If you overheard my conversation with Wren, I can explain.
Lexi. Please.
As soon as we arrived home, I excused myself and went to my room. I needed a hot shower and to change into something comfortable so I could digest what I’d heard.
I was so confused by everything. The guy I’d spent time with recently hadn’t looked like he was doing it out of obligation.
We’d had sex. He knew he was my first. He knew I’d moved to the US because I hoped we’d reconnect. There was no way he would take things that far if he was doing it out of obligation to his brother.
Then again, why hadn’t he told me? It wouldn’t have been a problem for me. I’d be more surprised if my parents hadn’t asked Troy via his brother or Tom to check on me.
I could handle that, but the lie or omission? That was different.
“Knock, knock.” Charlie was by the door.
“You know you don’t need to say the words when you can do the actual knocking.”
He smiled and entered the room, sitting on my bed facing me.
“You seemed upset earlier. You know you can talk to us about anything, right?”
I ran my hands over the blanket.
“Even guys?”
“I’ll rephrase. You can talk to me about anything. I’d leave your dad out of the guys topic. He can run a little hot, and he has access to human killing machines.”
I laughed. “Ryan, Luca, Zeke, and the team are not that scary.”
“Not to you. You’re like a little brother to them. It’s the other guy I’m worried about.”
I sighed.
“Dad, what would you do if someone you really cared about did or said something that hurt you?”
“The best way to deal with things is to talk them through. Is it possible there’s a misunderstanding?”
I nodded. “Maybe. I…overheard some things.”
“Out of context, things always sound much worse than they are. Have I told you how your dad and I got together?”
“You said he pretended to be your fake boyfriend so you could have a date to Aunt Hannah’s wedding.”
He flinched and then laughed. “See? That makes me sound like such a sad case.”
“But you loved each other, so of course it all worked.”
“We did, but at the time, I didn’t know your dad was a prince. You know very well what it’s like to gain a royal title overnight. Before I even considered that, all I knew was that Kris had lied to me about who he was, and then, suddenly, the press was talking about us.”
“What should I do?”
“What you overheard… Was it that hurtful?”
I shook my head. “Not really. I would have understood if he’d told me, but he didn’t, which means he lied to me.”
Dad squeezed my hand. “A lie by omission is still a lie, but maybe there was a reason he didn’t tell you the truth. Communication is important in any relationship, but whenyou’re in the public eye, it’s even more important. You can get through anything if you’re a team.”
I leaned forward and hugged my dad. “Thank you, Dad.”
