Chapter 319


    Chapter 0319


    Joyce regarded me with a cool expression. His gaze trailed over me with disinterest. I felt suddenly


    exposed in my thin nightgown and robe. I wrapped my arms around myself.


    “Joyce? You were the one who wanted to see me?” I asked in disbelief.


    He nodded curtly. “I wanted to see if you were reckless enough to follow that note out onto a balcony,


    even knowing all the safety measures we have in ce right now.”


    “Oh…” I lowered my head, ashamed and embarrassed.


    “My brothers are fond of you,” he said. “That gives me enough reason to be concerned for you too.”


    “I see…”


    I thought back on my actions since receiving that note. My overwhelming desire to see Nichs had


    tainted my own self-preservation. I’d even sneaked away from the guards who were supposed to


    protect me.


    Thank G od it was only Joyce out here and not someone who actually meant to do me harm or I would


    have walked straight into a trap.


    The note had even been typed rather than handwritten. I should have known better. Even if Nichs


    and I had left simr notes to each other in the past, he wouldn’t recreate that now – not with the


    danger I’d been in.


    Nichs would have never wanted me to endanger myself by shaking loose my guard and meeting


    him out here in the cold night.


    Joyce was right for having called me out. I was being dangerously reckless.


    “Thank you, Joyce,” I said. “I’ll keep this lesson close.”


    He tilted his head. He didn’t say anything, just watched me closely.


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    I shifted slightly, feeling like a sample under a microscope.


    Joyce and I had been friendly enough, but our conversations had been few and far between. With my


    closeness to both Nichs and Julian, it made sense for him to be curious about me.


    But now that I thought about it… Wasn’t the balcony a strange ce to meet?


    I was proven reckless, so what would happen now? What was Joyce’s actual n beyond this


    moment?


    And why did I feel a chill run down my spine, suddenly unnerved?


    No, that wasn’t fair. Joyce was a prince – Nichs and Julian’s brother! throw suspicions on.


    He had a different way of doing things. This could simply be an extension of that. I had enough


    enemies. Imagining more would do nothing to help me. “Thank you for your thoughtfulness,” I said,


    hoping to end this entire scene. My embarrassment was immense. I wanted to hurry back to my room


    and bury myself under my covers until I stopped feeling so foolish. Joyce nodded, and I felt relief. “I’ll


    leave first,” he said. “Okay,” I said, though I wasn’t sure why that would matter. It was sote, I doubt


    anyone would see us together unless they knew to look. Although with the way tensions were so high,


    perhaps it was better to be cautious. If I was seen afterhours in the presence of yet another prince, I


    wasn’t sure the public would be so epting.


    Joyce went through the door, leaving me alone on the balcony.


    I waited five minutes. I counted to sixty five times.


    “59… 60…’


    Then I headed for the door. I tried to turn the k nob. It wouldn’t budge.


    I blinked, surprised. That couldn’t be right.


    I tried to turn the handle harder, but it wouldn’t move.


    It was locked.


    Joyce locked it behind him?


    Had he done so intentionally? No, no, that couldn’t be. It had to be an ident. He seemed the absent-


    minded type. Likely he walked through and locked the door on reflex. 2


    Why would he want to purposefully lock me out here? That didn’t make any sense.


    But, even idental, this left me with a problem. The temperature was dropping, and I was stuck out


    on the balcony in my nightgown. Anyone could happen by. I had no way of defending myself. Without a


    cell phone, I had no way of contacting anyone, either.