Chapter 59 Cracks in the Mirror
The port turned into a total circus. Every worker, merchant, and passerby stopped dead in their tracks to watch the Prince and the Holy Order Commander lose their damn minds.
And Gisella... holy shit, she actually did it. She defended Julian right to Didier's face. That "submissive princess" reputation she'd been guarding like her own life? Shattered. Up in smoke in seconds.
I could hear the whispers spreading like wildfire. "Is that the Prince's fiancée?" "Why is she taking his side?"
Claus, who'd been standing in the thick of it, suddenly snapped back to reality. The crowd was getting too thick, too loud.
He looked at Didier, whose face was so red he looked like a damn tomato from all the humiliation. Claus felt a pang of regret.
Dammit. He regretted egging his brother on. This was insane. He couldn't have the Royal Family becoming the town gossip in a stinking port.
"Enough, Didier!" Claus barked, physically grabbing his brother's arm.
"Let go! I'm not finished with him!" Didier fought back, but Claus was way stronger.
With a rough shove, Claus dragged Didier away from the crowd. Before he disappeared behind the warehouse, he locked eyes with me.
That look... cold, sharp, it made my stomach do a backflip. It was a look that said, 'This is all your fault.' My knees gave out. I almost collapsed into the dirt right there.
But I didn't have time to fall apart.
I scrambled to my feet, pushed through the gawkers, and grabbed Gisella's arm.
"Gisella, we're out! Now!" I hissed, my voice cracking from the panic.
She was still staring at Julian. Julian stood there, face blank, but his eyes... I couldn't even read them. Something felt different. But I didn't care. The matchmaking plan was a total dumpster fire.
"Come on!" I yanked her hand hard. She snuck one last glance at Julian before I hauled her away from the warehouse.
I looked back once. Just once. Julian was standing there all by himself. In the middle of all the port dust, he looked like a stranger to his own world. Alone, surrounded by whispers, not even making a move to follow us.
Gisella's world? Cracked. Her reputation? Cracked. And me? I was just praying that when I woke up tomorrow, it wasn't to a royal executioner knocking on my door.