Chapter 12
Sophia
The closer I get to Lucas' room, the more my stomach churns. I don't know what happened to make him run out of my room, but I know that it can't be a good reason. I just can't fathom exactly what it is.
But I do know that we need to talk about it if we want any chance to make this work.
I count down the flat numbers until I get to the one that belongs to Lucas, surprised to find the door open.
I wonder if I should knock on it, but the sound of voices is hard to ignore and I push it open further to step inside.
The layout is exactly the same as in our flat, but that's not what holds my attention.
"Yes, I was with Sophia last night after we got back to the academy, but I'm not going to tell you anything about it," Lucas says.
He's told someone about me? I wonder who it is on the other end? I push the thought aside. I'll find out soon enough.
"There's nothing to report. I'm not doing this any more, I've told you that," Lucas says, his voice rising as he speaks, almost as if he's angry. "She spends her time studying and the only times she's left the castle grounds are when she's with you or me."
I frown. Who is he talking to? And why? None of it makes sense. And who do I leave the academy grounds with? There's Lottie, but he's not going to be talking to her, they don't really know one another. The only person who is always there is Franz.
My eyes widen and I gasp, clasping my hand over my mouth to stop the sob that's threatening to escape me as all of the pieces slot into place.
This can't be happening.
"I'm sorry, Franz, there's nothing else I will report. I can't do this." He pauses as if listening to the person on the other end of his mirror. "No, I won't have anything on the brother either. Bye."
I take a deep breath. Now what do I do? I can either pretend I haven't heard anything, or I can ask him about it. Maybe there's nothing nefarious going on at all, and he's simply talking to Franz so they can coordinate for our dates.
Somehow, I know that isn't true.
I'm just going to have to ask him about it. At least I'm no longer nervous about asking him why he ran out of my room before we could have sex. This is probably the reason for that.
Instead, I'm angry.
Before I lose my nerve, I push the door the rest of the way open.
"What was that about?" I ask, my voice low and full of anger. I doubt Lucas will be able to miss it.
"Sophia, I wasn't expecting you yet." He rubs the back of his neck from the nerves and his tail tightens around his arm.
"That doesn't answer the question." I cross my arms over my chest and wait for him to respond.
Lucas sighs. "Why don't you sit down? I'll explain."
"I'd rather stand."
He sighs and sits down on his bed.
I'm so angry at him that I don't even scan the room to see what he has in here.
"My family is broke," he starts. "My grandad gambled all our family money away. Dad didn't find out until he inherited last year, by which point I'd already been accepted into Rosewood. But we couldn't afford to send me here any more."
I'm not sure what any of this has to do with him talking to Franz about the things I'm doing, but I give him the benefit of the doubt that he's going to get to the point soon enough.
"Then, Franz approached Dad. He said that if I was willing to keep an eye on you and Prince Archibald while you were here, then I would have my tuition paid as well as giving my family a stipend so they can keep themselves the way they were accustomed to.
We weren't in a position to refuse," he explains.
"All I had to do was tell Franz if you did anything that would put you in danger while he wasn't able to shadow you. "
"Okay," I say slowly, understanding that in part. But it doesn't do anything to soothe my anger. If anything, it makes it worse. "And was dating me part of the arrangement?" My voice cracks as I ask, but I can't help that.
"No! I didn't expect that. I didn't expect to discover that you were my mate, or that I'd want to spend time with you.
And it all stopped after that. I refused to give them any more information the moment we got back from our first date.
I didn't expect to feel the way I did around you, and I knew I couldn't carry on seeing you while I was reporting to anyone.
But Franz keeps calling and trying to get me to change my mind. "
"But you thought it was a good idea to date me in the first place?" I seethe, unable to hide my anger over the situation.
"It wasn't meant to happen. I was just supposed to keep an eye on you, and I thought that being your friend would make that easier. I misjudged it."
"Stop." I don't want to hear any more. I don't think my heart can take it.
"I'm sorry. I..."
"Don't say anything else," I hiss, cutting him off before he says the one thing that could completely unravel me.
"But you need to know."
I shake my head. "No, I don't."
"I promise I haven't told them anything since our first date."
"I don't care, Lucas. You've been spying on me. It doesn't matter what you have and haven't said, that's what you've been doing. That was your intention when you first asked me to go out with you." My voice cracks even as I try to hold myself together.
He doesn't respond. Probably because he can't. There's nothing he can say that can possibly excuse what he did, even if it's in the past. It would be one thing if I knew about it from the beginning, then I could have made my own choice.
But he's been so careful about respecting me that it completely ruins it that he's done this.
"We're over," I say with finality.
"Sophia..."
"That's Your Highness to you," I spit out, turning on my heels and stalking out of the room, the hurt and anger in complete control.
I race through the corridors, not stopping for anyone.
The moment I do, I'll start crying, and I don't want anyone to see me do that.
I slip back into my room and slam the door shut.
I lean against it and sink to the floor.
My bag falls open beside me, but I don't care.
I bury my head in my hands just as the sobs start.
How could I be so stupid? I thought the questions he asked me at the start of our first date were strange, but I'd had too good a time to question it properly. I'm a fool.
I can't believe I didn't suspect my parents would do something like this. Especially after some of the things my siblings got up to while at Rosewood.
But it's not them I'm angry at. To some extent, I can understand why they've done it. We're well-known people with a lot of money, that has to come with some security complications.
Lucas on the other hand...
I could understand if he'd tried to be my friend. Or if he'd just kept popping up. But to go on dates and nearly sleep with me, all while spying on me for Franz and my parents? That's something I can't get my head around. How has this happened?
My heart aches with the truth of what's happened.
I'm such a fool. And everyone's going to know it when they find out. I'm not sure how that will happen, but somehow I know it will.
And I'll be a laughing stock. Not just of the academy, but of the world as a whole too. I try not to think about that too hard as I strip off my dress and get ready for bed. I could go to the party and drink away my worries, but somehow, I don't think that's a good idea. Or that it'll fix anything.
Sleep is the best option, and so I'm going to choose that.