Prince in the City [Harry Styles AU]

Chapter 37

heeeeeyo i'm back with a new chapter. this may be a bit on the short side, but i hope the content makes up for what it lacks in length.

i know i said this in the update before this one called Announcement, but i really do hope y'all would check out my new story "Breakthrough". it's not a fanfiction, i know, but it's one of my favorite things i've ever written and like i said before, since i already have up to 30 chapters or so already written for it, updates for that story will be a lot more frequent. all in all, i feel like it's some of my better works because of these characters and plot i was able to develop, and i really hope you guys will give it a shot.

thank you!

enjoy the chapter!

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Chapter 37

Prince's POV:

A dull, yet stabbing ache had made itself home in the confines of my chest and in the pit of my stomach, intensifying every time I attempted taking in a calming breath to relieve some of the stress that resided in my entire being. That same stress prevented me from having a restful sleep for the past few nights, which had me up before the sun rose and out of the building, stepping out into the cool early dawn as I jogged to Central Park. Of course, I was in no mood to have any type of company, so calling Dave was out of the question, though I knew he'd be haggered to know I was jogging through Central Park without any type of security.

Vera and I hadn't spoken in days, each day stretching longer than the last in the most agonizing of ways as I hoped that the next day would be when the two of us would start speaking. Gemma, obviously, wasn't going to be telling anyone since our parents didn't even know about my relationship with Vera, but she was understandable as to why Vera was angry. I had screwed up, I knew, telling my sister about Vera's father. The fact that Gemma didn't judge Vera for any of it didn't matter—I had broken Vera's trust and told my sister something I wasn't supposed to. It was understandable that Vera was upset about that.

But then everything else she said—accusing me of only using her to pass my time while in the city, when she knows just how much I love her. It was unfair and almost cruel, honestly, that she would think that low of me. That the idea of me not loving her the way I've told and showed her wasn't genuine. And her speil of never meeting my family because I was the Prince of England and that when I go back home, I would forget all about her. . . that's what I imagine what a stab straight to the heart felt like.

"Eventually you're gonna go back to England and you'll forget about New York and the girl you were passing time with."

Vera's words echoed through my head, fully equipped with the bitterness her tone had carried, and my jaw locked as I pushed myself further down the endless path in the middle of Central Park. There weren't many people here and the sun was coming up, the sunglasses on my face no longer seeming ridiculous as my lungs rapidly expanded and contracted, icy air prickling my throat from the early morning atmosphere. Sweat trickled down the sides of my face and the back of my neck, the music playing through my headphones set to an alarmingly high volume that threatened to burst my eardrums.

"We were fooling ourselves by thinking this could work out when you go back home."

I almost tripped over my feet as her voice rang through my head once more, dominating the sound of the music playing as I brought myself to an abrupt stop. Gasping for air, I stopped on the side of the path, hands resting on my knees as I tried to catch my breath, heart hammering against my chest wildly as it tried to regulate itself into a normal pace. Pressing my lips together, I tried to breathe through my nose, albeit sharply, as I straightened myself and tilted my head back. Eyes shutting behind my sunglasses, I exhaled harshly through my nose, only for my eyes to fly open as the obnoxious ringing of my phone blared through my ears.