Chapter l303

Chapter 0303

Bridget. The girl that Julian had said he loved who Nicholas had stolen away from him.

This girl in the picture, wearing a bright smile, wedged between Julian and Nicholas, was her. A younger version than who she was now, but at least I finally had a face to place with the

name.

Even as a young teenager, she was beautiful, with a head of loose blonde curls, and a big, toothy smile. Her blue eyes were bright with life and joy. She seemed the kind of person that lightened those around her, if Nichola s’s and Julian’s easy, matching smiles were anything to go by.

Nicholas finished dressing and came closer. “The three of us were thick as thieves back then. We did everything together. Julian, ever the instigator, led us straight into trouble. Bridget followed him blindly, and I followed her.”

He laughed. “Once, he had her entirely convinced that he found a tunnel that led to the center of the earth. I was skeptical, but Bridget believed anything those days. Julian took us to a cave and we got lost, of course. We were only missing an hour, but it was long enough for our

parents to cause an uproar.

“We stumbled out of the cave and straight into a massive search party. Julian was grounded for three months. I knew he was bluffing the entire time about having found a path to the center of the earth. Bridget, though… She defended him until we all parted ways.

“What happened?” I asked. “You seemed so close. What could change?”

Nichola s’s eyes went distant a moment. “We grew up.”

I waited a moment, but he seemed to be unwilling to give more information than that. Or he was simply lost in a memory. Either way, the wall between me and his past seemed thicker than it had before, I wasn’t sure how to sneak past it.

“What happened to Bridget?” I asked.

Nicholas startled, like he had forgotten I was there. I frowned, but tried not to let it get to me. I knew what it was like to be lost to nostalgia. It wasn’t a personal slight against me.

I just wished he hadn’t been lost on a nostalgia trip thinking of another woman.

“We all went our separate paths,” Nicholas said. “I haven’t seen her in years. Well, except for in the movies… She’s a big actress now.”

I didn’t watch many movies. I’d never been willing to spend the money I didn’t have, when ! so desperately needed it for other things like food and rent.

But now that Nicholas mentioned it, I did faintly recognize her face, likely from posters or

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For Julian, Bridget was the one that got away. I wasn’t entirely sure yet if he was telling the full truth about what happened, but I could easily believe that much.

I wondered how many other hearts she’d broken along the way.

Was Nicholas one of them? Looking at him now, he wasn’t giving much indication. His eyes were on me, his smile soft. He was present again, returned from the nostalgia trip that had claimed him only a few minutes ago.

This untangled some of the tight web of emotions in my chest. Even if Julian had been right, and Bridget was a part of their past lives, they had all moved on now. Nicholas was here with

me.

Though there weren’t any pictures of me in this room.

Okay, maybe it still stung a little.

“I should go,” I said.

He hesitated, then agreed. “Okay.”

The door wasn’t far. I walked there, with Nicholas close behind me.

“Piper,” he said, as I reached for the doorknob. I glanced back.

His eyes were deep wells, showing a sea of emotion. Maybe he was still stuck in the past, or maybe he was here with me now. I couldn’t really tell. I only knew he was about to say

something, and it might be something we would both come to regret, since we were who we

were.

“Piper, I

–

I placed my fingers to his l*ps, stopping him before it was too late. If he spoke of his affection for me, I didn’t know if I would be able to hold myself back.

“We have to slow down, Nick. It’s too dangerous otherwise.”

He pressed a soft k*ss to my fingertips. “Dangerous for who?”

“Both of us.” I pulled my hand away.

“Piper

“I’m serious, Nick. We can steal moments here and there, but we’ll never be able to stay together. If we talk about this thing between us… if we give it a name and a life, it will only hurt us later.”

He closed his eyes. “It doesn’t have to.”

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“But it will.” I was so sure of it. “At least for me.” I licked my l*ps. I didn’t want to admit my own feelings, but if I did, maybe he would understand. “Until I can properly distance my heart around you, we shouldn’t fool around like we have been.”

“Distance your heart…?”

“Don’t make me explain. Please.”

His mouth snapped shut, but his gaze bore into me like he could see deep down into my soul. Whatever he saw, pained him. I could tell by the way the corner of his mouth curved down.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

“Then don’t,” I replied. “Let me say goodnight.’

He swallowed hard. It made his Adam’s apple bob. “So long as it’s not goodbye.”

I smiled, though it was sad. “You know better than that. I’m still in the competition…”

“That’s not what I mean.” He reached for my hand and placed it, palm flat, on his chest over his heart. Under my hand, I felt the strong, steady beat of his heart.

He didn’t mean goodbye as in us never seeing each other, he meant it in that we might not get more quiet moments like this.

He was leaving it up to me. Whatever I wanted, I was sure he would go along with. Even the hold he had on my wrist was light, so that I could pull away at any moment I wished.

I didn’t want to be distant from him. Truly, I wanted to tug him back into his bedroom, lay with him, and never leave his side for the rest of my life. If he was just another man, maybe we could have made that fantasy a reality.

Unfortunately, he was not just another man, he was a prince. And I was a commoner who would never be able to be his wife.

I leaned into him, brought my l*ps up to his and placed a gentle k*ss against his mouth.

He closed his eyes. One of his arms sn*ked around my waist and held me to him..

I sighed in his arms. He was so perfect, my heart ached. If only we were any two different people than who we were.

But…

Slowly, I pulled back from him. His eyes remained closed for a few seconds longer before blinking open to gaze down at me. The green flickered in their golden depths.

“After I distance my heart,” I said, “Then we can continue…”

He nodded, even as some of the emotion shut off behind his eyes. “I understand,” he said,

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I went to the door, stepped out into the hallway, and didn’t look back.

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