Chapter 0397


    I immediately looked to Nichs. His eyes were wide, locked straight on Bridget. Beside him, Julian


    was equally bbergasted.


    Looking at Bridget, I found she was staring straight back. Her smile softened. She seemed more


    genuine than before.


    At once, Nichs and Julian broke out with big smiles of their own. Each cut straight through me.


    “Isn’t that Bridget, the movie star?” Tiffany whispered from beside me. On the other side, Jessica


    grumbled, “What hope do any of us have now?”


    Nichs moved first. He rushed toward the edge of the tform and then hopped down. He all but ran


    to greet Bridget at her car. She held open her arms and then hugged.


    “Shit,” Lilliana cursed. I wouldn’t agree with her on much, but in this, I felt our opinions were in tandem.


    The cameras moved closer, eager to capture the reunion on film. Nichs’s smile was brighter and


    happier than they usually see. Typically for the public, he was so reserved, but for Bridget, his old


    me, he was more like the person that I knew.


    They ended their hug but stayed near. They looked at each other. I couldn’t hear what they were saying


    from my distance, but it seemed friendly and familiar. At one point, they both startedughing.


    The only person with a face more dire than my own in the crowd might have. been Julian. His smile at


    first seeing Bridget shifted into a grim sort of frown.


    I remembered his stories about how Nichs stole away his true love. I could see now, how that would


    have so fully upset him. My own heart felt like it was shattering into pieces.


    But then Bridget looked past Nichs to Julian and waved him closer. Like a golden retriever on a


    leash, his luminous smile immediately returned, and he hopped off the stage to join her. She pulled him


    into a hug too. He held her tightly.


    My heart cracked in half twice.


    In the distance, the protests of the crowd dimmed down with Bridget’s sudden arrival. Instead, they


    seemed at first confused, and then excited. A chant began, Bridget, Bridget!” like the deeds of the past


    were forgotten and gone, and all that


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    mattered was the sudden arrival of a mega celebrity.


    Perhaps the King truly knew what he was doing. Maybe Bridget’s arrival was what they needed to save


    themselves. And if her presence was what might ultimately keep Nichs alive, I couldn’t fault her for


    it. Even as jealousy ripped through me.


    I bit back a growl. My emotions were still running high. My wolf was pacing unhappily across my mind,


    her words a whisper in my ear.


    “She stands too closely to our mate.”


    He’s not our mate, I reminded her.


    Miracle did not agree.


    When the princes had finished their reunion with the princes, Nathan came forward to with the


    microphone. She blew kisses to the previously–protesting crowd who cheered wildly in response.


    Her words in the microphone echoed through the area.


    “I’m so happy to be here,” she said, and even her voice was beautiful. “I’d like to thank the royal family


    for asking me to join thepetition. And it is amazing to have so much support from my fans. I love


    you all!”


    She blew a few more kisses to the crowd. One girl shrieked so loudly, I think she might have passed


    out.


    After her speech, Bridget was brought to where I, Elva, and the other candidates were standing. She


    was introduced to us one at a time.


    Olivia shook her hand. “How nice to meet you. Your films have always been something of an…


    entertainment.” That was not apliment, but Bridget just smiled brighter. She’d likely heard any and


    all insults before. Maybe,ing here, she’d been expecting a few more.


    “I’m d they’ve brought you some amusement,” Bridget shot back.


    Lilliana offered her own bright smile, like she fully intended to outdo Bridget’s in sheer wattage.


    “An absolute pleasure to meet you, Bridget,” Lilliana said. I wondered if she might have actually meant


    it this time. One actor might respect the ability of another.


    Veronica greeted Bridget without much fanfare. “Hello.”


    Jessica did so while staring down at the ground. “So nice to meet you.” She


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    spoke through her teeth.


    Tiffany was much less subtle. “Well, I might as well start packing my bags now. “Nonsense,” Bridget


    replied magnanimously. “We all have equal chance.” Tiffany snorted augh. Then she sighed. “Did


    you have to be funny, too?“,


    Only Susie seemed entirely indifferent to meeting Bridget. Though with her heart firmly tied to Mark’s,


    she hadn’t much to worry about. “Nice to meet you.”


    When Bridget finally made her way to me, her smile was just as bright as it had been at the start, like


    meeting all these people was no great effort. Maybe as a superstar celebrity, she was used to all kinds


    of reactions.


    “You must be Piper,” she said and held out her hand. I shook it. Then she looked down at Elva, who


    watched her back with wide eyes. “And this must be Elva.‘


    “You’re pretty,” Elva said.


    “Thank you,” Bridget said kindly. “A lovelypliment from such a beautiful girl.”


    Elva blushed fiercely, then half–hid behind my skirts.


    “Sorry,” I said to Bridget. “She gets embarrassed with too much attention.”


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    “It’s fine,” Bridget said. “She’s lovely. I want a family of my own someday, once I find the right


    gentleman, of course.” She nced behind her to where Nichs and Julian stood, not too far away.


    “Nichs wants a big family, you know.‘


    I did know that. I swallowed down the vile thoughts that were pouring into my head. Bridget clearly had


    her sights set on Nichs. These words to me now, delivered as nicely as they were, were not exactly


    a threat, but more a stake of im.


    As if I had not already been here for several weeks now, growing affections with Nichs all on my


    own.


    “He’s told me so,” I said, trying hard not to sound as hostile as I felt, especially with my wolf pacing


    angrily in my mind.


    “Oh? You must feel so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with him,” Bridget says. “I


    apologize if I might cut into some of that time now. I n to connect with him, and with Julian too. We


    all have so much inmon. Shared history too.”


    “Yes. Me too.”


    Her smile never changed, but her eyes were alert and dancing. She was nning


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    things, thinking twelve steps ahead.


    I should trust her words, I knew. She was being kind enough, really. We didn’t have to be friends, like I


    was with Susie and Veronica, and even Tiffany.


    But my wolf snarled in my head and I couldn’t begin to let myself rx around her.


    She was a good actress. Her friendliness could be an act. Her words did contain an edge that could


    have given away her true intentions.


    “So nice to finally meet you, Piper,” Bridget said. “I hope we can grow to be very close. I’d love to be


    friends with you.”


    “Don’t trust her,” whispered my wolf, and this time I was inclined to agree.


    at would be great,” I said, but I wasn’t as good as an actress as she was. She


    could likely see straight through me.


    Her smile never faltered. “Wonderful.”