Chapter 13 #2
I pulled out my phone and texted James: 'The girls are having a difficult time with personal issues. I'm going to need another hour to help them work through it. Sorry for the delay.'
It wasn't entirely a lie—we were all dealing with personal issues. Mine just involved a growing obsession with my bodyguard.
His reply came instantly: 'Take your time, Princess. I'm right outside when you're ready.'
The casual concern in his message made my chest tight. He was checking on me, not because he suspected anything, but because he cared. Somewhere between protecting and challenging me, he cared about more than just my safety.
And I was about to shatter that trust completely.
We gathered our things casually, careful not to appear rushed. My hands trembled slightly as I approached Sofia at the counter.
"Sofia," I said quietly, "I need a favour. Could we use your back exit? It's... complicated."
Sofia glanced between us, then toward the front door where I knew James would be visible in his car. She'd served me dozens of times over the past months, and we'd developed an easy familiarity from regular, friendly exchanges.
"Please," I added. "I'll owe you one."
She hesitated only briefly before nodding. "Through the kitchen, behind the pastry case. Be quick—my manager's on break for ten more minutes."
"You're a lifesaver," I whispered, slipping her a generous tip.
The three of us casually walked toward the pastry display and quickly ducked through the swinging door when no other customers were looking. We hurried past surprised kitchen staff, whom Sofia politely waved off.
"They're with me!"
"The taxi's two minutes away," Octavia murmured, checking her phone.
My heart thundered in my chest as we pushed open the exit door, the cool October air hitting my face. The narrow alley was empty except for a few scattered leaves dancing in the wind. Every shadow made me jump, remembering the lifeless kitten, the note, the blood...
"There's our ride," Gabi pointed to a black taxi turning into the alley.
As we hurried toward it, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was making a terrible mistake. But then I remembered James's cold, demanding stares, how he'd turned from protector to interrogator, the suffocating weight of his constant presence.
The taxi door opened, and I slipped inside after my friends, the leather seats cool against my skin. As we pulled away, I glimpsed the coffee shop's front window, of the familiar black car parked outside where James waited, unaware that his charge had just vanished into the Halloween night.
"The Underground," Octavia told the driver, then turned to me with a wide grin. "Time to remind yourself what freedom feels like, Eve."
I forced a smile, even as my stomach churned with anxiety. Freedom. Was that what this was? Or was I escaping the truth that James desperately wanted—the truth that threatened to destroy everything?
I saw James's car in the side mirror as we pulled away from the coffee shop.
He was still there, a dark silhouette against the café's warm light, patiently waiting for me to emerge.
The trust in that patient waiting—the assumption that I was safe inside with my friends—felt like a physical weight in my chest. If the person behind those threats could find me here, could kill an innocent kitten just to send a message, what would they do when they discovered I'd slipped away from my protection?
"You're having second thoughts," Gabi observed.
"I'm having third and fourth thoughts," I admitted. "James doesn't deserve this. He's been trying to protect me, and I'm repaying him by lying and sneaking around like a teenager."
"He's also been interrogating you daily and treating you like a prisoner," Octavia pointed out. "You're allowed to push back."
"This isn't pushing back. This is betrayal." The word tasted bitter. "He told me about his nightmares, his past. He's been vulnerable with me, and I'm using that trust against him."
The city lights blurred past the window as we drove toward The Underground. Each block we put between James and me felt like a small rebellion, a tiny reclaiming of my autonomy. But with each mile, the guilt grew heavier.
"Tell me again why we're doing this," I said to Octavia.
"You're twenty-three, not twelve. You've been cooped up with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Brooding for weeks. It's time you remember what it feels like to be just Eve, not Princess Evangeline."
Just Eve. The words hit something deep inside me. When was the last time I'd been just Eve? Before the scandal, certainly. Before the threats, before James, before everything became so complicated.
My phone buzzed twenty minutes into the taxi ride. James. I stared at the screen, my thumb hovering over the answer button.
