Page 64 of The Royal in Room 3

My breath caught at the sound of my father’s voice. Just that one word made me feel like that little boy who’d gotten stuck in the dumbwaiter while playing hide-and-seek with my brothers. I’d thought for sure I was going to die that day until Father called my name.

“Father,” I said softly.

“Soren, my son,” he cried, his voice gravelly. “Are you still angry at me?”

“A bit,” I admitted. “But I—I miss you. And I miss my brothers and Mom. I miss home.” Tears trickled down my cheeks despite my attempt to contain them with sniffles.

“I am sorry, son. I have failed you. I have failed your mother.”

“Why did you send me away?” I asked. “You’re the king. If you had refused, no one would have questioned you.”

“I thought it would be good for you to get away for a while so you wouldn’t dwell on everything that’s happened here. You have lost so much, my boy. I thought the change would be good for you, but you have to believe me that I never intended for your departure to be permanent.”

“Then why didn’t you say so?”

“I love you, son. You may be the prince of Belvaria, but you are my son first. How could I bear to part with you forever? I never expected you to cut me off.”

“But you agreed to the state not funding my living expenses in a new country.”

“To appease the people, Soren, but I don’t need the Crown to support you. I am your father and made arrangements for you upon your arrival. I didn’t say anything to you because I know you can be too trusting with information, and no one needed to know about our personal matter. You were born into royalty. How could you survive in the world without my help? You are used to people serving you.”

I chuckled, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “But I did survive without your help. It wasn’t easy. I almost went to prison, and I was robbed and lied to⁠—”

“Oh, Soren.”

“But I met people who were kind to me,” I said quietly. “There’s this place called Halo House that helps people like me who were rejected by families and have nowhere else to go.”

“I did not reject you, Soren.”

“Well, it felt that way at the time.”

“Tell me where you are, and I will send for you.”

A sudden quiet filled the room, and it took me a few seconds to realize what I was not hearing. Jude was out of the shower.

“I have to go, Father,” I said quickly. “You don’t need to worry about me. I have a job now and everything, and I’ve even fallen in love.”

“Love? Soren, you are inexperienced, and men will take advantage of you simply because you are a prince. Please, son, where exactly are you?”

“Bye, Father. I love you.”

“Soren—”

I disconnected the call just as Jude walked in naked, rubbing his hair with a towel. He took one look at me and marched over to me.

“What’s wrong, little prince? You’ve been crying.”

I shook my head and smiled at him. “I’m fine. Promise. I called my father.”

He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. “How did it go?”

“Okay.” I let out a shuddering breath. “I’m glad I did it.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“No, there’s nothing to talk about. He said he was sorry, and well, it doesn’t change what happened.”

“Will you call him again?”