“The thing is,” Lucy said, “I think he has feelings for someone else.”

“Oh, Goddess, Lucy. That must feel so awful!”

My heart was hurting for my friend. She was finally spilling her secret to me, and it was hard to hear.

Lucy had come over for breakfast again, and now we were in my room talking.

She had one of my fluffy pillows clutched against her chest and was lying in my bed. I’d been sitting at my desk doodling a design, but turned my full attention to her when she told me she wanted to talk about her situation with the mystery guy.

“Why are you staying with him, Lucy? You deserve so much better than that.”

“I know,” she said, nodding. Her eyes looked sad. “I just haven’t been able to figure out how to end it.”

“What do you mean?”

Lucy sighed. “Okay, I’m gonna be honest with you, but please don’t judge me?”

“Do you really think I would judge you? Lucy, you can tell me anything, and I will never think less of you.”

“Okay,” she said again. “The thing is, I’m kind of scared of him. He has a temper sometimes, and I don’t know how he’ll react if I break up with him.”

I reached out and gave Lucy’s arm a squeeze.

“Wow. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that… Is there any way that I can help you?”

“Yeah. Tell me what to do?” Lucy gave a weak smile.

I frowned. “I really wish I could. But I don’t know, either…”

My theory could still be true. It was possible Lucy was talking about Adan. But I just couldn’t bring myself to ask her.

I’d already tried at the start of the conversation, asking her who the guy was. She’d said I didn’t know him, and that she didn’t really want to talk about it. So I had to let it lie.

“Can you just end things with him on the phone?” I suggested. “And not see him again?”

Lucy made a face.

“I’m thinking about that,” she said. “But… I do know I’ll see him again. I don’t think I can avoid it completely.”

I had to bite my tongue from asking again, Who the heck is it??!

“Well, I guess I’ll be thinking about it for you, Lucy. And will you keep me posted on what happens? I’m a little worried about you now, to be honest.”

“Aw, don’t worry, please,” Lucy said. “It was helpful just to talk about it, really, so thank you, and I promise you I’ll be fine.”

I convinced Lucy to hang out a while longer and have lunch with me and Tina. If I couldn’t help my friend out of this situation, I could at least be there for her. Give her some love and support.

That was the first time it occurred to me that going abroad didn’t just mean leaving Nolan.

It meant leaving Lucy too.

I looked at my beautiful friend. She was hurting so much right now. And I was just about to leave the country, right when she needed me the most.

Lucy was the best, and only true friend I’d ever had.

I was going to miss her a lot. And I felt really guilty to be leaving her right when she was going through her first breakup.

NOLAN

As his car pulled up at the nursing home, Nolan noticed that there was some evidence of construction on the property. So perhaps the doctor had only been telling him the truth on the phone, and not delaying the prince’s visit for some other reason.

Nolan insisted his security team stay outside. It made him cringe to think about armed Gamma warriors walking through the old folk’s home. So they just kept position at the entrances and exits.

There was no one at the desk when Nolan walked through the front doors. He wasn’t going to hang around and wait to sign in. He knew the way to Alaster’s room, so he just went straight there.

The old man was lying back on a stack of pillows with his eyes closed.

Nolan rapped his knuckles lightly on the open door, and Alaster’s eyes flickered open.

He saw Nolan in the doorway and a huge smile spread across his face.

Nolan returned the same big grin.

“Been a long time, old man,” he said, taking a seat at Alaster’s bedside. The chair was made for regular-sized people, and Nolan had to wedge himself into it a little. But he’d done it a million times before here and was used to it.

“Well,” the old man said slowly, “I understand now why you’re always so very busy.”

Nolan chuckled and looked down at his hands.

“I do want to start by telling you that I’m sorry for lying to you,” he said. “Keeping my identity a secret all those years. I hope you don’t feel that I deceived you.”

Alaster frowned. “No,” he said. “You have nothing to apologize for, son.”

Nolan smiled. He’d so missed his friend while his busy life had kept him away.

“I do have a question for you, though,” the old man continued, getting wheezier with each word. Then he hacked out a couple rasping coughs.

Nolan stood up reflexively and found a cup on the table. It was empty, so he took it to the sink and filled it with tap water. Found a straw and helped Alaster take a sip.

There was another minute of coughing, then a pause.

“What’s your question?” Nolan asked patiently.

The old man smiled and looked Nolan squarely in the eye. “Do I need to start bowing down to you, now?”

Nolan laughed. “Please,” he said, “never attempt that.”

Alaster looked pleased with himself. He’d probably been waiting to tell that joke for a while now.

Nolan realized it was the first time in weeks that he’d had a good, easy laugh like that. He patted the old man’s arm.

“I’m so glad to see you again, old friend,” Nolan said.

Alaster smiled and nodded, confirming he felt the same.

“How are you doing? Really?”

“As good as I could really hope for,” Alaster said vaguely. Then he waved a hand in the air, like he didn’t want to talk about that anymore.

“I want to know what is happening with you,” he said. “And your extraordinary wife.”

Nolan bowed his head and chuckled.

“Yena certainly is extraordinary,” Nolan agreed. “But…”

The prince was used to holding in a lot of secrets. Even from his oldest friend. It just came natural to keep things inside…

“She isn’t going to be my wife much longer,” he spat out.

It felt so good to tell someone. Someone who wasn’t his controlling, angry mother.

The old man’s face was blank.

Finally, he did a small cough to clear his throat, then asked, “Why?”

Nolan sighed. “She wanted to do something else with her life. And I love her too much to force her to stay.”

Alaster turned and looked out the window. Nolan followed his eyes and saw there was nothing there to be looked at. Just the gray of thickening storm clouds in the sky.

“Sometimes we lose things,” the old man finally said, “that we were meant to keep. But then, sometimes, they find their way back to us.”

Alaster turned to Nolan and smiled. The old man had a twinkle in his eye and a spry, mischievous look on his face.

“It will all work out in time,” he said.

Nolan shook his head. “I don’t know about that.”

“I do. I know it.”

The look in the old man’s eyes was convincing. It felt… almost magical.

And ever since the first night Nolan met Yena, he knew that powerful magic existed.

Impossible things could be possible when she was involved.

Maybe… just maybe the old man had a way of knowing something Nolan didn’t.

A tiny little bit of hope crept its way back into his heart.

Maybe Yena wasn’t lost to him forever.