Page 59 of Prince of the Palisades

I’m incredibly sorry about what happened.

I’ll fix this.

I hope this doesn’t ruin your special day.

No response so far. No read receipts either. I suppose it’s good he’s gone dark. But it’s the worst too. All I can think about are the seconds before the first flash—his hands on my hips, the softness of his mouth.

How perfect it was.

“It’s so romantic,” Annika gushes from the plush sofa in the entertainment room. “The glowing pier sign overhead. A prince and a civilian. The feral photographers screaming at my little brother while he makes out with a boy. So royal teen rom-com!”

“Not what I was going for, Anni!” I yell, head in my hands.

“It may very well be a death sentence for our plans,” Samuel sighs out.

I lift my eyes, frowning. This kind of conversation would usually be happening behind the Rouge Room’s closed doors. With chamberlains and specialists talking over each other. Emergency countermeasures being coordinated. Now, it’s just me, my sister, our guards, and a frantically pacing Samuel.

What a team.

“The LA news agrees.” Luc points toward the wall-mounted flatscreen, the sound muted.

The headline scrolling across the bottom of the screen:

REBEL ROYAL CAUGHT IN ANOTHER SCANDAL?

A scowl tightens my face. Is me kissing someone truly ascandal? Or is it because we’re boys?

I don’t have the energy to dissect everything that’s wrong with the media.

“It’s fine,” Annika insists, her expression softening. “It happens.”

“Towho?” I almost shout. “Literally, who else does this happen to?”

“Whom,” Annika corrects, unfazed by my tone. “At least you’ll have lots of photos from your first kiss with Reiss. First date!” She turns to Ajani, grinning wildly. “Was he nervous?”

Ajani smiles. “Like a child on his first day of primary school.”

“Can we focus on more important matters,” I shout, my face on the verge of combusting from the heat.

“Yes, please.” Samuel types away on a tablet, then his phone. His eyebrows knit. “We need to counter this. Fast.”

“Counter what? Jadon having a boyfriend?” Annika asks.

“I don’t have a—” I cut myself off.

I don’t…do I?

I like Reiss. As far as first dates go, it was unforgettable, even better than the one I had with Léon. But I’m not in America for a relationship. I have something to prove, a home I’m trying to get back to. A boyfriend isn’t included in that plan.

“It was just a date,” I whisper to my phone, where there’s still no answer from Reiss.

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t the wisest choice either,” Samuel says. “If we’re trying to win back Réverie’s favor, beingromantically involved with Mr. Hayes might’ve done more damage.”

Anger tightens my jaw. “Why? Because he’sAmerican?”

I hear Barnard in my head again. The Réverians like him, who don’t like “outsiders.” Who believe our country is fine the way it is, the way it’s always been.

The ones who hate my mom.

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