Chapter 0399


    I stayed in my room from then out as much as I was able. Staying near Elva helped me keep in mind


    my promise to her. I would not abandon her again. And so long as I was in my room, I was safe from


    running into Nichs and Bridget and seeing whatever was going on between the two of them unfold.


    Elva seemed happy to have me near, and we yed a lot, including the game I had promised where


    we sat in the window and counted the different kinds of birds we could see down in the gardens.


    While Elva was awake and active, we had a great time. Even when her tutors arrived and she learned,


    I sat quietly and listened, proud of how smart my little girl was.


    But times where Elva was entertaining herself, or like now, was lying down to rest, my thoughts began


    to fester and my jealousy burned so brightly it was difficult to control.


    Charlotte noticed my unhappiness. She was always around, and as one of the servants, there was no


    hiding any gossip from her.


    She tried to stay tight–lipped around me for a time, and I appreciated her for it. But eventually, I


    cracked.


    “What is everyone saying?” I asked.


    She knew right away what I meant. “About Bridget and Nichs?”


    I nodded.


    “The people think they would be a good match. They’ve totally enthralled the nation. There isn’t so


    much news about… that unpleasantness as before,” Charlotte said.


    “The protests?”


    “Still ongoing, but not quite as boisterous as before. If this was the royal family’s n, it seems to be


    working.”


    I could be grateful for that.


    “What about the staff?” I asked. “What do they think about Bridget?”


    “They’re star–struck,” said Charlotte. “Who can me them? You think we’d all be used to seeing


    celebrities working here. But a movie star? That’s on an entirely different level somehow. And she has


    been so kind to all of us.”


    15 BONUS


    I could be d about that too. Someone who acted rude to the staff was unforgivable.


    “Charlotte,” I began. This question was the hardest to ask. “Do you know anything about their past?”


    “I wasn’t here then,” she said.


    “I know, but… if you’ve heard anything…”


    “Some of the older staff do like to gossip,” Charlotte admitted, after a moment. She worried her bottom


    lip like she was afraid to talk.


    “I want to know,” I said. “I know it will hurt me, but… I have to hear it Charlotte. I’d rather hear it from


    you than learn it on television or through one of the other girls.”


    “Very well.”


    Charlotte and I took seats facing each other near the sewing machines still arranged in the center of


    the room. I quickly nced behind me, but Elva was still fast asleep.


    Comforted by that, I gave Charlotte my full focus.


    “I don’t know the full story, of course, just bits and pieces,” Charlotte said. “But apparently Bridget and


    Prince Nichs were practically inseparable as they grew up. They were constantly with each other.


    Sometimes Prince Julian tagged along.”


    She cleared her throat. She was holding something back.


    “Charlotte?”


    “The cook, she was here then. She said they often held hands. One day, when she caught Bridget


    alone, Bridget told the cook that she was going to marry Prince Nichs someday. It charmed the


    whole staff then. Everyone wanted to pair them together.


    “Some timeter, Bridget’s family moved away and she went with them. From what I hear, Prince


    Nichs was totally heartbroken. He wouldn’t leave his room. forrge chunks of time. Many times, I


    heard he flew to see her, or she came to see him.


    “But as it so often goes, time and distance continued to stretch things out between them. Visits grew


    farther apart. Phone calls were fewer. Eventually they grew apart. The cook says Nichs turned into a


    different person after that. Someone harder, I guess.


    Material ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    +16 BONUS


    “Though one of the wait staff told me that’s about when Nichs left home to go to the Academy.”


    That was when he met me.


    For a moment, I just sat there quietly, letting Charlotte’s words sink down into my brain. I let myself


    process them, turning them over and over again.


    Yet even after processing them, even after examining them from every which way, trying to find the


    ways that would hurt me the least, I could only focus on one overarching thing..


    From every angle, it seemed as if Bridget had been Nichs’s true love. His one that got away.


    If he changed when he went to the Academy, when he met me, then who was I but a rebound? All


    those months we were together. All those whispered promises and words of love. Maybe he hadn’t


    meant them at all.


    No, I couldn’t believe that. That hurt far too much. He had meant his love for me.


    It was just that his love for Bridget was much stronger.


    If anything, I was Bridget’s recement.


    “Thank you for telling me,” I said to Charlotte.


    “Of course,” she said, and seemed apologetic about it. She didn’t mean to be. I received exactly what I


    had asked for.


    I stood from the chair. “I need to go for a walk. Will you stay with Elva? The nanny should be back soon


    from her break.”


    “I’d be happy to,” Charlotte said. “Are you going to be okay on your own?”


    Was she asking me if I was going to run?


    “I’ll be okay,” I said. My heart was heavy with heartache, but I had no desire to make a break for it or


    anything. Right now, I just wanted to walk and think, and clear my head.


    I headed out from the room and started down the hallway. I had no real destination in mind. With the


    garden still closed to all but the royal family, I couldn’t wander there without making a scene, So I made


    my way toward the kitchens instead. Not to cook, just to move my feet.


    I thought of Nichs, with his arms wrapped around me, whispering how much he loved me in my ear.


    In the next instant, I thought of him with Bridget instead.


    +15 BONUS


    I kept walking. And walking. Walking until my legs hurt.


    And then I saw them, standing in the middle of the ballroom as I stood at the top of the stair. Bridget


    and Nichs dancing in a room with no music.


    My frazzled heart sank further down to the floor.


    As I watched, shocked and silent, another displeased figure joined my side.


    “That asshole is doing it again,” Julian grumbled. “Look at them down there. Not a care in the fucking


    world.”


    It did seem overly romantic, dancing with no music on, though as I continued to watch, I noticed that


    Bridget seemed more forceful than properly led, and Nichs didn’t seem all that happy. If he had


    agreed to this dance, he had wanted it to end some time ago.


    “I see what he’s doing,” Julian said, blinded by his own jealousy. “He wants to steal her away again,


    before I even get the chance.”


    “I’m not sure…” I tried to say, but Julian didn’t even seem to be listening to me. Julian growled, “I won’t


    let you win this time, Nichs.”