The Pretender and The Prince novel Chapter 43

The next day.

“Impossible! My brother has only ever dated Ethel. We grew up under the same roof—you think I wouldn’t know if he was seeing someone? I’m Zaria Holmes!”

When Ondine suggested that Seth’s first love might be someone else, Zaria was utterly shocked and refused to believe it.

Despite not seeing each other for over three years, their bond was as strong as it had been in high school, and they could talk about anything. Ondine was just as surprised as Zaria by Seth’s claim that he wasn’t hung up on Ethel, which implied his first love was another woman. So when she met Zaria, she brought it up, only to be met with firm disbelief.

“No way. My brother is cold to everyone. If he were actually in a relationship, I’d be able to tell,” Zaria insisted, shaking her head. “Impossible. I think he’s just being stubborn.”

Ondine took a sip of her drink. “He’d have to be incredibly stubborn.”

“Haha, you know how men are,” Zaria laughed, but her smile quickly faded as her thoughts drifted to Yohan.

Her bubbly demeanor vanished, and she slumped in her seat. “Ondine, I don’t think I’m over Yohan.”

Ondine’s eyes softened. “Do you want to try talking to him?”

Zaria fell silent, her bright eyes clouded with frustration. “Ugh, what’s the point? He’s probably got a girlfriend by now. I shouldn’t bother him.”

“How do you know unless you ask?” Ondine countered gently. “You should follow your heart. If you miss him, you should go find him.”

Zaria considered it for a moment, but the sadness returned, along with a rush of painful memories.

Yohan had rejected her without a second thought. That night, Zaria showed up at Ondine’s house and cried for hours, her eyes swelling up like walnuts. A few days later, she left the country to study abroad.

Ondine later heard from a classmate that Yohan had gone to Riverdale Tech University, and in all four years, he never had a girlfriend.

…

A few more days passed in the cold, dry Boreal winter.

Seth was in town to oversee the operations of his company’s local branch. The Thorne Group was a massive enterprise with offices all over the country, and the Boreal division had been particularly successful, landing several major projects in recent years.