My Royal Lesson (Kingdom University, #4)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Most Elusive

"Himala, you're early," Steff commented as she sat down right across me.

I forced a smile. "Yeah, I woke up early."

She pulled out a chocolate bar from her bag and started nibbling it. Unlike Alice and I, Steff preferred to be early so I already expected to see her here even though her class would start at 11:30 A.M.

"Ah, I have a question," I said. "What's nakaka . . . bago? Wait, was that the right word?"

She chuckled. "You mean, nakakapanibago?"

"Yeah!" I beamed after hearing that word. "That's it."

"Hmm, it's kind of like you're not used to that kind of setup or attitude or whatever you just encountered."

"Ohh." I see. But why would he say that?

"Did you hear that somewhere?"

"Hmm?"

Uh oh. I wouldn't be able to escape once Steff started asking questions.

"Alam mo, feeling ko talaga may something sa'yo ngayon," she said with a suspicious look. I could pretend I couldn't understand but she used basic Filipino words so she would see through that.

"Eopseo (Nothing)," I retorted. "You know that I'm busy surviving our subjects."

She finally stopped questioning me but her eyes were still doubtful. We spent our remaining time talking about Alice's situation and she looked pissed because of the articles and rumors about Alice and Kevin. This was one of the reasons why I couldn't tell them my secrets. I knew they would get hurt and feel betrayed because most of the articles on the portal were about Campus Princes and Princesses.

"Do you know that Gewena—"

She wasn't able to finish his question because Darryl hugged her from behind. I find it cute that she still gets flustered whenever Darryl does things like that.

"May strawberry cake sa cafeteria," Darryl said and Steff's eyes twinkled.

Both of them looked at me and I already knew what they were thinking.

"Yna, do you want to—"

"Ka (Go)," I said, dismissing what they wanted to say. "It's okay, I have a group meeting in ten minutes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. Go and be with your bebeboy," I teased.

They were still hesitating but after repeatedly telling them to go, Steff slowly got up and I signaled Darryl to pull Steff away.

Heaving a sigh, I, too, left the garden since it looked like it would rain. Somehow, it felt strange to be alone in the campus. Before, I would always be with those three but things had already changed. I knew our time together would be less compared before because of their boyfriends.

That's okay. I completely understand that. Besides, they know when to prioritize our friendship and their love lives and that's what matters the most.

After checking some notifications in my phone, I went to one of my favorite places—behind the Arts and Letters building. However, I suddenly remembered a scene that sent me into cold sweat.

"Oh, so you're notaroyalty?"

If only he wasn't behind me . . . he wouldn't know my identity. Well, as long as he doesn't say anything to anyone, I'm safe. But waiting for his next move was making me more anxious. Would he really be able to keep my secret? Could I really trust him?