The Prince And His Pauper

Chapter 19: For the love of everything family

"What are your plans for the child?" Bryce sat on the beige couch opposite the one Prim was sitting on at the moment.

"I don't want it," Prim murmured almost inaudibly and Bryce had to heave a harsh sigh of frustration.

"It doesn't work that way, Primrose," Bryce enunciated each word firmly.

"I'm just being honest here. I don't want it, I'm too young to be a mother," Prim raised her head to look at Bryce with all the desperation she felt at the moment. She resented how Bryce looked so much more dashing now in his crisp black suit with his hair pulled back in a tight man bun that drew attention to his sharp but delicate features. The prince seems to be taking good care of him. She thought absently.

"Were you forced by the father of this child? Were you coerced or deceived into drinking something that caused you to..." Bryce stammered as he tried to understand what happened to his ward but Prim was quick to cut him off before he gets the wrong ideas.

"Chimon didn't do anything of that sort. It was consensual but it was a mistake," Prim declared in a defensive tone and Bryce shook his head in exasperation.

"Does he know?" Bryce asked tentatively as he gestured towards the teenagers' still slim build.

"Maybe he suspected something before but now he has no way of confirming anything," Prim mumbled ruefully as she absently placed a hand on her abdomen.

"How about the school nurse who examined you, did she find out about your condition?" Bryce gesticulated wildly, his mind torn between this issue and Win whom he left sleeping in his bed as he had to leave the palace while it was still dark to avoid running into anyone who might get curious about his destination. He was summoned by Eva just half an hour after Win fell asleep in his arms and he barely had time to put on a decent appearance just in case he came back late and Win needed him ready for the day.

"She just checked my blood pressure. I also told her that I stayed up late as I was finishing some school work and our first class was very early," Prim explained monotonously as if she was trying hard to act unaffected by everything that was happening and despite herself.

"Do your friends know?" Bryce asked in a firm yet gentle tone when he sensed Prim's uneasiness. He knew the young woman too well.

"Yes," Prim answered in an embarrassed whisper.

"Then, he would eventually know about his child," Bryce declared with finality as he sat back on the upholstered couch.

"It doesn't matter, he needs to finish school. I can't ruin his future by having him take responsibility for something that wasn't his fault," Prim clutched tightly at the hem of her dress as she tried to dissuade Bryce from going after Chimon in her defense.

"You are both at fault here, Primrose. I'm glad you realize the consequences of what you did," Bryce stated in a cold tone that rubbed the young woman the wrong way.

"Don't talk to me like I am an errant child," Prim spat back angrily as tears welled in her eyes.

"But you are an errant child," Bryce replied icily as he fixed Prim in a disapproving glare that he uses whenever he admonishes any children.

"Children don't get pregnant," Prim retorted snarkily.

"If you feel like you're old enough then act like an adult," Bryce gestured towards Prim with a careless flick of his hand.

"I am acting like an adult. I want this thing removed from my body. You can have it arranged, can't you?" Prim leaned forward conspiratorily.

"Primrose!" Bryce slapped his lap loudly to emphasize his displeasure at his ward.