Chapter Four

Daniel

Outside, the dying sun gives way to street lamps and headlights. I watch my sister’s black car disappear around the corner, taking her to the fanciest hotel in Chicago. I always wanted Eva to come to Chicago, to show her where I live, all my favorite places in the city. I never thought it would happen like this.

“Do you need a ride home?” I mutter to Madison, avoiding her gaze.

She raises a single eyebrow in that disparaging look she’s perfected. “Travel twice in one day on that rust bucket of yours?”

“Hey,” I say, “you love my rust bucket.”

She rolls her eyes but follows me as I turn the corner. I should be mad at her for eavesdropping, but I never manage to stay mad at her for longer than two minutes–even when she lectures me for hours about my partying or doesn’t tell me her best friend was disguised as a dude for almost a year. Which I still have to ask her about, now that I think about it.

Even though she rode on it earlier today, Madison still eyes my bike apprehensively. It’s a 1985 Honda Goldwing: cherry red with genuine leather…even if the leather is a bit torn. There’s a second seat right behind mine, making it perfect for dates. That is, when the engine isn’t flooding. Still, I always carry an extra helmet…even if I usually just end up giving Tyler Evans a ride home after practice. I hand a helmet to Madison.

“I’m surprised you can even get your helmet on, Daniel,” Madison says. “Doesn’t all that gel in your hair make it as solid as a brick?”

“First eavesdropping on a private family matter, and now insulting me? One would think you don’t want a ride home.”

Madison buckles the strap under her chin. “Actually, I don’t really want to go home yet.”

I slide onto my bike. That’s right…I guess her talk with her parents didn’t go well. I’ve been so wrapped up in my own drama, I forgot to ask about it. But I know that as soon as I walk into my tiny townhouse, everything from today is going to come crashing down on me full force. “So let’s not go home yet.”

“Wanna walk around Navy Pier?” she suggests. “Maybe get some ice cream?”

“I just paid for TWO of your milkshakes, Myong.”

“Well, technically I spilled one when I heard you were Prince of Eldonia.” Her arms wrap around my waist as she mounts the bike and her cheek presses against my back. We’ve done this many times before—her on the back of my bike, her body tight against mine. Somehow, it always gives me the chills. “So, you owe me a replacement,” she finishes.

I let out a long sigh and kick the bike into gear. Every thought that’s fighting for attention in my head zips away as I speed through the streets of Chicago. All I concentrate on is the warm breeze blowing on my face and the feel of Madison’s arms around me. By the time we’re walking through the crowds of people on the pier, I almost feel like a normal human being again.

It’s a busy night, but we’re used to it. Madison and I weave through the people, ice cream in hand. I’ve always liked crowds. Everyone’s connected and separate, all at once. In a crowd, I can be anyone I want and no one is any the wiser. I can disappear.

If Eva gets her way, I’ll never be able to blend in again. The new King of Eldonia will have his face on the cover of every European newspaper—and maybe even the American ones, too. I fight back a wave of nausea, imagining my mug in black and white on the front page.

I’m surprised Madison hasn’t questioned me more about it. She must be really messed up about her talk with her parents. “So…what happened at home?” I ask.

The blue and red lights dance off her black hair. “They completely and utterly shut me down. But I’m not surprised. It was a longshot anyway.” She turns to me, smiling. “I’m already over it. I’m more interested in what it was like growing up as a prince…and why you haven’t told anyone.”

Ah. There it is. I guess I’ll have to explain this eventually. And if I have to explain it to anyone, Madison is the best choice. If I tell her, she’ll relay it to everyone. There’ll be no long awkward talks with the guys, no probing questions. “Because I’m not a prince, not really. I’m the kid who attended a super fancy boarding school every summer, except instead of getting to play sports or join clubs, everyone just glared at me.”

“I can hardly imagine anyone glaring at you.” She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her pale neck.

I stare at that neck, the curve of her shoulder, the dip of her collarbone, visible in the loose shirt she’s wearing. I don’t want to talk about Eldonia anymore. I want to grab her close and put my mouth right on the beautiful curve of her neck and see if she smells like that fancy perfume she usually wears—

“Daniel?” She tilts her head.

I move past the crowd to the edge of the pier, allowing my toes to poke over the edge. The dark water stares back at me. It almost seems inviting. I feel Madison’s presence behind me. “I didn’t tell anyone I’m a prince, because that’s not who I am. Seventeen years ago, my father, the King, visited New York on an American tour and met my mother. By the time she found out she was pregnant with me, he was already back in his castle. And it wasn’t some love story, where he came back for us, brought her to his palace, and made her his princess. I’m pretty sure there would have been an uprising if he’d made a commoner his wife. So, a year later, he married some posh duchess and my sister, Evangeline, was born.”

I look back to see if Madison is even listening. She is. Our eyes meet and she steps forward, not touching me, but close enough that I can feel the electricity jump between us, and can see the rise and fall of her chest.

I run a hand through my hair and continue. “It’s not like he truly abandoned us, I guess. He always made sure Ma had enough to get by, and paid for everything I needed at school, and all of my hockey camps. He’d call on holidays, and always sent me a really awesome birthday present. But I barely knew him.” I try to picture my father in anything other than an official royal uniform, but my mind comes up blank. “I knew he was a king, but I didn’t know his favorite food. What kind of music he liked. If he ever thought of my mother.”

“Daniel,” Madison breathes, and touches my arm. Something about the way she says my name always makes my heart hitch.

