Page 41 of The Cinderella Prince

“What’s up?” I passed through the kitchen while Oakley poured himself a big mug of coffee. “Isn’t it a little late for that much coffee?”

“I’d like to see you try studying during the day when Lane’s playing games,” Oakley said.

I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “That bad?”

“Not as bad as he’ll have it when he comes back and wants to sleep,” Oakley said lightly.

I wasn’t going anywhere near that feud. “You show him, soldier,” I teased and slipped into the bathroom to shower. We seemed to be alone unless Madison haunted his room with all his moody-broody looks. Roman worked a shift at Neon Nights, which he had been doing more often lately—rent was soon due—and Lane was apparently out.

If Oakley plugged his ears with headphones, and if Cedric kept a hand over my mouth, tonight could be a lot more fun than I’d expected.

After putting on clean clothes, I passed through the apartment again. It was neat enough, and my room was theneatest of all. We didn’t need much more than that. So I went downstairs and across the street.

Neon Nights was mostly empty. A couple of tables were occupied by strangers, Roman was polishing the glasses, and Mama Viv was reviewing the books. I waved as I passed through.

“Darling, is that all we get?” Mama Viv teased.

“He’s not here for us,” Rome grumbled.

“Well, I expect you at the Glitz Galore next week,” Mama Viv called after me.

“We won’t miss it,” I promised over my shoulder as I went through the back of the bar into a hallway that led to the upper floor and Mama Viv’s apartment. Cedric had a great deal of privacy up there. His room was much bigger than mine, and Mama Viv spent very little time upstairs. She was involved with a great deal of organizations in Greenwich Village, occasionally did charity performances, and joined many activities to better the position of youth at risk of poverty.

When I entered the apartment, Cedric’s room was the first on the right. The door was closed, so I halted before it. My heart skipped a beat, as it often did when I was close to him, and I stifled a smile. Then, holding my breath, I knocked on his door.

I had so much to tell him.

What if he didn’t like the idea of us working together full-time? I clamped that fear and shoved it down. It was a useless, irrational fear.

Nobody answered the knock, so I cleared my throat and knocked again. “Cedric? It’s me.”

Silence.

I wondered if I should turn the knob, then scratched that thought instantly. I might have been falling in love with him whenever he looked at me, but we were still only dating. If he was napping, I wasn’t going to sneak in and wake him up. It would be plain creepy.

As I took a step back, wondering if he was out—though Roman or Mama Viv would have told me—a sound came from the other side of the door. “Come in.”

My heart leaped, and I pushed right in. The room was clean, aired out, and perfectly tidy. His bed was made like they do it in hotel rooms, his desk was cleared of things, and a small suitcase was in the corner of the room, zipped up and swollen with contents. “Hey, um…” I looked at the suitcase again, then at Cedric. He wasn’t looking at me. Instead, he was fiddling with his phone. “It’s on? Can’t they track you?”

Cedric shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”

My heart sank low as I pushed the door shut and stepped back from him. He didn’t move. He didn’t look anywhere other than the screen, but the gestures he was making with his thumb seemed like he was simply opening and closing apps. “What’s going on? Why aren’t you worried your brother can see where you are?” I hated how insecure and thin my voice had become.

“He knows where I am,” Cedric said. His eyes were dark, his hair a mess, and the shirt he wore was wrinkled. He’d buttoned it the wrong way, missing one, and the sleeves were unevenly rolled up. A sullen expression dominated his face when he directed his gaze to me, but he failed to meet my eyes. “He knew all along.”

“What?” I gasped.

“The agent. I kept seeing the agent,” he said. After inhaling a deep breath of air, he held it in silence. When he finally exhaled, it felt like a lifetime had passed. It felt like we had crossed the boundaries of this universe and another, stepping from one where there was some happiness and joy to one where we had already lost the fight. “We spoke today, and Alexander made some very good points.” He shook his head in frustration. “I was going to leave,” he said, his speech a little slurred in haste and his thoughts wandering. “I was going to go, but then you knocked. I…”

Anger and fear clashed in me and lit the very short fuse that led to the explosion of firm action. “You’re not leaving,” I said. “We can go somewhere where they won’t find you. I can help you. I can hide you. I know places and people who will help you, Cedric. You can’t go back without any bargaining power…”

“I don’t need to bargain,” Cedric said firmly. His eyes were red-rimmed and exhausted. “He’s right. This…none of this is real. Not to someone like me, Tristan. Kitchen work? Who are we kidding?”

“This is not you,” I said tightly. “The real you would rather lose the crown and the palace and all the wealth than marry someone you don’t love. And I can save you from that, Cedric.”

He clenched his teeth, and something flickered out of him. “I’m not a stray dog to be rescued, Tristan. I’m not Pudding or some kitten you found behind a dumpster. I’m the Prince of Verdumont, and my duty is to my family. If I thought, for a moment, that it can be any different, then thatspell is over.”

“I didn’t mean…that’s not…” I shut my eyes and shook my head. “I’m trying to help you.”

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