Page 126 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

Sure, we kind of hooked-up last night, but if the society hadn’t become a problem, we wouldn’t be dating.

I think …

“I could just sense it.” She reclines back on the sofa. “River has never spent this much time with a girl before, so I knew he liked you.”

“And how did you know I liked him?” I question

“I don’t know. You just seem like the kind of person who would be good with him, and since you’ve spent so much time with him, I assumed you’d fall for him eventually.” She smiles as she adds, “River is the nicest guy when he lets his walls down. I’ve seen him around you, and I can tell he’s been doing that with you.” She flips her hair off her shoulder. “Plus, I have a sixth sense about these things.”

“About people liking each other?”

“About people being soulmates.”

I have to bite back a laugh. “Lily, we’re just casually dating.”

“For now.” She gives me this knowing smile that makes me slightly uncomfortable because, for a crazy moment, it feels like she can see something I’m not aware of yet.

I can’t fall for River. Hooking up with him was already crossing a line. We need to keep this fake dating under control and only put on a show when we have to because the last thing I need is to be plastered around in articles as River’s side piece for northside.

Speaking of articles …

“Totally off the subject,” I say, “but can I have Wren’s number? There’s something I need to ask her.”

“Sure.” She stuffs her hand into her pants pocket to retrieve her phone.

She tells me Wren’s number, and I punch it into my phone then call her.

Puzzled curiosity creases Lily’s face, but she doesn’t inquire why I’m calling Wren. Not that I care.

“Hello?” Wren answers, her voice flooded with perplexity.

“Hey, this is Maddy, Lily’s roommate,” I explain. “She gave me your number.”

“Oh, hey.” A drop of her confusion evaporates. “What’s up? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to ask you a question. It’s about this article that I’m looking into, and I was wondering if you knew the author of it because I really need to talk to her about … something.” Great, I sound sketchy as hell.

“Um … maybe,” Wren replies in a puzzled tone. “What’s her name?”

“Laura Mellyton.” I chew on my thumbnail, hoping she doesn’t ask why, mostly because I don’t want to get into it right now.

“Oh, yeah, I know her.” Wren drags out a pause. “I can give you her personal number if you want.”

“That’d be great. Thanks.” I breathe in relief that she didn’t ask for more information.

She tells me she’ll text it to me, and then we hang up.

Lily is watching me with a curious look, but I ignore it as I rise to my feet.

“Thanks for helping me out,” I tell her as I pocket my phone. “I’m going to go contact this reporter.”

“Okay, well, let me know if you need anything,” she calls out as I walk toward my room.

I nod and throw her a thumbs-up from over my shoulder before stepping into my room and shutting the door. I head to my laptop and send Laura a message about wanting to ask her a few questions about one of her articles. I mention I know Wren, but I’m extremely vague about which article I want to speak about.

Once I’m finished, I begin to gather my stuff for class but pause as my phone rings. I almost don’t check to see who’s calling, figuring it’s more than likely my mother or Drew. But this odd feeling washes over me that I need to look. So, I do.

The calls from Noah.

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