In the following days, new rules were assigned to the candidates. None were allowed to wander the palace without a personal guard. No one was allowed outside, not even into the gardens. The King and Queen had totally barricaded themselves away. Joyce had too. Only Nicholas and Julian could occasio
With the cameras arranged, I was immediately escorted by Nathan to the other side of the room where Julian was teaching Elva how to hide a card up her sleeve. Behind me, the King and Queen were escorted by guards out of the room. I crossed my arms as I peered down at Julian. He smiled sheepishly u
There was no question who him meant. Nicholas. With Nicholas, I wouldn’t be playing pretend. I looked at Julian. The curves and planes of his face weren’t all that different from Nicholas’s. If I squinted… Better yet, if I closed my eyes entirely. Julian’s fingers were softer than Nicholas
“What the hell is going on in here?” Nicholas asked. “Julian?” I was too stunned to speak, but when I looked over to Julian, I saw that he was smirking. Nicholas turned his rage on the producers. “Why are you filming this?” The producer jumped, then bowed much lower than was necessary. “It was
“I’m afraid to ask,” I said to Charlotte over tea a couple of days later, “But what does the public think of Julian and my fake relationship?” Charlotte closed her eyes. She clapped her hands together and inhaled deeply. “I don’t even know where to begin.” “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
Elva was introducing Nicholas to her dolls when I came closer. I caught Nicholas’s eye and smiled at him, he made no return gesture. He simply blinked at me and looked back at Elva. Elva received all of his smiles today. While I was glad for it – I would never be jealous of my child – I felt the g
Nicholas After leaving Piper’s room, I knew what I had to do. What I should have done from the start, as soon as I learned of Piper and Julian’s fake relationship. I went to my father’s rooms and requested an audience. Nathan didn’t seem thrilled about it, but announced me all the same. The King
But arguing with my father was useless. Once he set his mind to something, he would not be swayed. So I did the only thing I could do. I nodded and saw myself out. As soon as I opened the door, Julian stumbled away from it, backing up into the hallway. I narrowed my eyes at him. He had clearly