Paper Princess Book Summary; Part 2

Paper Princess is the first book in The Royals series, acclaimed by The New York Times Bestseller young adult fantasy pentalogy by Erin Watt. Paper Princess is a book full of tension, emotion, and plot twists when you least expect it. This book will give you a different perspective on what people go through and different types of human behavior.

Ella’s first thought is her backpack, it has everything she needs. Money, clothes, and her dad’s old watch. Ella asks to turn around but no one answers her. Instead, Callum pulls her backpack out and gives it to her. Ella tells Callum that if he wants a hooker there are plenty of others to choose from and that if he drops her off at the next intersection, she won’t tell the cops. Callum tells her he is here for her, not a hooker. He gives her his jacket to cover up her outfit. He shows her his watch, which is the exact same as her dad’s. Callum explains that he and Steve graduated from BUD/S together and on the back engraved is, “Non sibi sed patriae”. It means, “Not for self, but for country”. Steve claimed he lost his watch and never replaced it. Ellas asks what that has to do with her and it’s illegal to kidnap in every 50 states. Callum says she was engaged in illegal activity and he had the right to remove her from the area. Ella shows him her ID and says she is 34. He grabs her ID and reads it off. “Five foot seven inches. One hundred and thirty pounds. Felt more like a hundred, but I suspect you’ve lost weight since you’ve been on the run,” He says. Ella is shocked that he knows she’s been on the run. He says he has five sons and knows a teenager when he sees one. Her father was Steven O’Halloran, he died in a hang-gliding accident five months ago. He and Steve were best friends, they grew up together and went to the same college, they joined the SEAL’s then took over their family’s business, building airplanes. Callum explains that Steve got a letter they would open after he returned from his trip, but Steve died. Callum says he remembered the letter months later, he opened it and it was from Ella’s mom. Before he can explain further, they pull up in front of a large white airplane with “Atlantic Aviation” on the side of it. Callum builds private planes for people and fighter jets for the military. He lets Ella change in the bathroom on the plane. She puts on her dad’s watch because she doesn’t see the point in hiding it. She sits down next to him and asks for the letter. But Callum says he’ll give it to her at home and wants to make a deal with her. He pulls out a stack of cash and sets it on the table. He explains the deal, “From what I can tell, you’re stripping to support yourself and get a high school diploma. From there, I presume you’d like to go to college and give up stripping and perhaps do something else. This money is a good faith gesture. This stack contains ten thousand dollars. For every month you stay with me, I’ll give you a new stack-in cash- for the same amount. If you stay with me until you graduate from high school, you’ll receive a bonus of two hundred thousand. That will pay for your college education, housing, clothing, and food. If you graduate with a degree, you’ll receive another substantial bonus.” Ella wants to grab the money but asks what the catch is. He says she can’t fight or run away, she accepts his guardianship and lives in his home. She also has to treat his sons as her brothers. He says he can’t replace her parents but she is not alone anymore, she’s a Royal now.

Ella stares out the window of the car and thinks about the deal she made. She only has to deal with his five spoiled sons, she has dealt with worse. Like her mom’s boyfriends, they would try to feel her and she quickly learned how to fight after those incidents. The driver, Durand, pulls up outside of the gates to the Royal’s house. She sees two SUVs and a red pickup truck. Callum notices and says Easton did have an SUV but traded his for a truck to have more room to screw around with his dates. Callum says she has to ride to school with one of his boys for the first few days until she gets a car. She asks if he is buying her a car and he nods. His sons aren’t the quickest to warm up to strangers. Ella looks towards the house, but it looks more like a palace. It’s only two stories but stretches farther than she can see. The interior of the house is just as nice as the exterior. Callum promises she’ll like it here, but Ella says to never make promises to her. She then asks where her letter is, but he says she’s had a long day and she can wait till tomorrow and he can take her to her room. She hears shuffling upstairs and Callum says his oldest son Gideon is at college and comes home on the weekends. Reed is a senior, Easton is a junior like Ella, and his twins Sebastian and Sawyer are sophomores. His four boys stand at the top of the stairs and Ella is quickly intimated. They look like thugs who can snap her like a twig. Each one is at least six feet tall and obviously an athlete. All four of them stare at their dad not saying a word. Callum says to come meet Ella but Reed is the only one who glances in her direction. After a second, he leaves, and the other three follow suit. They are all gorgeous but she needs to watch out for Reed. Callum apologizes and says they will hopefully be more welcoming in the morning. 

Ella wakes up and starts going through the contents of her backpack. She knows she is going to need to hide it and get some new clothes. A knock at the door disturbs her. Reed says he needs to talk to her. She says she’s not decent and he says she has five seconds or he’s coming in. She walks over and flings the door open and asks what he wants. He says he wants to know what her game is. She responds saying he should ask his dad because he brought her here. He steps closer and she turns and walks farther into her room. She starts changing her clothes and he says she can’t win against all of them. They will break her down till she is crawling away. They are all watching her. He stomps out of the room leaving her alone. Callum comes in and gives Ella the letter. He says once she’s done, there is breakfast downstairs for her. She thanks him and starts reading the letter. The letter tells Steve that Maggie (Ella’s mom) is sick with cancer and Ella is going to be alone once she’s gone. Maggie explains that he should at least meet her once and he’ll know who she is. Ella has Steve’s eyes and his watch. Ella’s eyes tear up and she goes to the bathroom to splash water on her face. Then she heads down to the kitchen to get breakfast. Callum tries and fails to cook eggs. So she offers to cook eggs and bacon. Ella asks about his family. He says their mother, Maria, died two years ago and they’ve never really recovered. He wasn’t around much because of the business. Callum says he’ll take her to school and get her enrolled. She’s two weeks behind but he says she’ll be fine. Ella asks how he knew about her grades. He says he found her moms’ real name and he found her from there. Ella says her mom did the best she could. Callum says that Maggie stripped and asks Ella if she was forced to. She says she did that all on her own and slaps down the eggs on his plate. Reed asks from the doorway if he’s interrupting something. She steps closer to Callum knowing it will make Reed mad, and it does. Reed grabs his jacket and walks out. Ella says she’ll see him at school. Callum comments and says she’s poking the tiger. But Ella says he poked her first.