"Who do you love, do you love now?
I wanna know the truth (whoa)
Who do you love, do you love now?"
Who Do You Love - The Chainsmokers

oOoOo

(Kaden's POV)

On the first weekend of the second semester, I am forced to go back home.

It's my sister's eighteenth birthday, so my parents want to celebrate with our extended family.

I tried convincing them to have her party a week earlier, so I wouldn't have to come back so soon, but Sophia whined like usual.

Of course, my parents let the whiny bitch have her way.

Normally, I would love spending time with my family, but there's so much going on at school this weekend.

My friends are having the beginning of the semester party to get smashed. I wish I didn't have to miss out on the free booze.

Not to mention, I have only seen Kate a few times since break ended. I just want to spend some time with my girl.

Call me whipped, but I haven't seen my girlfriend in over a month and I'm going through a withdrawal.

"Kaden, get over here!" I hear my mom's shrill voice from the kitchen.

I escaped the madness of setting up for the party, but I guess she found out I went missing.

At least I got twenty minutes of peace and quiet.

"Fine, I'm coming," I shout, sending one last Snapchat to Kate.

I meander down the hall, wasting as much time as possible. The longer it takes me to get to the kitchen, the less time I will spend getting yelled at.

I don't even know why my mom makes me help cook when she knows that I will just fuck it up. I can't even make toast without burning it.

When I finally get to the kitchen, I see my mom and grandma cooking like maniacs and frantically speaking in Italian.

There's been a lot of conversations in Italian in our house lately since my grandparents are temporarily staying with us. They live in Italy but usually stay at our house from December to mid-January.

"Kaden, vieni a preparare l'insalata," my grandma shouts, forgetting I don't understand Italian. (Translation: Kaden, come make the salad)

I think she said something about salad?

"English please."

"Make the salad," she says. "Don't give me that attitude." She whacks my arm with her spoon.

Attitude? Since when is asking someone to speak in English giving an attitude?

I get to work washing the lettuce and cutting the vegetables.

She turns to my mom and asks, "Isabella, perché non insegni l'italiano ai miei nipoti?" (Translation: Isabella, why aren't you teaching my grandkids Italian)

"Non è colpa mia se sono pigri e non vogliono imparare," my mother replies with a scoff. (Translation: It's not my fault they're lazy and don't want to learn)

"Sì, è colpa tua," my grandma huffs, while shooting me a dirty look. (Translation: Yes, it is your fault)

What did I do now? Did I not cut the cucumbers correctly?

When I finish with the salads, I'm told to watch the pasta boil.

I finally get a task that I can't fuck up.

My mom and grandma continue chatting to each other.

They continue cooking the meatballs, chicken parm, baked ziti, and garlic bread. It's a lot of food, but when you have a huge Italian family coming over, it's necessary.

oOoOo

After finishing my jobs, I am sent off to the shower to get ready.

When I emerge from the bathroom, I throw on the shirt and pants my mom picked out for me.

I feel stupid for being almost twenty-years-old and unable to pick out a nice matching outfit. But, I won't complain about my day being made easier.

I hear voices coming from the living room. My cousins must be here.

I escape to the basement before my aunts or uncles can ambush me with questions. They're relentless.

"Hey man," my cousin Gabe says.

"Hey, wanna play Xbox or something?" I ask him.

"Might as well. Who knows how long we'll have before the bitches bother us."

The bitches are his younger sisters, Alex and Mia. They're fourteen-year-old twins and find it fun to make his life hell. Sometimes they even get Sophia and our other cousin, Gabby, in on it.

On Christmas morning, they woke him up by throwing raw eggs at him. I've been told it's a common occurrence in their house.

We play GTA and COD until we're called upstairs for dinner.

"Wash those hands," our grandma scolds as we join everyone at the table.

Gabe and I grudgingly go to the kitchen to wash our hands before sitting down.

Everyone serves themselves in silence before Gabe's mom, my Aunt Angela, pipes up.

"Sophia, how's school going? Have you been accepted to any colleges?"

"It's alright," she responds after finishing her bite of pasta. "I got into UMass Amherst, so I think I'll go there."

"Good for you honey," my Aunt Andrea says before turning to me. "How is your girlfriend doing, Kaden?"

Really? That's the first thing she says to me? What happened to saying hello? What about asking how I'm doing?

I must look really confused because my grandma buts in. "Did you two break up? She's adorable. I was looking forward to meeting her. Not to mention future grandkids." Sur winks.

This makes Gabe spit out his water. I nearly choke on my food.

"We're still together. Kate's good," I respond curtly.

I don't want to get into talking about baby-making. I don't need another safe-sex lecture. I heard enough of that on Christmas.

"You really should bring her to meet the family," Aunt Angela suggests.

I see everyone else eagerly nod their heads. Gabe is barely concealing his amusement.

My mom told them about Kate on Christmas Eve, which led to a million questions about her.

My family is so nosy and even went through my phone without permission to look at pictures of her. I'm still confused about how they got into my phone.

Ever since, my grandma has been obsessed with the possibility of meeting her.

For some reason, my grandma and aunts are convinced that we're going to get married someday.

