Page 76 of Vengeance (Vengeance 1)

Eventually though, I tire, curling up on the sofa next to Ace, my head in his lap. He strokes my hair as I doze off while they’re still playing, and the last thing I think I remember is Rebel tucking me into bed and telling me he loves me.

In the morning I’m sure I dreamed it though.

Lizzie’s Journal

April 9th

I did it. I broke up with the princes.

Obviously, I had to wait until I was out of the infirmary and well enough to return to classes to face them. They bought into the sleepwalking story, which hurts. I wanted them to see through the bullshit and rescue me. They’re the princes; they rule this school alongside the princesses, so how can they be so blind to my suffering and what I’ve been going through all year?

I felt dead inside as I broke it off with them. They protested, begging me to reconsider and asking my reasons why. I didn’t tell them the truth: that if I didn’t, the princesses had threatened to kill me, and I believed they meant it. Instead, I told them I just couldn’t face the multiple relationship thing. It was too hard. Too complicated. I worried about jealousy and coming between them. I basically rattled off any excuse I could think of, and when they still wouldn’t take no for an answer, I left.

I’ve avoided them ever since, and yet, the bullying still hasn’t stopped.

I can’t win. At least before the princes made me happy enough to make the bullying bearable. Now, I feel like I have nothing to live for. For the first time ever, I’m really tempted to quit and just drop out. But I’m so close to the end.