The Confession

Chapter Two

America:

“Hello, Lucy and Aspen.” I said, nodding toward them and shooting Maxon a quick glare.

“Hello, your Majesties” Lucy said, curtseying and Aspen bowing a little.

Why are they here? I thought, looking over to Maxon.

“I thought they could help with the storytelling, and calming us down, if we, well, get upset…” Maxon said, trailing off, apparently reading my mind.

“In that case, why don’t you start, Maxon,” I volunteered.

Maxon:

“We are going to warn you, that there will be a lot of confessions. We don’t want you guys to get too worked up about not telling you this before, okay?” I asked my children, looking them each in the eye. They nodded.

“On my nineteenth birthday, I was eligible to hold a Selection to find myself a wife. Thousands of women were eagerly wanting to sign up and take part.” I paused and looked at Aspen and America and we shared a look.

“But turning nineteen wasn’t the only big thing that happened that day, I learned that someone had a big crush on me. Someone that couldn’t enter my Selection. I didn’t have any romantic feelings for this person, so it was a big shock for me. You know her better as Queen Daphne of France, but I knew her as Princess Daphne, at the time.” I glanced at Ahren, his eyes wide, shocked that his mother-in-law had loved me at some point.

“When she confessed that she had feelings for me that I couldn’t return, she said she would give up many things for me, including her crown. But I declined, and she left that day telling me something that would be hard to forget during my Selection, You’re too stupid to see love when it stands right in front of you. She was wrong of course, but I didn’t know that at the time.”

I turned toward my wife, gesturing for her to continue.

America:

“Before the Selection, I was dating someone else for two years,” I said.

Eadlyn gave me a confused look, obviously wondering who this person was and why I didn't tell her sooner. But I wasn’t going to tell her, not yet.

“He was a Six and I was a Five, so we had to date in secret. My mom would have been horrified, especially since she wished for us to marry up a caste so we would have better lives," I swallowed, avoiding Aspen's gaze as I continued. "We would meet in my tiny tree house after curfew many times during week. When the notice for the Selection came out, I didn’t want to try to sign up. I loved someone else. But my boyfriend convinced me to sign up, telling me that if there was a chance that I could have and be someone better than a Six, I shouldn't decline it because of him. And I listened, and I am so glad he did that.”

I didn't have to turn to know that Aspen was still looking at me. We both knew what was coming next.

“When I was in line to take picture for the Selection form, my mother and I saw my boyfriend’s mom and twin sisters in line as well. She and my mom were talking about how her son was probably saving up to get married to some mystery girl. Knowing that I was the mystery girl, I became so happy. During the picture, I was sure that no one in all of Illea could have smiled bigger than me.

“Then I got chosen. With the money I got from first paycheck, I made a big meal for my boyfriend in the treehouse, hoping to coax the proposal out of him. When he saw what I did, he got upset. I think it was the he realized he would never be able to provide for us. So he broke up with me," I explained.

“Who was he?” Kaden asked, getting impatient. He grabbed Aspen’s arm next to him to steady himself, and I nearly laughed at the irony.

I met Aspen's eyes and I knew he was thinking the same thing. Looking back at Kaden, I held back a smile.

“You are holding his arm right now Kaden.”

Kaden’s eyes went wide, and shot up to Aspen's for confirmation.

Aspen nodded at him. “It’s true, I was your mother’s boyfriend before the Selection.”