ADAN

It was Lucy who first told Adan that Yena was moving back to her parent’s home, where she’d grown up, in the town right next to the college.

But then Adan got the parent’s house under surveillance. He had someone posted down the street, parked in a car with dark tinted windows, who watched and made sure that Yena arrived at the house and went inside.

The spy kept his eyes on the door all through the night, and in the morning, he called Adan with an update.

“A young male, the brother, left the house first on his own early this morning,” the man reported. “Dressed in athletic gear, went off running toward the mountain. Then your subject came out.”

“And?”

“And I’m following her now. She took a little stroll down the street to a bakery, where she just went in. You want me to go inside, or keep eyes from the street?”

“Don’t go in,” Adan said sharply. “Text me the address.”

He threw on a jacket and shoes as fast as he could and was rushing out to his car a minute later. Then zooming down the highway. It was only a couple minutes’ drive to where Yena was right now, but he didn’t want to miss her.

Text update from the spy said Yena was still inside the shop when Adan got there. He stepped out of the car slowly, adjusting his pace and his energy to seem relaxed.

Stepping through the door, Adan nearly hit his head on a bell that was hanging down from the doorjamb, there to chime every time someone walked through the door. He had an impulse to snatch it down, irritated, but of course did not.

He saw Yena’s blonde hair shining in the sun. She was seated near the window on a stool, gazing out at the sunrise.

Adan pretended not to notice her, though. He walked up to the counter slowly and started looking at the pastries lined up in the case, as if he were waiting on someone to take his order.

“…Adan?”

There it was. Yena’s sweet, but very wary voice.

He turned around slowly and feigned surprise.

“Yena,” he said breathily. “Oh, wow…”

He put one hand to his heart and took a few slow steps over toward her.

Finally an employee appeared behind the bakery counter. She said, “Sir, are you ready to order?”

Adan ignored her.

“I was starting to think I might never see you again,” he said to Yena as he approached her.

There was an empty stool beside her at the window.

Adan pointed to it and asked, “May I?”

The look on Yena’s face seemed mostly stunned. She hadn’t been expecting to see Adan here, of course.

The element of surprise was in his favor in this situation. She was unprepared, so he could control the conversation.

The employee behind the counter finally gave up awkwardly waiting for her customer and walked away, back into the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” Yena asked.

“Was going to get a cup of coffee on my way to campus.”

Her eyes narrowed. “But school’s out… what are you doing on campus?”

“Left something in my office,” he said innocently.

He sighed and got settled onto the seat. Well, as comfortable as a giant man could get perched on a tiny little stool like that.

“I can see you’re still feeling wary of me, and I can’t blame you. I’m glad I ran into you though, because I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Okay,” she said. “And you’re sorry for… what, exactly?”

“That situation with Nolan, the thing with the reporter. It looked bad for me, Yena, I know. But you have to believe me, I didn’t know that guy was following me.”

“Really?” Her face was blank, but her tone was quite clear – she wasn’t buying the story.

Adan dug in anyway. It was the only strategy he had.

And it didn’t really matter if she believed him right away… all he needed for today was to plant a seed in her mind, get her to start thinking about him again, and say some words she’d wind up thinking about later.

“Yes, really. You don’t believe me, I can see that, but please just think it over. I had no reason to try to mess with Nolan, he just…”

Yena didn’t bite.

Adan almost chuckled. She was smarter than Lucy, who was always falling for his little conversational traps. Yena just waited to see if Adan was going to get on with what he had to say.

“Nolan takes stuff the wrong way, especially with me, and I guess he still hasn’t forgiven me for fucking up his life. Excuse my language… I’m so sorry, Princess.”

Adan hung his head as if he were ashamed.

“Stop,” Yena said. She sounded bored.

Something about the tone kind of reminded Adan of Luna. The way the queen sounded when someone annoyed her.

Still, Yena didn’t take the bait. She didn’t ask Adan what he meant by saying he’d fucked up Nolan’s life. She just kept looking out the window.

“I’ll leave you alone now,” Adan said. “Please forgive me for disturbing your breakfast.”

Yena shook her head. Her blonde hair was shining orange with the glow of the sunrise that was coming in through the window.

“It’s fine,” she said. “And thank you for the apology. I accept it.”

There was no warmth or friendliness in her voice. No smile on her face.

But she was being kind and cordial, at least.

If she was pissed at him, you wouldn’t have known it.

Like a true royal, Adan mused.

He gave her a gratuitous bow before he left. Just to show how much he “didn’t know” that Yena was divorcing Nolan and leaving her princess title behind.

NOLAN

“I know you said you want to control how this goes down,” Nolan was saying to his mother. “But I have just one thing I’m afraid I have to insist on.”

“Do you?” she asked.

Nolan took a breath. Luna wasn’t going to like this idea.

“When the time comes to announce our divorce, I’d like to make a statement about the reason why.”

Luna was quiet a moment. Then she said, “And what would you like to say that the reason is?”

“I want to spare Yena any embarrassment. I don’t want her to come under criticism for abandoning the throne. So I am going to say that I left her of my own choice.”

Luna flashed Nolan an angry glare.

“Absolutely not,” she said.

“Please hear me out.” Nolan resisted the urge to let his nervous habits come out. He placed the palms of both his hands flat on his knees.

“That will not look good for you, Nolan. What are you thinking?”

“I am thinking that Yena needs the best chance she can get in her new life. And she’s already been beaten up by the media. It hurt her, having to be in the middle of all that shit with Adan and me, and I don’t want her to be hurt any more than she already has.”

Nolan’s voice was getting passionate.

Sometimes his mother got edgy about that. She did demand respect of course. But when she was alone with Nolan, was probably when she let her guard down the most.

Sometimes she let him speak freely, but sometimes she reprimanded him. He never really knew what side of her he was going to get, if he crossed her, so he tried not to do it.

Luna took a long, shaky and angry sounding breath.

“Fine, let’s hear it,” she said. “How would you like to explain yourself? If you go before the public and say you’re leaving your wife?”

“I’m going to say that there’s someone else.”

Luna’s jaw dropped.

“It’s not true, of course,” Nolan went on. “But it’s a simple story and I think they’ll buy it. I’ll say I’ve always loved another, and could no longer live a lie.”

Luna shook her head.

“You’re wrong. No one will believe that.”

“Why? Why won’t they?”

“Anyone who has ever seen you with Yena knows that you two are hopelessly in love.”

Nolan paused to think about that.

Maybe she was right.

But this was the only plan he had been able to come up with. The only way to spare Yena the embarrassment of Luna telling the media that the princess was running away to pursue a career and selfishly leaving her nation behind.

“You’re not thinking about…” Luna started looking nervous. “You not planning to marry Gina, are you?”