Chapter 0415


    she


    At the next rehearsal, Susie still hadn’t left her room. When I had visited her, hadn’t even left the bed.


    She remained inconsble, always crying and lost in thought. I had held her tightly, told her she was


    my dear friend and I would be her for there no matter what, and then left the room.


    Now, I walked straight up to Bridget. I didn’t care that she was nked by Olivia and Lilliana and in


    deep conversation. I walked to her and I interrupted their conversation, and I said, “Susie and I are


    switching parts.”


    Bridget frowned at me for a moment. “I’m not thrilled about this, I want you to know that. Susie’s part


    was perfect for her, just as your part was perfect for you.”


    Yes, the maid who had to watch the biggest kiss in the show from a distance. That was my destiny.


    “We’ll live,” I said, only barely hiding my annoyance.


    Bridget shrugged in reluctant eptance. “If Susie’s stage fright is as severe as it appears to be, then


    we truly have no choice. Fine. You can have Susie’s part, though…” Her eyes brightened like she


    thought of something. “Your eagerness makes me wonder if you have properly researched Susie’s


    part?”


    Admittedly, I had not. I had been too busy being annoyed at my own nameless part, and worried about


    Susie’s anxiety that I hadn’t done so much as nce through the rest of the script.


    “I can see on your face that you haven’t,” Bridget said. “Maybe you should read it before you decide.”


    “Whatever it is, it will be fine,” I said withplete confidence. “I’ll do it.”


    Bridget smiled kindly. Olivia and Lilliana, meanwhile, smiled much-less-kindly. “Susie’s part is that of


    Nichs’s spurned lover,” Bridget said. Softly, she added, “Perhaps that is the best part for you, after


    all.”


    I blinked, startled by her words. “What?”


    “Nichs’s spurned lover,” she said.


    “No. What did you say after that?”


    She tilted her head with total innocence. “I didn’t say anything after that.”


    I knew I had heard something, but her innocent expression was so convincing that I began to doubt


    myself. Had I imagined her saying it? Was my jealous wolf


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    acting up again? I thought I had been doing such a good job containing my distrust of Bridget. Maybe I


    let my guard down too much.


    I needed to keep a handle on myself or I’d do something embarrassing. Like snap at Bridget when she


    didn’t actually say anything.


    This time, I decided to take the high road, and exited myself from the conversation.


    I was still going to do the part.


    I didn’t need to fight over nothing.


    Even if the thought of being Nichs’s spurned lover, even in the context of a y, hurt my soul a little


    bit.


    Maybe more than a little bit.


    Maybe so much thatter, when the kitchen was empty and most of the hallways clear, I sneaked down


    into the kitchens and opened the freezer. I had only grabbed the ice cream when a voice spoke up from


    behind me.


    “Get me a pint, too.”


    I nced behind me at Julian. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he seemed as dejected as


    me.


    “What kind?” I asked.


    Julian and I sat on the floor in the kitchen, our pints of ice cream in one of our hands, a spoon in the


    others. Mostly we ate from our own pint, but asionally, we would steal from each other. I had rocky


    road. He had chocte mint.


    “So,” he said. “We know why I’m here. Why are you here?”


    “I switched parts with Susie,” I said. “Bridget thought she needed to tell me what exactly that part is.”


    “What is the part?” Julian asked. Of course, he didn’t read the script either. Though, unlike me, Julian


    didn’t need to bother reading it all to still do a good job. If he hadn’t been born a royal, he would have


    been an actor.


    “Nichs’s spurned lover,” I said.


    Julian burst outughing. “You’re kidding?”


    “I wish,” I said, mostly with false irritation now. Julian’sughter did make the whole thing seem funnier.


    “Do you know what my part is?” he asked.


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    “The viin,” I said.


    “I chase after Bridget the whole time, just to get beat up by Nichs in the end.” He was stillughing,


    so I knew it was safe tough now too.


    Julian held out his ice cream to me like he meant to click it against mine in a toast. I immediately


    knocked my own pint against his in solidarity.


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


    “We have the worst luck in the universe, don’t we?” he asked.


    “It’s not great,” I admitted. “I wouldn’t say the worst ever.”


    “It’s up there.”


    Weughed together a little longer, finding connection in our shared love life hardships. Then,


    eventually, even thatughter ceased and we went back to eating our ice cream in rtive quiet.


    I wondered once more about the past, that lead Julian to be like this around this one particr woman.


    Since I’d known him, he’d had plenty of dates, but nothing had ever left him as bereft as this. In fact,


    none of those rtionships had even seemed to faze him at all.


    In this quiet moment with just the two of us and our ice cream, I felt a little bold.


    So I opened my mouth and asked the question I had wanted to ask for months now, ever since first


    hearing about Bridget’s existence.


    “Julian,” I said.


    He hummed in response, letting me know he was listening.


    “What exactly happened with Bridget?”


    He stared into his ice cream. He’d eaten most of his by now and was scrapping the bottom with his


    spoon. “You want the whole story?”


    “Just the parts you are willing to tell me,” I said. Curious as I was, I didn’t want to pressure him. He


    would tell me when he was ready.


    “I’ll give you the very abridged version,” Julian said.


    “Alright.”


    He dropped his spoon in the pint and then set it aside on the floor. He still didn’t look at me though.


    Instead, he found a spot on the wall to focus on and kept his gaze there.


    His eyes went hazy, like he was traveling to a time long ago. A memory of a distant past.


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    “The three of us grew up together. Nichs, Bridget, and me. When we got older, my feelings became


    deeper. She was my first love. My only love. When we were young teens, I confessed my love to her,


    and she epted it. I was so happy. She was my first kiss. We stayed up kissing all night, that night.”


    That all seemed good. Positive. A first kiss was special, I knew that. Nichs had been my first.


    “But…” he said, and his lips quirked downwards. “I only went to get a shower. I smelled like grass


    stains and sweat and I wanted to be fresh for her. I came downstairs and saw her holding hands with


    Nichs.”


    He paused a moment, and I could inly see the hurt cross his face.


    “Julian…” I began. He didn’t have to continue if it was too painful.


    But he continued anyway. “She caught me before I could confront them. She pulled me aside and told


    me straight to my lovesick face that she was in love with Nichs, and she was going to be with him


    instead.”