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Chapter 0350
Nicholas
I was relieved to see Piper rush away, but I was also furious at myself. All my talk about protecting her,
and I couldn’t stand up against my own father.
Julian was right. I was a coward. And my cowardice was what was going to cost me Piper in the end.
“Father,” I said, ready to try again. Piper wasn’t here anymore, so his anger should dowIL Maybe we if
we just talked, I could reason with him.
“I don’t want to hear anything from you, Nicholas, except agreement for what I’m about to say.”
Except, his anger didn’t disappear. Instead, it simmered at a high boil. He didn’t shout anymore, but the
ferocity in his voice left little room for argument.
“Do you have any idea how lucky we all are that it was me who caught you, and not the cameras?
Have you considered the optics of this at all?”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt‘Piper is a candidate in the contest, and I’m a prince. It would have been scandalous but
“You don’t know at all! Everything we’ve worked for. Every plan we put in place. Ruined! Piper is a
candidate, and you are a prince, but you are not the correct one. We built Piper with Julian, and the
public must believe that if we are to survive.”
“Piper is well–loved by the public. They would forgive any altercation but her.”
“It’s not her reputation I’m worried about, Nicholas. It’s yours.” The King sighed. “If you are to be my
successor, you must be seen as strong, with a capable family behind you. Piper is an embarrassment
to you, worse if she turns you into a cuckold.”
“Then let her be with me, and not Julian. Then no one would be embarrassed – ”
“I would be! My son, the prince most likely to wear my crown someday, dating a commoner?
Ridiculous. Our family would never recover from the embarrassment.” He shook his head. ” You need
to stop seeing, or fooling around, or whatever you are doing with Piper.”
I was losing this battle. No, I wouldn’t be a coward. For Piper, I had to fight harder, even against the
man whose opinion and advice I valued above all others.
Standing tall, I braced my shoulders, and I said, “No.”
The King visibly startled. I didn’t think I’d ever said that to him before, and it showed in his
reaction.
“What did you say?” he asked, like he needed to be sure.
+15 BONUS
I stayed strong. I would not betray Piper. “I said, no. Piper is important to me, and I’m not willing to give
her up.”
The King leaned back and looked at me like I was a different person. A stranger. An enemy. He
narrowed his eyes. I felt my skin itch. Going against my father went against the perfect son I had been
for years. Julian was the rebellious one, not me.
But Piper was important enough to rebel for.
The silence stretched. It was more unnerving than the yelling.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
Then the King reached into his pocket and retrieved a neatly folded piece of paper. He unfolded it, then
shoved it at my chest.
I recognized it at once as one of the flyers that had been dropped from that plane the other day. I’d
heard about it more than seen it, but now, as I accepted it from my father and looked at it more closely,
I could see first–hand how disturbing it was.
My family with their eye’s x’ed out. It made my heart ache.
“So v
you won’t break things off with Piper to save yourself and your position as crown prince. But if you can’t
do it for you, then maybe you would to save your family. And your kingdom.”
I gripped the flyer hard enough to crinkle the paper. I didn’t want to be the reason my family lost
everything – including their lives.
If my relationship with Piper was truly endangering them…..
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