𝓡𝓸𝔂𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓤𝓷𝓬𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭 (𝓡𝓸𝔂𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓣𝔀𝓸)

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻

Father sits across from me at the table, and crosses his arms against his chest. He stares at me for a few minutes before sighing, "I had no idea this happened to you."

I nod, "I didn't- I didn't wanna say anything about it."

He frowns and takes a breath, "You know, I'm not gonna tell you what you should or shouldn't do regarding all of this. I will simply give you advice, but ultimately the choice is yours."

Choice.

With mother around, I barely have any of that.

But I simply nod.

He goes on, "You know I love you right?"

"Yes."

That I actually could believe.

"I only want the best for you, and if the best for you isn't going back there, then you don't have to. I'm not gonna force anything on you, especially regarding this kid."

I sigh and place my quivering hands in my lap, "I'm just- I'm so confused by him."

He licks his lips, "That's understandable. Were you two close?"

I nod, "Very."

He puts a hand on the table, "His letters were flattering, but that doesn't mean you owe him anything."

"I- I really don't know what to think about the whole thing." I admit.

I guess I really haven't thought about the facts of the matter, I've mostly just focused on how painful it was.

That doesn't change anything. The more I think, the more it hurts. 

"On one hand, he made me feel so happy, and he seemed genuine in everything he was saying. I mean, I didn't outright ask him where he was from."

He shakes his head, "No, don't make an excuse for him. Whether you asked or not, hiding something as immense as the truth was wrong."

He's not wrong.

"I- yeah, if he was falling in love with me, why wouldn't he tell me something like that? I don't know."

He licks his lips again and leans in closer to the table, "Look he might seem genuine, and say that he's in love with you, but words mean absolutely nothing. They're empty air that can be forgotten easily. You need proof, physical proof of action, to know if someone really loves you," he pauses, "I know you don't want to hear this, but whether he had other acts of love towards you or not, he chose to hide this from you. That's an action that he knew would hurt you, but he did it anyway. That's what you need to focus on."

I shiver a little as my chest becomes tight. 

He's right, and I'm so stupid for not focusing on that myself.

"I- Father I'm sorry-"

He holds up a hand, "Don't be, you're young and it's easy to be swept away from the prince who flatters you," he pauses and looks out into the distance, "I'm gonna tell you the story of a young girl named Cecelia Wood."

Cecelia Wood.

That's Mother's maiden name.

I raise an eyebrow, "Do you mean mother?"

He nods and sighs, "When your mother was around your age, she attended the academy as well. She did exactly what you did, and became the top student. When she went back to the academy the next semester, she was tasked with working alongside the future king. Through this, she fell in love with him, but he didn't like her very much because she tried having an equal hand in running Alumbridge. She was too outspoken for him, and he chose to instead pick someone else. He valued his power and position over your mother."