"Don't you dare," Octavia warned, reaching for my phone.
"He'll be worried," I said, but let her take it, anyway.
"He'll be furious," Gabi corrected. "There's a difference."
The phone stopped buzzing, then immediately started again. And again.
"He knows," I whispered, my stomach dropping. "He knows I'm not there."
Through the taxi's rear window, I imagined James's reaction. First, he'd check his watch—he constantly checked his watch—and then try calling. When I didn't answer, he'd go inside the café. Sofia would have to tell him what we'd done.
The thought of his face when he realised I'd lied and deliberately evaded his protection made me feel sick.
"Maybe we should go back," I mumbled.
"Eve, no," Octavia said firmly. "You've made your choice. One night of freedom won't kill you."
But as my phone continued to buzz with increasingly frantic calls, I wondered if it might kill James.
The taxi merged into traffic, carrying us further from the coffee shop, from James, from the suffocating reality of my life. For better or worse, I'd made my choice. Now I just had to pray it wouldn't come back to haunt me—like everything else in my past seemed determined to do.
Through the rear window, I watched the familiar streets of Luxembourg blur past. For Halloween, the city transformed, with carved pumpkins grinning from shop windows, fake cobwebs draping across café awnings, and children in costumes already beginning their evening adventures.
The normality of it all made my heart ache.
How long had it been since I'd felt normal?
Since before that night five years ago, certainly.
Before the scandal, before the secrets, before everything went so horribly wrong.
"I brought you something," Octavia said, breaking into my thoughts. She rummaged in her oversized bag and pulled out a glittering mask that would cover the upper half of my face. "Perfect for Halloween, and perfect for staying anonymous."
My fingers traced the delicate silver filigree. "It's beautiful."
"And practical," Gabi added with a wink. "No one will recognise their princess tonight."
I slipped the mask on, catching my reflection in the window. The silver filigree covered the upper half of my face, transforming me into someone mysterious, dangerous even. For a moment, I could almost forget who I was, what I'd done, the secrets I carried.
"Perfect," Octavia said approvingly. "Tonight, you're not Princess Evangeline. You're just... Eve."
Just Eve. The mask felt like armour, protection against the world that wanted to define, judge, and control me. But even as I embraced anonymity, I knew I couldn't hide forever. James would find me—he always did. And when he did, I'd have to face the consequences of this choice.
My phone buzzed in my bag. James, of course. I pulled it out, my thumb hovering over the screen. Three calls in the past five minutes. He was probably getting impatient, maybe even suspicious.
"Don't you dare answer that," Octavia warned, reaching for my phone. "The whole point is to escape for one night."
"He'll be furious, and if he catches me, then we all know that he won't leave my side forever. I will be housebound until the new bodyguard shows up," I whispered, but I let her take the phone anyway. She turned it off and dropped it back into my bag.
"He's too controlling," Gabi said, squeezing my hand. "You're twenty-three, not twelve. You deserve one night of freedom."
Freedom. The word echoed in my mind as the taxi wound through the darkening streets.
But was I free? The dead kitten, the note, and the secrets I kept locked away—they were still waiting.
James's questions, his penetrating stares, his determination to uncover the truth—they would all still be there tomorrow.
But tonight... tonight I could pretend. Tonight I could be someone else, someone without a crown, without responsibilities, without a past that threatened to destroy everything.
The taxi turned onto a narrow street lined with old warehouses, their brick facades adorned with creative graffiti.
Music thumped from somewhere ahead, growing louder as we approached our destination.
Groups of costumed partiers crowded the sidewalks, their laughter and chatter floating through the taxi windows.
"We're here," the driver announced gruffly, pulling up to the kerb.
I took a deep breath, adjusting my mask.
In a few hours, James would discover my deception, and I would have to face the consequences of this choice.
But for now, for these precious stolen moments, I was just another face in the Halloween crowd, just another girl seeking escape in the darkness of an autumn night.