The Vampire Prince returns to High School (Book 2)

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Rin's POV

Somehow, Cassidy managed to talk me into hanging out at my house. Surprisingly, my parents hadn't said anything in regards to having Alexander's fiancée in our living room. They did, however, hover around the living room, pretending they were looking for something. I did get a few text messages from them ask me to explain what was going on. 

"Sorry," Cassidy suddenly said. "I know this is strange."

"You said you wanted to say something," I prompt. "We could have talked in the car."

Cassidy shrugged. "I wanted your parents to hear this too." She smiled. "I know they can hear me."

I looked away feeling my face burn from second-hand embarrassment. 

"So," I said, clearing my throat. 

"I'm waiting for someone," Cassidy explained. "It won't be long."

Honestly, it took no more than ten minutes for that someone to appear. The doorbell rang and Dad opened it. There was a sound between a gasp and choking. 

"Hello sir," I heard Alexander say. "I'm here to see Cassidy."

My eyes widened. I was standing before I knew it. Before I could say anything, Cassidy stood and walked to the door. She must have said something to my dad because, a few moments later, Alexander and Cassidy joined me in the living room. 

Alexander smiled at me. I had no idea what face to make. Instead, I looked behind him where my parents stood and walked over to them.

"I don't know what's happening either," I told them. "Can you guys give us a minute?"

Mom placed a hand on my shoulder. "Alright," she said. "John?"

Dad crossed and uncrossed his arms. "Fine," he said. "Call us if you need anything."

"Okay."

I watched them go into the kitchen before walking back into the living room. It was awkward, to say the least. I was in a room with my ex-boyfriend and his fiancé. As far as I knew, they were still engaged until their engagement was officially called off. 

"You wanted to talk," Cassidy said. "What about?"

Alexander glanced at me before speaking. "Why do you think your father is seeking an alliance?" he asked.

Cassidy frowned. "We need more support," she replied. "We don't have enough voices to make laws benefiting vampires and humans alike."

"There's no easy way to say this," Alexander began, "so, I'll just say it. Your people want to dissolve the monarch. King Caldor believes if we marry, your people will want the monarch to continue."

Cassidy stood. The shock was written all over her face.

"I asked my father," he continued. "I almost had to beg him to tell me the reason."

I looked between Cassidy and Alexander. Was my presence necessary here? This conversation was not meant for me. 

"Your father doesn't think you're capable of unifying your people under the crown." 

I shot a glare at Alexander. Why was he hammering in the nails?

"He lied to me," Cassidy whispered. "How could I have been so blind? I always thought I knew what my people wanted but it turned out I was just ignorant." 

She sat, holding her head in her hands.

"Now that you know, what did you want to talk about?" 

"Now is not the time for that," I snapped. "You can't just drop a bombshell like that and expect someone to move on."

"It's fine," Cassidy said, lifting her head. "I was taught to think on my toes."

"Everyone needs a moment to process things," I said.

She smiled at me and allowed herself a few minutes to compose herself. While I didn't know what she was going through, I felt bad. 

"I decided not to marry you," Cassidy said suddenly. "I thought making a marriage-free alliance would solve our problems. Rin had really good suggestions too."

"And now?" Alexander asked.

Cassidy paced around the living room. "First, I need to talk to my father," she replied. "I have to hear it from him. It's not like I don't believe you, but I have to know why he kept it from." She hugged herself. "From there, I don't know. It's a lot to think about."

"I understand," Alexander said. 

"Regardless of his reason, I'll keep in contact with you. Both of you. For now, I'll excuse myself."

Alexander and I walked with her to the door. We couldn't have a conversation after that huge reveal. Cassidy stopped at the door. 

"I still won't marry you if that's what you're worried about," she told Alexander. "But there's a long battle ahead." She looked at me. "I hope you're ready."

She waved at us before departing. Once Cassidy left, Alexander grabbed my hand.

"I told you, didn't I?"

I frowned. "What?"

"That I wouldn't give up," he said. "And I still won't."

"I know," I said with a sigh.

I'll be going to," he said. "It was nice seeing you again. I look forward to seeing you a lot more often."

He kissed the back of my hand and left. Feeling my legs tremble, I leaned against the door. When he spoke like that, it was hard to stay mad at him. If I thought about it, it wasn't just anger. It was a betrayal. Alexander hadn't trusted me and that hurt more than anything. 

"Rin?" Mom said.

I turned and saw my parents in the hallway. 

"They left," I told them. "The royals had to, uh, talk about . . . their marriage."

Dad frowned. "That's outright rude," he began.

"Cassidy isn't going to marry the Prince," I told him. "At least that's what she said. She realized that he would never like her and she doesn't want that type of relationship. Or something like that."

"Well, you must be tired," Mom said. "Go take a breather and we'll call you down when dinner is ready."

"Yeah. I can do that."

I headed upstairs with a weight on my chest. Cassidy's words hadn't put me at ease. Did I need to be ready for battle? To say the least, I didn't like the sound of that. 

A/N

Hello readers, 

First and foremost, I apologize for not posting these past few weeks. Not going to lie. It's been tough but it mostly centers on the fact that I want to do this story justice. I don't want to rush the story too much and skip over anything important. I haven't said this but the story is almost coming to an end so, I have to make sure all the chapters line up correctly. 

I've been saying there are 10 - 20 chapters left and so far, that's still the estimate. If it happens to go over then, that's just more chapters for y'all to read. I don't mind writing more. I made the mistake in the first part to drag things out way too much and I don't want to do that this time around.

Anyways, thanks for reading. I'll try my hardest to bring y'all a chapter next week.

Stay safe and healthy.

-Mama_Kas