Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 116570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116570 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 583(@200wpm)___ 466(@250wpm)___ 389(@300wpm)
“Me? I am perfectly perfect. Why wouldn’t I be? So, what is wrong with you?”
I ignored the nagging feeling in the back of my mind because I simply wanted to get off the phone call with her. “You spoke to the press about me?”
“They asked.”
“Augusta!”
“Odette!” she yelled right back. “What, am I not allowed to talk to whoever I want?”
“Not about me!”
“Why not?” She snickered. “Because you are a future queen? Well, Odette, that is of another country, not here. You do not tell me what I can and cannot do or what I can or can’t say.”
“So, you really did say it then? That I want to be the center of attention?”
“Well, don’t you?”
I wanted to reach into the phone and wring her neck. “I have never wanted that—”
“Oh, bullshit. You always say that! And yet, somehow, we are always talking about you. Oh, Odette won another beauty pageant. Oh, Odette is going to Juilliard. Oh, Odette is releasing an album. Oh, Odette! Oh, Odette! Oh, Odette! For someone who does not want to be the center of attention, you seem to be there a lot.”
I really could not believe what I was hearing. I was stunned. Just stunned. “Augusta—”
“Oh, please do not call my name like that. I was asked questions, I answered. And because it was about you, you found time to lecture me? But you are there for weeks, and I get a call only twice?”
“I am busy!”
“And so am I!” she snapped, hanging up on me.
What in the actual hell? My sister had her moments. We had fought in the past, but this—this was a whole new level I had never seen from her. It was like she had just flipped and gone mental on me.
I tried to call her back, but she did not answer, so I called Malik.
“Hello?”
“Malik, it’s Odette.”
“Hello, Ms. Princess.” He chuckled into the phone.
“Don’t give me that. I just spoke to Augusta. What is going on? Is she okay? Did something happen? Because she is acting like she’s lost her mind.”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I haven’t spoken to her in days.”
I looked at the phone for a moment. Was this still reality? “Malik, she is your wife—your pregnant wife. How have you not spoken to her in days?”
“It’s complicated. We had a fight. I am out of town for a game, so Augusta went to her mom’s. Look, Odette, I am kinda busy here. I hope you are okay, okay? Bye.” And just like that, he hung up.
I had no idea what was going on in the world anymore.
“Is everything okay?” Wolfgang asked me, but all I could do was shake my head.
I now knew why Gale was so worried whenever we spoke about the press back home. I was doing my best to ignore it. I kept telling myself I knew the press would be hard to deal with, but I’d deal with it. However, every day here, it felt like I was getting punched in the face and told to smile as if it had never happened. For the most part, I had still been able to smile. It was lies. But with Augusta, my sister, I felt gutted.
Did she not see how hard it was?
Did she not see me getting slandered all over the world every day?
Even if she was upset at me, she should not have aired it like this.
“Everyone saw this already?” I whispered, sitting back down slowly.
“No one has said anything, miss.”
I rubbed the side of my head. “They haven’t said anything, but they have seen it. So, I am sure it is only a matter of time before the queen will call me in for tea.”
“It was not bad, miss. Would you like me to tell your other tutors to come back another day?”
I scoffed. “And have someone leak that too? No, I’d rather not give them headlines for tomorrow. The very least they should do is work to come up with stories about me.”
“Then I shall get the next one?”
I closed my eyes and tucked my hair behind my ears, inhaling deeply. You can do this, Odette. Everything is okay—you are okay. You are stronger than the lies they tell about you. Augusta is just dealing with her own life. Her own stresses. It can’t be easy when she has the press on her back too. And she doesn’t have a palace full of people trying to shield her, either. See, you are okay. Odette, you are okay.
“Next should be my Ersovian tutor, correct?” I asked, rising for my seat and standing up properly to wait for them to enter.
Wolfgang nodded, walking to the door.
Just as it opened, I put a small smile back on my face, pretending it was Gale coming through those doors.
“Forgive me, ma’am, but it seems they chose to change their story early this morning.” Mr. Ambrose stated as he placed the printed newspaper out for us both to see, though I already knew what it said.