Royal Ever After

chapter twenty

Juliano's watch sits neatly on her wrist. JULIANO'S WATCH! I recognize it. The tachymeter scale is something I'd recognize from anywhere, and I'm 100% certain it's the same one from the video. Maybe it's a replica. It has to be a replica. It's a replica, right?

"Your watch is such a cool antique, where'd you get it?" I blurt out, hoping my intentions aren't blatantly obvious.

"It was a gift, actually. From your cousin." So that seals it. It's Juliano's watch. But why would she give it to her? Why do people give gifts to each other? Oh, no no no.

"Are you two friends?"

"Friends, huh," she snorts. "You're really out of the loop, my man. We've been dating for like a month already, more or less." I blink. One time. Two times. Four times. The gears in my head are turning in slow motion. I twitch. Am I that oblivious? The gears fall into place and I come to terms with the fact that Juliano is not going to escape my life. He's like a mosquito. Unavoidable. Effortlessly annoying. A menace to society. Life would be so much better if he just never existed in the first place. But he does. And now I'm stuck with him. Suddenly I feel very full, and maybe even a little lightheaded.

"Wow, good for you, Nova. Listen, I'm sorry about everything. Truly. I'm going to return to my dorm now, but I hope we can chat later. Bye, everyone," I stammer in a response, exiting the cafeteria as fast as my legs will allow me. I make it, but not in time for me to break down. I'm all liquid. Inside and out. If a gush of wind were to come my way, I'd topple over in a fracture of a second. That's how weak I am. That's why I'll never be fit for a king. That's why it should have been me instead of Hector. I could go on and on with the reasons the universe is against me, but I'll save that for another time. Besides, I need to get down to the bottom of this confounding revelation.

Adrenaline surges through my veins. I want to text Sander and ask if he knows any more about this, but then I remind myself that we're not together anymore, and images of him hanging out with Kaiden sporadically pop up into my head. I'm going to find my cousin. No more beating around the bush. It's time.

"Juliano," I grumble his name as soon as I step foot into the gym. He's always there. Day and night. It's like he thinks working out will miraculously solve all his problems. His head turns faster than a lightning bolt at the sound of my voice. I bet he wasn't expecting me to be back this soon.

"Nicolas... uh– h-hi," his tone is so low that I have to do a double take to make sure that he's actually speaking and I'm not hearing things.

"You know that I will never forgive you, right? I hope you realize that you've single handedly ruined my life." I don't flinch. I don't show any signs of fear. Because I have the upper hand now. How the roles have reversed.

"Of course. I understand. I can't tell you how disappointed in myself I am."

"I just want to know why. Why did you do it?" I ask the question that's been swallowing me whole. Not a single explanation would suffice for what he did, but at least maybe I'd feel less bad about myself.

"Do you want the truth?"

"Well, duh. What else would I want? Another lie? I've had enough of those to fill me for a lifetime."

"You have everything. I don't think you understand how lucky you are. Whatever you want will be brought up to you on a silver platter and you wouldn't need to think twice about how it got there. As much as it kills me to admit it, I was jealous. And a part of me still is. Don't you realize how perfect you are? The golden boy. That's the way my mother referred to you, the term she never ceased to relentlessly remind me of because I was a failure. A pure and utter disappointment. A disgrace to our family tree."