“Where are you going?” Eddo calls.
“To call my girlfriend,” I reply.
Eddo scoffs. “Brigid is looking for you!”
I ignore him. Oh, so now he wants me around his daughter. Fuck him, and fuck that.
I kick my door closed and lock it, not wanting Brigid to come rub my nose in Stellan’s article and say she told me so, that Leigh has more secrets than a diary.
Such a scandal will be hard to recover from. Leigh will have a challenging time convincing the public of Stellan’s lying—ifhe’s lying. The implications for her reign, our relationship, and the kingdom are staggering. I can almost feel the crown’s weight pressing down on me, though I’m not the one who wears it.
My phone vibrates in my hand, and I groan.
Brigid
Are you okay?
Wilder
I am fine.
Brigid
I’ve been looking for you since the riot, and then when I read that article . . .
I frown at the screen. She is always weaseling her way into places she doesn’t belong.
Wilder
It’s a lie.
Brigid
I’m sorry, babe, but do we know that for certain?
I exhale. This conversation is over.
Wilder
I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but I’m in the middle of something.
I am about to call Leigh again when another text from Brigid lights up my phone.
Brigid
Just . . . be careful, Wilder. This situation is more complicated than any of us realized.
I know. But at the same time, I know nothing.
Exhaustion weighs me down, and I sink onto the edge of my bed. I rub my eyes to clear the fog. I’m beyond tired—physically and emotionally drained.
With a curse, I toss my phone aside and lie back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling fan. I may not be cut out for this boyfriend stuff. Juliette bullied my sister, Isolde cheated on me, and Brigid, who wasn’t a girlfriend but was the closest thing I’ve had to a healthy relationship, which is saying something, throws my words back in my face. I did tell her Epsilon and Nebula shouldn’t date, and now those words taste like ashes in my mouth. But that’s the coward’s way out—a way to avoid the difficult conversations and the painful truths.
I focus on the ceiling fan’s oscillation, watching as it goes round and round in a never-ending cycle that mirrors my relationship with Leigh. No matter how hard we try, we never seem to outrun our issues.
I reach for my phone and stare at the blank screen. The cursor blinks expectantly, waiting for me to pour my heart out in a text. My fingers move slowly across the keyboard as I try to articulate the depth of my feelings.
Wilder
