Royal Watch (Royal Watch #1) - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,95

happened. I needed to hear his voice. His advice.

His cell continued to ring, going to voicemail. Since I knew he never listened to messages, I hung up, texting him to call me. My uncle might want to keep this a secret, but Landen and I shared everything. We always had each other’s backs. He and I had a promise since we were kids. Above our parents, our loyalty to each other came first.

At least it used to.

Guilt coated my throat, sliding down into my stomach. Since moving here, my relationship with both him and Mina had ebbed. Life here had taken over everything. I had yet to get my feet steady on the ground. The flat I wanted to get, the clothes more in my style? Somewhere I stopped asking and just wore what they told me, staying where they told me.

Dialing another number, I waited.

“Hello?” my friend clipped out over the line, sounding slightly out of breath.

“Mina…” My hand went to my chest, emotion flooding the back of my eyes at hearing her voice.

“Spencer?” Her voice went soft for a beat before she cleared her throat. “Wow. Wasn’t expecting to get a call from you. It must be my lucky day.” Every syllable dripped with resentment. “What do I owe the honor of our future princess?”

“Excuse me?” My brows furrowed. I had witnessed her attitude turned on others, but never me. She and I were always on the same page. Snarky to the rest of the world.

“Sorry, but kind of in a hurry right now.” The sound of a deep clock bell tolled from somewhere behind her.

“Well, sorry I bothered you.” My defense slammed back. “I’ll call back when things aren’t so busy for you.”

“Oh, that’s ironic.” She laughed dryly. “Spencer.” She exhaled, tiny edges smoothing out. “I’m sorry. But honestly, I had kind of given up hearing from you. Your life is not even remotely in the same realm mine is.”

“What does that mean? We can’t be friends because I’m with Theo?”

“You’re not just with Theo, the casual guy in school. You are with the Prince of Great Victoria. The future king. I get it. Your world has changed. But… I used to be your best friend, your first call. Now I know more about you from social media than I actually know from you.” The sounds of people bustling around her muted her slightly. “Or you know about me. You know the world doesn’t revolve around the royals.”

“I know that,” I snapped.

“Do you? I know everything there must seem far more important than us commoners.”

“You are hardly common. You’re father’s an earl.”

Mina went silent for a moment. “When was the last time you rang me? We saw each other?” Crap. I couldn’t recall the last time I actually spoke with her on the phone. I thought about it all the time, but something always pushed it down on the list. Event. PR. Interview. Something always came up. “Did you even know that I got into the University of Victoria?”

“What?” I gasped. That was the school she always dreamed about going to but didn’t think she had the grades to get in. “Mina, that’s amazing.”

“I tried to call you a dozen times. Even texted to tell you the news.”

“I never got them.” A burning of guilt zinged up between my eyes. “I was given a new phone by RH PR.” Months ago. “And my assistant takes it from me whenever she can.”

“Assistants. Royal House PR.” She clicked her tongue. “I remember when you hated all that stuff. When you and I used to make fun of them. Now you are one of them.”

“I’m not.”

“Yes, you are, Spencer. No matter what you think. The moment you stepped into the palace and became Theo’s official girlfriend, you accepted it. Now the news feed is filled with your new best friends, Princess Eloise and Hazel. Events where you and Theo look like you’re cut out of catalogues with perfect smiles and outfits. The girl I knew who wore chucks and rode horses through the mud is no longer. This is who you are now. And I understand. That’s your world. Theo. Royal events and charities, what you wear, what you say, how you wave, smile. But I can’t deny I miss my friend who used to wrinkle her nose to all that stuff. Who used to be so passionate about animals and guilted the rest of us to become vegans. Protested, volunteered, or fundraised every weekend. Who dreamed of saving animals,