Maybe I was just imagining things," although I can see Kathy finding it slightly strange, she nevertheless chooses not to disagree with Lily.

The incident is soon forgotten, and I finally get to work. Only for a couple of hours, however. Eventually Lily comes down to 'check up on me'. When in fact I know she is going to continue to bully me just like she used to five years ago. "Tanya!" she calls out to me with an arrogant air and I hurry to her. "I need you to tidy up the warehouse."

I look at her first with confusion, and then with narrowed brows. I know what she's up to, and for once, I'm not going to stand for it. "That's not my job."

She's obviously surprised by my retaliation, but she maintains a cold expression. "When I ask you to do something. You do it."

I cross my arms over my chest. "No. I'm a perfume designer and not a warehouse worker. And I will not be forced to do jobs that I'm not employed for."

Lily's nostrils flare with rage and disbelief. But she doesn't cause a scene, she whirls round and storms back into her office without another word. For once, I feel victorious, and proud, not realizing I'm going to regret this later.

Later that day I have a meeting with the management with a proposition for a few of my perfume ideas that I have in mind. I'm so excited to present my different ideas, I had been working on some of these perfumes on my own for years and having the funding from a proper shop and the proper equipment to work on them meant I could bring a lot of my ideas to life.

I feel like I've got a lot of the team on board as they all seem very interested in my ideas. However, after I finish my presentation, I see Lily firmly shake her head, and my shoulders ultimately sag as she says. "These just won't work. They're not on brand for us, and they require too much funding. So, no. I'm going to have to reject these proposals"

I huff. "But I've created a spreadsheet detailing all the finances, and it's doable. Also I can tailor the perfumes to fit the brand-"

Lily puts up a hand to stop me. "Don't forget I have the final say in this company. And I refuse to fund them. Do not speak out of turn Tanya. Just because you were given this job because of your connections, doesn't mean your ideas are worthy. I'd suggest working on your abilities and not thinking everything will just be handed to you."

Although she wasn't saying it directly, I know she's basically implying that only my relationship with Marco is what got me the job. It's so aggravating. Just then, Marco walks into the office with a massive bouquet of roses. My eyes are wide in disbelief. And then I remember. Today's Valentine's Day!