Chapter l316

Chapter 0316

+15 BONUS

But arguing with my father was useless. Once he set his mind to something, he would not be swayed.

So I did the only thing I could do. I nodded and saw myself out.

As soon as I opened the door, Julian stumbled away from it, backing up into the hallway.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He had clearly been eavesdropping. I would have called him out right away, but I didn’t want father to overhear. So I stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind me.

“So I eavesdropped… slightly,” Julian said, waving one hand. “That’s not a crime.”

“It is, if it’s the King you’re eavesdropping on.”

“It’s not, if you are the King’s son.”

My frown deepened. He exhaled long and slow.

“I can see you aren’t in the mood for games,” he said.

“Do you even know how to have a conversation without them?” I asked.

He placed a hand over his heart like I had hurt him. “Honestly, brother, it’s not you I’m worried about, anyway. It’s our Piper that concerns me.”

“What about her?”

Memories of Julian cupping Piper’s face, his mouth on hers, made a storm erupt within me. I wanted to throttle him until I felt better, but I knew I’d never feel better.

I’d told Piper I wasn’t jealous but that was a d amn lie. I didn’t want anyone’s arms around Piper but my own. That Julian had k*ssed her, made me want to riot. 2

“She likes you,” Julian said. “It’s obvious to everyone. Even when she was sweet with me, I had to convince her to pretend I was you.’

That warmed something chilly inside of me. I hadn’t necessarily thought that Piper would prefer Julian to me, but having the confirmation was nice.

“You could have her if you weren’t such a da mn coward,” Julian said.

My good feelings vanished. What the hell did he mean by that? I glared at him.

He shrugged. “All you would have to do is actually stand up to our father.”

“The King is to be obeyed,” I said.

+15 BONUS

Julian snorted out a harsh laugh. “Go d, you are ever the perfect, most obedient son. No wonder you are the favorite, following around on his heels all the time.”

“The King has the best interests of the kingdom at heart,” I said, because that’s what I always said. I trusted my father. I had to. If I didn’t, how could I support him as the leader of the kingdom I loved?

“Do you ever wonder why you lost Piper that first time?” Julian asked, startling me into silence. “She didn’t trust you with her secrets. She didn’t know you were a prince, but she knew you would never put her first.”

“I’m a prince,” I said, like that held all the answers. Maybe, at one point in my life, it had. It seemed to be much less significant now. “I can’t put Piper first in my life. The kingdom will always come first.”

Julian shrugged. “That’s why you’ll never have her. And why you’ll never deserve her.”

I felt rooted to the spot. His words cut into me more than I wanted to admit to him, or to myself.

I knew I was right. I was the oldest prince. I was the one most likely to inherit the crown. I had to live my life a certain way and always follow my father’s rules.

Maybe Piper did deserve better than me. (1

“That’s the difference between you and I, brother. She can be my number one priority,” Julian said. “And when the time comes for father to tell me to drop her, maybe I won’t.”

I went very still. “What are you saying?”

Julian shrugged. “Maybe I’m the one Piper needs.”