Chapter 0455
Not long after I parted with Julian and returned to my room to change, I was alerted that the candidates were to report to the foyer to receive the results of the theater event. I had expected the results to come quickly, but this seemed extra fast.
Though with Bridget the professional actress among the group, maybe the royal family and the producers didn’t need all that much time to determine who deserved the highest ranking.
Running on zero sleep, I was tired as I changed into fresh clothes and moved a little slower than usual as I headed down to the foyer.
Mark must have told Susie about the fight between Nicholas and Julian because no sooner had I entered the room, then she came rushing up to me.
She looped her arm through one of mine and asked, “What happened?”
“I don’t know what to say,” I said. “Nicholas saw Julian and me coming out of the woods and attacked Julian right away. He barely said anything, and he didn’t listen to reason.‘
“He must have been furious,” Susie said.
“He was,” I agreed. “But if he would have just listened to me, I could have told him that nothing happened between Julian and me…”
Susie blinked, startled, like she hadn’t been expecting that. “Nothing happened?”
Now I was startled and looked at her in shock. “You thought something had?”
Susie looked a little sheepish, like she was embarrassed by what she had thought. “That’s what all the rumors are saying?”
“Rumors?” I gasped. Who the hell was going around talking about this? Julian wouldn’t have said a word, and I doubted Nicholas would have.
“I didn’t believe them at first,” Susie said, “But after Mark told me about the fight this morning, I wasn’t so sure they were false anymore. Nicholas isn’t the type to fight over nothing, no matter how on edge Mark says he is.”
I hummed. Mark had said something similar to me this morning, that Nicholas had been pushed too far and was starting to crack under the pressure. It wasn’t any of my business anymore, Bridget had made that clear. Though I did still worry about him. Fighting was so out of character for him.
“Did Mark tell you about the rumors?” I asked.
“No, I heard it just from people talking. Everyone was saying it,” Susie said. “I have no idea who started it.”
I still wasn’t sure of the timeline, but the only other person who knew I had been out with Julian all night was Bridget. I slid my gaze to her now, and found her looking back at me.
She had an air of innocence, and when our eyes met, she smiled kindly, as if greeting a friend. She even waved.
It was so surreal, especially after her words this morning. I didn’t know what else to do but raise one of my free hands and wave back.
“You don’t think…” Susie whispered. “Bridget started the rumor?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
Nathan appeared and took to the stage. He had cameras with him this time, even though Nicholas and Julian were noticeably absent.
Susie and I walkedcloser to the stage, where we met with Veronica, who was standing with Tiffany and Jessica, who seemed to have bonded over their shared stage experience. I wasn’t opposed to having more friends, so I greeted Jessica kindly. She said hello to me too.
Nathan stepped up to the microphone, then tapped on it to get our attention. We all quieted down to listen to his words.
“I have here in my hands the results of the event.” He held up a sheet of paper, while discreetly keeping the written side hidden from both us and the cameras. “There have been some shifts in the current rankings of our candidates. And of course, the addition of Bridget has added fresh excitement.”
But no it seemed not. And I didn’t know how I could ever argue with the royal family.
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