“I spent most of my summers in Eldonia. At first, I just thought the people there were cold, but as I got older, I realized they were just cold to me—the bastard prince from America.”

Madison takes my hand. It’s comforting, a gesture I imagine a girlfriend might make. Not that I even know what that’s like.

“But you keep going back to Eldonia every summer, right?” Madison says. “You must like something about it.”

“Well, it is beautiful,” I say, picturing the rustic town that surrounds Harwell Castle, the farms, the sprawling meadows. “But I go back for Eva.”

“Your sister.”

“Eva and I used to get into so much trouble, exploring corridors we weren’t allowed in, running around the tomato fields, pulling pranks on our butler Eldredge, ruining the expensive clothes the Queen made us wear. We’d spend our days exploring the grounds. We even found an area near the back that everyone else seemed to have forgotten about. We called it our Magic Garden.”

“Eva sounds…” Madison pauses, and I can tell she’s trying to select her words carefully. “…fun?”

I give a dry laugh and picture the stoic princess Madison witnessed at Ms. Sue’s. “Eva’s hard to get to know. She puts on a mask to protect herself. The people in the court will eat you alive if you don’t shield yourself.”

“A stone-cold princess with a heart of gold?” Madison gives a wry smile. “Sounds like a movie plot.”

“Everything’s a movie to you,” I say with a laugh. But when I picture my sister, I see a movie too. It’s not a static image like the one I have of my dad, but a million memories playing out before me. “Eva never looked down on me the way the rest of them did, and she never treated me like I was less than her. In fact, I think she might have even looked up to me a little.”

“Of course, she did,” Madison says. “You’re her big brother.”

The air seems to push down on me, and I sink to the ground, allowing my legs to dangle off the pier. Madison sits beside me. “How can I let her marry Lyle?”

“Is he really that bad?” Madison asks. “I mean, that is if you can get past the whole arranged marriage thing.”

“In a word, yeah. He’s just got this slimy feeling about him, going around with his nose in the air, always followed by his posse. He’s the kind of person who doesn’t like to walk anywhere because he doesn’t want ‘peasant dust’ on his shoes. I can’t imagine what he’d do to Eldonia.”

“From what your sister was saying, it won’t be good.”

I stare down at the swirling water, the black waves breaking on the stone pier. “But even if I wanted to be king—even if it’s my legal right or whatever—I meant what I said to Eva. No one wants me there. No one trusts me. I’m just a bastard to them. A bastard who drinks too much, parties too much, hooks up with too many of the castle staff, and may have broken one too many priceless royal artifacts.” I take in Madison’s wide eyes. “Do I need to go on?”

“Hmm.” Madison’s eyes trace a line up and down my body. “You could make them want you. Go to Eldonia and make them see you’ve changed, that the guy they remember is not who you really are.”

“But that is who I really am.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” She smiles. “I…I could help you. Help you become the king the people of Eldonia need.” Her voice shakes. “If that’s what you want…to be the king.”

I scrub my face with my hands. “I don’t want to be a king. I don’t want to live in Eldonia. What could you even do with…this?” I motion to all of me.

Her body seems to catch fire. Uh-oh. I’ve given her a mission. “I’ll help you make over your image. We’ll get rid of that bad boy persona and turn you into Mr. Nice Guy.” She stares out to sea, her eyes wide, smile bright, as if the plan is coming to life before her. “I-I could even go with you, if you want. To Eldonia. I could pretend to be your long-term girlfriend. No more partying for this prince.”

Madison Myong has just said two words I never thought I’d ever hear her say. Your. Girlfriend. Of course, there’s another word in there as well—pretend. It feels like I’ve been struck by lightning and all my nerves are on fire. I leap up. I can barely breathe. Eva’s face flashes in my brain, then Lyle’s, then my father’s. And then I stare down at Madison, who is looking up at me so expectantly.

This morning, I was just Daniel Sacachelli, secret bastard. Now, I’m heir to a throne I don’t want or deserve.

My blood feels hot and I can’t take having Madison’s gaze on me anymore. A million emotions compete for room in my brain—fear, sadness, hurt. Anger.

I focus on the only one I know how to process.

“That is just what you’d say,” I snap to Madison, my words bitter and clipped.

Of course, Madison would think of a plan like this. A plan to turn me into something I’m not, to strip away everything that makes her ashamed of me. But once Daniel is gone, once I’m the King of Eldonia, will I be good enough for her?

Except I know I won’t. Because it would always just be pretend.

“What?” Madison says, standing. “You asked me for ideas.”

I run a hand through my hair. “Yeah, well, I changed my mind. See you later, Madison.”

I turn away and walk into the crowd. Maybe it’s my own fault for never telling Madison how I feel about her. How could she know that the idea of pretending to be her perfect man is like a slap in the face?

The same day she finds out I’m a prince, that’s the day she wants to be my girlfriend. My fake girlfriend, but still. This is why I’ve never told anyone about this side of myself. The title takes over, and strips away everything else. There’s no Daniel anymore…just the Prince of Eldonia.

Which, I guess, is the only version of me Madison’s interested in.

I stop, a wave of guilt tearing through me. I was her ride here. Quickly, I fight my way back through the crowd, and I spot her. Her cheeks are red and her hair is blowing behind her.

“Madison.”

She turns to me, a furious glare on her face.

“Do…do you need a ride home?”

“I’ve already called an Uber,” she says, and storms past me. But then she turns back, and snarls, “I guess being the Falcons’ bad boy is all you’re good for.”