Evie stared at Devon as he broke the news to her that the board was trying to delay his coronation. She watched as his normally calm composure crumbled in front of her and for the first time she truly saw the stress of being a part of the royal family. He started telling her how the board of advisors had never truly let them off the hook and how him wanting to pass a bill that they didn't agree with had caused them to turn to blackmail tactics. Evie listened and watched as he paced back and forth in the quiet garden.
As he explained more and more, Evie got a cold feeling in her stomach. All of the arguments with the board and fights with his family were because of her. Because he was trying to protect her.
"And now Tina's trying to cover for us but of course Mother won't buy a word that comes out of her mouth. Dad is essentially buying me time but nothing can stop the board if they get even a little bit of public support. It's just been insane, you know? And with military school coming up in a few months I'm just losing my mind-"
"Stop," Evie whispered.
Devon froze in place and turned to look at her. His eyebrows were scrunched together and his mouth still agape from his rant.
"We can't do this anymore Devon," Evie whispered, stepping closer to Devon and gently placing her hands on his arms to prevent him from starting to pace.
"Do what Evie? Keep your secret? Because I'm not going to tell anyone. I can deal with the board but I refuse to let your life be turned into some reality TV show."
Evie smiled softly at him.
"Stop making this so hard for me Devon."
"I don't understand."
"We have to stop seeing each other," She mumbled into his chest.
And at that moment, Evie would've sworn that she felt his heart skip a beat. He grabbed her arms and pulled her away from him so he could look at her face. His hazel orbs searched over her, looking for any sign of humor. He found none.
"It's too much Devon," Evie told him, keeping her eyes trained on the ground. "The sneaking around, the long distance, heck we're lying to thousands of people! And look where it's gotten us. You're getting in trouble with the government and I can't even go on normal dates with you."
Devon ran a hand through his curly locks.
"I don't care about getting in trouble Evie. I care about you," He whispered.
Evie shook her head sadly and sniffled. He released her arm and instead took her chin in his hand. He raised it just enough so that their eyes met and Evie almost lost her nerve.
"I always knew that those hazel eyes would be the death of me."
Devon let out a bittersweet laugh.
"They don't seem to be doing much right now," He said.
"It's for the best Devon," Evie whispered. "You deserve someone who doesn't endanger your path to the throne."
"You deserve the world, Evelyn Delany," Devon said, he completely released Evie and turned his back to her. "Keep the rose."
Evie nodded, a small smile playing on her lips, and then sprinted out of the garden as fast as she could.
She didn't let the tears fall until she was safely tucked into bed.
~
The next day was rough. Evie woke up just like she would on any other morning. But upon seeing a pile of used tissues and chocolate wrappers, she remembered what she had done last night. Just as she was about to burst into tears again, Ella knocked on her door. Evie quickly wiped her eyes and moved the pile of garbage behind her desk.
"Morning Ella," She greeted as she opened the door.
"Hey Evs, are you alright? You look like you got no sleep. And have you seen my red scarf?"
"Scarf is right here," Evie said, running over to her dresser and removing it from a drawer. "And I'm perfectly fine thank you. Now can you make breakfast today? I've got an assignment that I completely forgot to submit."
"Sure," Ella said, throwing the scarf over her shoulder and closing the door behind her.
Evie sighed and flopped back onto her bed. Grabbing her phone off of the nightstand, she started texting Kennedy.
Evie: U working today?"
Kennedy: No, why?
Evie: I need a girls day. Can you be here in half an hour?
Kennedy: I'll bring the ice cream.
And so after dropping Ella off at school, Evie returned home to find Kennedy already on the couch holding two pints of chocolate ice cream and her arms wide open. Evie was startled to find tears already dripping down her cheeks.
"Oh no it must be pretty awful if you're crying and we haven't even talked yet," Kennedy said, getting up to give her friend a hug.
"I broke up with him," Evie cried, resting her head on her friend's shoulder. "We weren't even really officially together and I broke up with him!"
Kennedy let out a little laugh but quickly composed herself when Evie's cries got louder.
"Alright, come on Evie. It's alright let's go watch some TV ok?"
She guided her friend to the couch where they both flopped back onto the many pillows that were placed there. Kennedy pointed the remote at the screen and then started clicking buttons while muttering something about this being too complicated. She successfully turned the TV on, only to see Devon's face on the screen. Her eyes wide with horror, she glanced over at Evie who was had now miraculously stopped crying. Instead, her face was void of emotion as she watched her ex-boyfriend make a statement to the entire world.
"There has been a lot of controversy over a photograph of me that surfaced a few weeks ago. While I appreciate the concern over my choice of partner, I would like to make it clear that I am not currently courting anyone. The young woman in the photograph was a friend of my sister who I agreed to date in order to please Valentina. Nothing serious happened between us and we are not together. On that note, I would like to ask you to respect her privacy. She is a private person and I hope you can respect that by not trying to find out her identity. Thank you all for your support and I hope I'll see you at the-"
He was suddenly cut off as Kennedy finally figured out how to change the channel.
"Shit, um, fuck, I'm sorry Evie that probably didn't help you feel any better-"
"Ice cream?" Evie interrupted, her eyes never leaving the screen although Kennedy noted that they looked less dry than before.
Kennedy looked at her strangely before passing over a pint and a spoon. Evie mumbled her thanks and continued to stare at the screen as hot tears began to drip down her face once again.
"Can turn the TV off for a bit?" Evie whispered.
"Anything you want Evs," Kennedy said, scooching closer to her childhood friend.
Kennedy wrapped her arms around Evie the two friends sat in silence, each caught up in their own thoughts.
A/N- Sorry guys! It had to happen😓 Trust me when I say that this chapter was super hard for me to write! I just wanted to get it right but I was also trying not to cry and ugh. It was rough.
Alright I'll see you guys on Monday!