Born To Be

45| Epiphany

Chapter 45: Epiphany (Evelyn's POV)

I woke up, rubbing my eyes in exhaustion, ridding the sleepiness from me. I rolled over, seeing him dozed off beside me. His shirt was off and he still had on his pants from the party last night. I stared at him, wanting to do that before he woke up and caught me. He shuffled, his brows furrowing slightly in almost agitation. I waited for a minute before lightly running my finger over his eyebrows, brushing the crease out. 

He shuffled again, finding my hand and clutching it after kissing it sleepily. I waited for a long time, knowing that he had fallen back into the depths of his slumber, before slowly slipping my hand out of his. 

I have to pack. 

I got out of bed, making my way into the bathroom where I freshened up. When I was done, I opened the door to come out, getting startled by Archer who was just standing there. "M-morning," I stammered, clearing my throat. 

"Why didn't you wake me up?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me. 

"I thought I... I thought I'd wake you up after using the bathroom," I shrugged. 

"Are you sure you didn't think you'd sneak out without me?" He arched a brow at me. 

"I didn't. But I'm suddenly wishing I did," I mumbled. 

"Okay," he nodded. 

"Okay, what?" I frowned in confusion. 

"Okay," he mumbled, his eyes falling to my lips. 

That's my cue. "Get ready. I'm leaving after breakfast." 

"I thought you said after lunch?" he asked in confusion while I walked around him, opening the closet and grabbing my bag. 

"I need to get back home. But okay, I'll wait until lunch," I uttered. 

"Did something happen?" he asked, standing beside me, watching me shove the basic clothes into my bag. 

"No, nothing happened." 

He grabbed my wrist, spinning me around to look at him. "What is going on?" he asked softly. 

"I just want to get home. Out of the palace, away from the princesses, away from royalty, away from Chloe," I said, mumbling the last bit under my breath. 

"Chloe?" he questioned. "Did she do something?" 

"No," I lied. "I'm just annoyed because she..." 

"Kissed me?" 

I nodded slowly, not looking at him. It's embarrassing to admit that I'm so jealous. I feel like I'm being possessive of him, but am I really? I mean, she kissed him! 

"That's not it," he stated. 

"Of course, it is. I'm just angry she kissed you." 

"I know you are, but that's not the only thing. I can tell she said something to you just by looking at you. I know when you're upset about something and this isn't about the kiss. Will you tell me what happened?" 

"No," I sighed. "Because I handled it." 

"If you really handled it, why is it still bothering you?" 

I didn't answer him because there was a knock on the door. "Evelyn?" I turned to the door while it opened slowly, revealing Caroline. "Oh," she said, her eyes widening when she saw Archer. "Sorry, am I interrupting?" 

"No, not at all. Tell me," I said, smiling at her, pulling myself away from Archer. 

She looked between us, frowning in confusion. "Why did you just do that?"