Replaced by a True Prince, Your Failure Means Nothing Chapter 08

Replaced by a True Prince, Your Failure Means Nothing Chapter 08

I’d headed over to Vallis U a few days before the official semester started.

One of the university’s professors had taken notice of me early and invited me to join his research lab for ongoing experiments.

I only heard news about Joren and Maren after classes officially kicked off.

My mom called me that day, her tone confused.

“Wynne, did you fall out with Maren and Joren?”

“Why do they keep saying you’re supposed to be in Haven City?”

I fell quiet for a beat before answering calmly. “Mom, they’re together now. I don’t have anything to do with them anymore.”

She sounded totally lost, so I paused and spilled everything straight.

“They changed my college application behind my back. Swapped my spot for a Haven community college.”

My mom exploded on the other end of the line, ranting nonstop for over ten minutes. “Unbelievable! How can kids so young be this malicious? I even invited them over for dinner before!”

“Disgusting!”

Once I hung up, I went right back to my experiment, unfazed.

A month later, I was waiting in the lab for my next trial to start when someone called my name from the doorway.

“Wynne, someone’s here to see you.”

I nodded, slipped off my glasses, and headed out.

Before I even stepped foot outside the lab, I saw Joren standing there.

He was wearing the matching couple hoodies we’d bought together ages ago, looking visibly nervous the second his eyes landed on me.

“Wynne.”

I stared at him blankly. “What do you need?”

He worried his lower lip, his voice tight and unsteady. “Why did you come to Vallis? We were supposed to go to HSU together.”

I glanced down at my watch, my tone flat and uninterested.

“Say what you need to say quickly. I’m swamped with lab work.”

His words died in his throat instantly.

Seeing he had nothing to say, I turned to head back into the lab.

He suddenly shouted after me. “I’ll wait for you!”

I finished my experiment at eight that night. I rubbed my sore shoulders and walked out of the lab.

Joren was still lingering exactly where I’d left him. He clutched a takeout bag holding my go-to order, red mosquito bites speckling his skin after hours of waiting outdoors.

He held the bag out to me quietly. “It’s your favorite.”

I didn’t even glance at it. I just took a bite of the bread I’d brought with me and kept walking.

Right as I passed him, he grabbed my wrist firmly.

“Don’t ignore me, Wynne.”

“I know you saw me with Maren. I can explain. We’re just friends.”

I let out a dry, humorless laugh.

“Joren, friends don’t make out with each other.”

He latched onto my reply like it was his last chance, his voice desperate and urgent.

“Just trust me. I truly only see her as a friend.”

“You’ve always been the only one for me. Please, believe me.”

“Don’t move all the way out here just to get back at me. You have no idea how long I’ve been searching for you.”

He just kept repeating the same empty lines over and over.

I yanked my wrist free from his grip.

“I didn’t come here to get back at anyone. I chose Vallis because I like it here.”

I’d only agreed to go to Haven before because they were all going there. Now that they were out of my life, I finally got to choose what I wanted for myself.

Joren opened his mouth, stammering uselessly.

“But… but—”

He stumbled over his words, unable to finish a single sentence.

I stopped walking, turned to face him, and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Joren, I saw everything.”

He froze stiff.

I kept going, my tone steady and unwavering.

“I know you changed my college application too.”

Shock crashed over him, and he froze solid.

He’d always thought I’d only found out about him and Maren. He’d thought he could lie his way out of it. But I knew every single thing.

Joren knew exactly how broken and lost I’d been during senior year. He had zero excuses left.

I spoke softly, but firmly.

“So stop looking for me. Let’s end this clean.”

“We were friends once. I genuinely wish you and Maren the best.”

I turned and walked away, leaving him rooted motionless under the street tree.

But Joren refused to leave over the next few days.

He bought me three meals every single day. He followed me wherever I went. When he couldn’t enter the lab or restricted buildings, he’d just wait outside patiently.

I finally grew fed up and confronted him. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

He mumbled, his eyes red and guilty.

“I just want us to start over.”

“I messed up. I want to make it right.”

I scoffed coldly. “I don’t need your redemption.”

I paused, then added plainly. “Also, I have a boyfriend. He’s just studying abroad on an exchange program right now.”

But he refused to believe me, staring at me with stubborn, blind hope. “No. You promised we’d stick together forever.”

He only finally left campus when his friend shot him a message, warning he’d fail his classes if he skipped more school.

As he turned to leave, he glanced back at me. “I will come find you again.”

I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes.

He wouldn’t get the chance.

The school would clear out all off-campus loiterers once the next semester started.