The Prince and His Pauper

Chapter 68: The Pauper's Spirits Lifted

"Antonio, I think I know why you won't tell me anything. . . It's because you're royalty, right? Future King Antonio Zepeda?" I declare when Antonio was about to walk away from me again.

This is so stupid. No way he's royalty. I'm making a fool of myself by accusing him of being an actual prince. I thought as I stare at Antonio's back. His whole body turned stiff but he doesn't make any noise. He just stood there frozen like a statue. Oh god, was I right?!

Since Antonio didn't respond back to me, I decided to walk closer to him so I could see his expression. If what my hallucination said is even true, then I should be able to see if he has a scared look. When I stood in front of him, there was a bit of fear on Antonio's face but it was hard to see. The only reason I could tell was because his eyes were filled with terror while the rest of his expression was stoic.

"Was I right?" I probed since Antonio still hasn't spoken a word to me. But my question seemed to snapped him out of his stupor and his eyes immediately went to mine. His earlier fear was replaced by a steeled, yet cold glint from those grey eyes. Almost like his dad's.

"I am going to say this only once, Cassiel. Never repeat what you just said to me or things between us will turn ugly." Antonio warns in a clipped tone then walked past me.

Normally, I would go after Antonio and demand some answers from him. But that voice he used froze me to where I stood because it reminded me so much of his dad's threatening tone that day. In all the time I spent with Antonio, I never heard him like this. Sure, he used to be so cold when he trying to push me away but it was never like today.

So I let him go.

For the rest of the day, I didn't see Antonio anywhere. I think it was safe for me to assume that he left school early because of me. If I had a big secret like that revealed, I would've gone home too. But that just confirmed what I suspected: Antonio and his family are royalty. Since that's the case, who else knows about this?

I can't really see that jock friend of his knowing his secret. If he did, he would've bragged about it early on when he kept saying that Antonio wouldn't have any interest in me. If that's the case, his cheerleader girlfriend wouldn't know either. But what about the new girl that Antonio went on a date with? Could she know about him?

Maybe she does know? I thought quietly as the last bell signaled the end of school for the day. I packed up my things while I remembered how close Antonio was with the new girl. What was her name? Natalia, I think? I honestly don't remember much of her except that she and Antonio did look super close.

I was close to Antonio and he never told me about being a prince. What's the difference between me and that girl? Is it our gender? Was he able to be tell her his secret because she's the opposite sex? Or maybe she already knew?

Ugh, this is just giving me a headache. . . I thought when I felt my brain hurting from all the confusion that Antonio left. Because of this, I didn't realize that I bumped into someone until I felt my face slamming into a sturdy body. That impact caused me to stumble back and groan in pain.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" I quickly apologized while I rubbed my face with my hand in attempt to massage the bruised area.

"It's fine, Cassiel. I was actually on my way to see you." A familiar voice, one that I haven't heard for some time, responds.

When I looked up, I released a gasp from seeing Austin's face staring down at me with an awkward smile. "Austin. . ."

"Hey. Um, can we talk?" Austin asks which took me by surprise.

"Y-Yeah. . . At my house or where?" I reply, still confused with what he wanted to talk about.

I have an idea what it might be but it could be about us trying to get back together. He might've heard or probably saw how mad Antonio was after our talk and would want to use this time to convince me into going out with him again. I don't want to hear about how right he was about Antonio leaving me because that will just be the cherry on top of this horrible day. Though, I secretly hope it will be his explanation for disappearing like he did since it could distract my aching heart rather than have it break again.