The Pretender and The Prince novel Chapter 38

Ondine hadn’t told Zaria about Ellis’s deception yet, and with Seth and the driver in the car, she didn’t want to get into it. “It’s a long story,” she said. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“Okay,” Zaria said. “How’s your mom doing? My brother told me she was transferred to Lustrous Medical Center in Boreal.”

“Yes,” Ondine confirmed. “She’s undergoing preoperative chemotherapy right now. The doctors want to shrink the tumor before they operate.”

Zaria squeezed her hand. “She’s going to be okay.”

The mention of her mother’s illness cast a somber mood over Ondine. She just nodded, not trusting her voice.

Sensing the shift, Zaria changed the subject. “Bro, are you seeing anyone?”

Ondine’s heart leaped into her throat.

Seth paused for a moment before answering. “No.”

“Hah, I knew it. How are you still single after all these years?” Zaria teased. “By the time Dad was your age, you were already walking and talking.”

In the dim light of the car, Ondine couldn’t help but smile. Zaria was still the same blunt, playful person she had always been.

Seth remained silent, long accustomed to his sister’s antics.

“Such a handsome face, gone to waste,” Zaria lamented. Then, a thought struck her. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re still hung up on your first love.”

Ondine held her breath, waiting for his answer. She had often wondered why Seth had remained single for so long.

After a few seconds of silence, she heard him give a soft, quiet, “Yeah.”

A bitter taste filled Ondine’s mouth. She felt a pang of longing for her own unspoken crush and a sliver of envy for the woman who could command such loyalty from a man as cool and detached as Seth.

After dinner, Ondine made it back to campus just before curfew. As before, she switched cars midway, with Zeke dropping her off at the gate. The arrangement was thoughtful and discreet. As Zeke had joked, “When you get out of my car, people will just think you called an Uber.”

Back in her dorm, Ondine sent Seth a text to let him know she had arrived safely.

[Seth, I’m back at the dorm.]

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