The Pretender and The Prince novel Chapter 13

By the time they left the station, snow had begun to fall—the first of the year in Riverdale. The sky was a hazy, muffled gray, and delicate flakes drifted down like powdered sugar.

Ondine walked a few steps behind Seth, a quiet distance between them.

“Seth,” she said, her voice low with emotion, “thank you for your help today.”

“It was nothing,” he replied evenly.

A bitter wind whipped snowflakes into her collar, and she shivered, pulling the zipper of her jacket up to her chin. “I’ll find a way to pay you back for the bail money.”

“Alright.” He continued walking toward his Maybach parked at the curb. Ondine followed obediently.

“I really didn’t mean to hurt him today,” she explained. “He was drunk and he was trying to take advantage of me.”

“I know,” Seth said, opening the passenger-side door. “Get in.”

He was dressed in a black overcoat, his gold-rimmed glasses giving him a cool, distant air.

Ondine slid into the car cautiously. “Thank you, Seth.”

He got in on the driver’s side. He had driven himself here.

“I’m so sorry to have bothered you this late,” she said, feeling like a burden.

His voice remained cool and detached. “It’s fine. I’ll take you back to your dorm.”

“Thank you, Seth.”

During the drive, Seth broke the silence. “You shouldn’t work at that place anymore.”

Ondine just lowered her head and mumbled, “Okay.” But she knew that if she didn’t work there, she’d just have to find another job somewhere else. Without it, she couldn’t pay for her mother’s medical bills. But she didn’t say any of that to him.

Soon, they arrived at the university. Ondine directed him to the spot near the “dog hole.”

“You can stop here. Thanks, Seth.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming up behind her.

“The hole is gone,” she said, turning to him and pointing. “There used to be a gap right here that I could squeeze through.”

A cold gust of wind blew past, and Ondine shivered. The snow was falling harder now, and the temperature had dropped below freezing.

“Get in the car,” Seth said, then turned and walked back.

Ondine hesitated for a second. She had nowhere else to go. She turned and followed him back to the car.

Seth pulled up in front of a five-star hotel.

Ondine got out, trailing behind him as a valet hurried forward, greeting him respectfully. “Mr. Thorne.”

Seth tossed the valet his keys and walked up the steps into the lobby.