"Maybe we should go back," I mumbled.
"Eve, no," Octavia said firmly. "You've made your choice. One night of freedom won't kill you."
But as my phone continued to buzz with increasingly frantic calls, I wondered if it might kill James.
The taxi merged into traffic, carrying us further from the coffee shop, from James, from the suffocating reality of my life. For better or worse, I'd made my choice. Now I just had to pray it wouldn't come back to haunt me—like everything else in my past seemed determined to do.
Through the rear window, I watched the familiar streets of Luxembourg blur past. For Halloween, the city transformed, with carved pumpkins grinning from shop windows, fake cobwebs draping across café awnings, and children in costumes already beginning their evening adventures. The normality of it all made my heart ache. How long had it been since I'd felt normal? Since before that night five years ago, certainly. Before the scandal, before the secrets, before everything went so horribly wrong.
"I brought you something," Octavia said, breaking into my thoughts. She rummaged in her oversized bag and pulled out a glittering mask that would cover the upper half of my face. "Perfect for Halloween, and perfect for staying anonymous."
My fingers traced the delicate silver filigree. "It's beautiful."
"And practical," Gabi added with a wink. "No one will recognise their princess tonight."
I slipped the mask on, catching my reflection in the window. The silver filigree covered the upper half of my face, transforming me into someone mysterious, dangerous even. For a moment, I could almost forget who I was, what I'd done, the secrets I carried.
"Perfect," Octavia said approvingly. "Tonight, you're not Princess Evangeline. You're just... Eve."
Just Eve. The mask felt like armour, protection against the world that wanted to define, judge, and control me. But even as I embraced anonymity, I knew I couldn't hide forever. James would find me—he always did. And when he did, I'd have to face the consequences of this choice.
My phone buzzed in my bag. James, of course. I pulled it out, my thumb hovering over the screen. Three calls in the past five minutes. He was probably getting impatient, maybe even suspicious.
"Don't you dare answer that," Octavia warned, reaching for my phone. "The whole point is to escape for one night."
"He'll be furious, and if he catches me, then we all know that he won't leave my side forever. I will be housebound until the new bodyguard shows up," I whispered, but I let her take the phone anyway. She turned it off and dropped it back into my bag.
"He's too controlling," Gabi said, squeezing my hand. "You're twenty-three, not twelve. You deserve one night of freedom."
Freedom. The word echoed in my mind as the taxi wound through the darkening streets. But was I free? The dead kitten, the note, and the secrets I kept locked away—they were still waiting. James's questions, his penetrating stares, his determination to uncover the truth—they would all still be there tomorrow.
But tonight... tonight I could pretend. Tonight I could be someone else, someone without a crown, without responsibilities, without a past that threatened to destroy everything.
The taxi turned onto a narrow street lined with old warehouses, their brick facades adorned with creative graffiti. Music thumped from somewhere ahead, growing louder as we approached our destination. Groups of costumed partiers crowded the sidewalks, their laughter and chatter floating through the taxi windows.
"We're here," the driver announced gruffly, pulling up to the kerb.
I took a deep breath, adjusting my mask. In a few hours, James would discover my deception, and I would have to facethe consequences of this choice. But for now, for these precious stolen moments, I was just another face in the Halloween crowd, just another girl seeking escape in the darkness of an autumn night.
Chapter Fourteen
James
The leather steering wheel creaked under my grip as I watched the coffee shop's entrance. Princess Evangeline had been inside with her friends for over forty minutes, and something felt off. The Halloween decorations in the window cast eerie shadows across the street, matching my darkening mood.
We established this coffee shop routine three weeks ago after I identified it as one of the few venues that met my security requirements—single street access, clear sightlines, and staff I'd already vetted. Evangeline's afternoon study sessions with her friends had become a regular part of our schedule, one of the few normal activities I could allow her in public.
A tap on my window made me tense. I lowered it to find Marcus Wolfe standing there—an ex-SAS operator who'd worked royal security for years before going private. We'd crossed paths on several high-profile assignments in London. He wore casual clothes, the kind that professionals use for surveillance.
"Banks," he nodded, his scarred face serious despite the ghost of a smile. "Didn't expect to see you playing babysitter. I'm on a job myself—industrialist's daughter, thinks she's being followed." He gestured toward a sleek Mercedes parked down the street. "Spotted your setup and thought I'd check in."
"It's a temporary assignment," I replied, keeping my eyes trained on the coffee shop entrance. "Cover for someone."
He nodded, understanding the unspoken details. "The princess is... challenging. I worked on a security detail in Madrid when she visited last year." He hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "You might want to check if she's still inside."
My attention snapped fully to him. "What do you mean?"
"She's got a talent for... creative exits. Last year in Spain, she slipped away from her security team through a restaurant kitchen. Took them nearly three hours to locate her at an underground club."
