The Luna Choosing Game by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0571

They're not lies.

Julian didn't say anything after that. Though, neither did I. I just gawked at him while he stared down at his bloody mary.

I wanted to ask him to go into more detail. If he could specifically tell me which of the things Bridget said weren't lies, I wouldn't be on such a downward spiral of thoughts. I wouldn't be trying so hard to bend over backwards to convince myself that Julian didn't actually have a crush on me somehow.

But, I supposed deep down, I already knew the truth. Not all that long ago, we had a similar talk on the beach as Julian threw rocks and shells into the ocean waves.

Yet here, in the quiet of the deck in this mid-morning, with Julian already halfway through a blood mary, everything felt a bit more dire, a bit more real.

This wasn't about getting over Bridget or trying to move on. Bridget had very little to do with this at all. This time, Julian's feelings were his own. And those feelings were all tangled up over me.

And now, because of that, I had to face my own true feelings as well. It would be unfair to Julian not to consider how I felt about him while he was being honest with how he felt about me.

Truthfully, even upon reflection, I didn't know how I felt about Julian. I cared about him, certainly. He was funny and loyal. He protected me and looked out for me in his own way. He was good with Elva, always trying to treat her sleight of hand and card tricks.

He was handsome too. Leaner than Nicholas, but with a similar features. Although Julian always leaned more toward the 'I got out of bed looking like this' vibe, where Nicholas was always crisply dressed and put together.

If I hadn't known Nicholas first, I could have easily been swept up in the whirlwind that was Prince Julian. He was certain to give his partner a life of adventure and joy and excitement.

But I had known Nicholas first. And I fell in love with Nicholas. My feelings for Nicholas were so strong, that I genuinely doubted if I would ever be able to give my heart to anyone else, even if Nicholas and I were to separate.

My heart would always be his. I wasn't sure I would even try to find another. How unfair would it be to be the love of someone else's life when they could never be anything but second best?

Julian was a great guy. Funny, charming, smart, great with kids. He deserved better than to live in the shadow of his older brother.

a dear friend.

didn't want

realize he was speaking at first. I had to strain to listen, though as

being so brave to voice them. But to lead him on when my heart belongs to Nicholas

He already knew, then. Of course he did. Even if Julian wasn't the most observant of our group, and he was, I wasn't

"I'm sorry," I said.

"You can't control your feelings any better than I can control

to him, but didn't say so. I let the silence answer for

ignore everything that

of what we are to

a dear friend to me. That will

shakier than usual, he seemed relieved as well. "I'm

as heavy as the one before. It felt a bit as if, with the air cleared, things were falling back into their

believed we both wanted to move forward and leave this behind us, so I brought up the

accused Bridget of knowing Prince Ronan," I said.

"Well, I'm glad I guess. I was hoping to uncover everything before I came to you, but maybe it's for the best

with my elbows on the railing,

and Ronan might have dated in the past. It's shaky evidence at best. A few photos snapped from a paparazzi. But it at the very least proves they knew each other. The fact

evidence impossible

alone is not enough to prove her guilty of conspiring to send Ronan after you," Julian continued, "But it is damn suspicious. She's also stonewalling me. If she wasn't guilty, wouldn't she want to help catch the person who tried

could sense his frustration, and I understood

help more. The only reason

Prince Ronan was if she was actually in

that seemed truly