5. River

River

I remain watching her until she’s asleep, her breathing relaxed. Then I roll onto my back and begin searching online for a phone for her. Going to the store would be easier, but I told her I’d rest. Not that I can sleep right now. I’m too sore. And wired. I want answers as to who Maddy really is. I want to stop worrying about the society. I want Maddy safe.

What I want is for both of our lives to be normal.

Not that that could ever exist. At the end of the day, I’m still betrothed. I’ve always hated that I am, but it’s so much worse now that I’ve met Maddy.

That I’ve kissed her.

I drag my teeth along my bottom lip, replaying the handful of kisses we’ve shared. Oh my God, I want to do so much more. I want to taste her, feel her, kiss her all over?—

My phone rings in my hand, and I startle, dropping it. Shaking my head at my jumpiness, I pick up the phone. My mood plummets as my father’s name flashes across the screen. I should answer it—I know I should—but instead, I let it go to voicemail. He doesn’t leave one, so I return to my shopping when he calls me again.

“Annoying bastard,” I mumble.

Not wanting to wake up Maddy, I climb off the bed and head out of the room before answering.

“Hello, Father,” I say as I enter the living room and sink onto the sofa.

“River,” he returns my greeting. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” I ask, massaging my temple with my free hand.

“About the rumors I’ve been hearing,” he says. “Ones I hope aren’t true.”

“What rumors?” Although, I have a few ideas.

“The one where you’re dating a northside slut,” he replies. “I’d like to believe you’re not that stupid, but the photos I’ve been seeing in the tabloids don’t look photoshopped.”

I’ve known this call was coming, but nervousness still weaves in my stomach. “They’re not. But I don’t get what the big deal is. I’m allowed to date until I’m forced to get married.”

“Yes, but you also have a reputation to uphold, and a northside slut does not fit into that.”

“Stop calling her that.” I don’t mean for the words to slip out, don’t mean for him to get a glimpse of how much I like her. But the line grows quiet, and I know I’m screwed.

“This is even worse than I thought,” he says with disgust. “You like her.”

“No, I don’t.” I breathe in and out as quietly as I can, knowing what I have to say but despising it. “Maddison is just some woman I want to fuck. She’s hot, and that’s about it.”

“Well, look at my boy, all grown up.” The pride in his voice causes my muscles to ravel. But the tension I feel is minimal in comparison to when I hear a soft thump from close by.

My gaze snaps up. Maddy is standing a few feet away with her arms crossed. She looks paler than she did before falling asleep, but her eyes are less glazed over.

“Well, it’s nice to know the truth,” she says in an eerily hollow tone. “But I guess it’s my fault for being stupid. I should have known better than to trust a royal.”

“Maddy, wait.” I start to stand up as she walks toward the door. But the glare she throws me from over her shoulder stops me.

“Don’t you dare follow me. I swear to God, I will kick you in the balls.”

Goddamn, that fire in her is blazing. It’d be hot as hell if she wasn’t directing it at me.

I desperately want to follow her, but I don’t question her threat. I watch her storm out the front door, my mind racing. What did I just do? I have to tell her what happened. I have to tell her the truth.

But does it even matter? The truth is that if I didn’t tell my father that, he may have tried to ruin Maddy’s life. Is this what I really want for her? She deserves so much better.

“That sounds like it went well.” My father chuckles through the phone.

I envision punching him in the face. What would that be like?

I put the phone back up to my ear. “I have to go. I have class soon,” I lie.

“Let the girl go,” he tells me. “Don’t chase after her. I mean it, River. If you want to mess around, find a royal girl to be your little toy. Northside women only want one thing—for you to knock them up so you spend the next eighteen years paying child support.”

I want to ask him if that’s what he’s done, if he has a child no one knows about. I wouldn’t put it past him, but it won’t do any good to ask. My father is a liar.

Instead, I mutter a goodbye and hang up on him. Then I stand there, stupidly staring at the door, telling myself to let Maddy go. That it’s better for her.

But in the end, I’m selfish, and I rush after her.