I desperately look over at Gabe for him to save me.

In return, I get a look that tells me I'm on my own for this one.

He can be such a dick sometimes.

"We'll see," is all I say.

"Well, you'd better do it sooner rather than later," my grandmother says bitterly. "At this rate, we won't even meet her before you two get married."

"Ruth, give the boy a break," my grandpa says. I knew there was a reason why he's my favorite.

"So did you watch the Patriots game last weekend?" My uncle asks my dad.

Smart move. Talking about football is a great way to get the entire Bianchi family to switch gears.

oOoOo

After dinner is finished, my mom heads to her bakery to pick up Sophia's cake and birthday candles. She takes Aunt Angela with her.

All of us kids get to work cleaning the kitchen while my grandma and Aunt Andrea gossip.

My dad, uncles, and grandpa all move to the living room to watch recaps of a football game.

They return about an hour later with a cake and a few Target bags. I don't know why they even went to Target on a trip to the bakery.

It must be whatever magical force draws women inside Target to waste hours shopping.

The women all gather in the kitchen to prep the cake. I don't miss the fleeting glance my Aunt Angela casts in my direction as she goes into the kitchen.

I dismiss it and turn back to my conversation about the Patriots game with Gabe.

It's hard to ignore the flurry of Italian and shocked gasps coming from the kitchen, though.

Aunt Andrea is probably gossiping about her book club drama.

Minutes later, we're all seated in the dining room to sing happy birthday to Sophia.

I brace myself for more questions about Kate, but oddly, they don't come.

I do notice many not-so-secretive glances and sympathetic looks sent in my direction.

Do I have food on my face or something? What the fuck is everyone's problem all of the sudden?

"So, Gabe, you're almost nineteen. Do you have a girlfriend yet? You really should get moving on that," my grandma says.

What is with this woman's obsession with girlfriends? I don't see her bugging any of the girls about their nonexistent boyfriends.

Gabe looks like a deer in the headlights. He shoots me a desperate look.

"You're on your own, man," I whisper.

"Fuck you," he says, forgetting to be quiet.

"Do we need to have a chat about your manners, young man?" His mother scolds.

"I actually do have a girlfriend," he retorts.

Unless he got a girlfriend in the past ten minutes, he's bullshitting.

"Oh really?" I ask, bringing a forkful of cake to my mouth.

This is going to be interesting.

"Yes, really." He sends me a look letting me know to shut the fuck up.

"What's her name?" Aunt Andrea asks excitedly. I see my dad and Uncle Mark exchange an esasperated look before their wives swat them.

"Um... Ashley," he says. "Yeah, her name is Ashley."

"He's lying," Mia shouts. "He had a girl in his room last night whose name was definitely not Ashley. I saw him sneak her in through the window."

"Yeah, it sounded like you were moaning the name Emma," Alex pipes up. She looks at her sister, and they share an evil look.

The twins are ruthless today.

Sophia, Gabby, and I start cracking up, earning disapproving looks.

"Gabriel, why would you lie to us?" My grandma sounds genuinely offended.

Good luck digging yourself out of this hole, Gabe.

"Um, I don't know."

"It's oka-" Uncle Mark starts to say before receiving a glare from his wife. He instantly shuts up.

We all know who wears the pants in their relationship.

"Just work on getting yourself a girlfriend in the next month, understand?"

He just nods.

oOoOo

After everyone leaves, I go into my room to talk to Marc, Chase, and Chad. They're super drunk right now, so their Snapchats are especially hilarious.

It's giving me a lot of blackmail material.

Chad has a video of himself drunkenly chugging a gallon of milk on his story. It's something sober Chad would 100% still do, but he wouldn't post about it.

I hear a knock on my door. My mom slowly enters.

"What's up?" I prompt.

She's standing at the foot of my bed. Her silence is weirding me out.

"Can I see a picture of Kate?"

Weird question, but okay.

I unlock my phone and go to my camera roll. I scroll up to the portion of pictures from November and December and hand my phone to her.

Most of my camera roll is pictures of her. There's pictures from our dates, Kate in class, and a ton of photos I've taken secretly.

My mom looks at a few pictures before grimacing and sitting down on my bed.

"Is something wrong?" Why are people acting so weird today?

She takes a deep breath then says nothing.

I gesture for her to spit it out. I don't have all day.

She gets up and walks away.

It's official: my mom has gone crazy.

I shake my head and go back to my phone. Women are weird.

Less than a minute later, my mom returns with a few magazines and pieces of paper. She tosses them down on my bed.

"I think this is your Kate," she says, pointing to a picture on the cover of People Magazine.

"No way. Why would Kate be in a magazine?" I dismiss her comment without a second thought. That's just absurd.

"Just take a look. I genuinely think it's her."

With a scoff, I grab the magazine from her and look closer.

Holy shit.

On the front cover of fucking People Magazine is a girl who looks exactly like my girlfriend.

The girl is wearing a blue dress and tiara. I look at the caption. It says 'An exclusive on Princess Katherine of Amaria's nineteenth birthday ball.'

"What the fuck," I say in disbelief. "This has got to be a sick joke."

"I'm afraid it's not," my mom replies reluctantly.

"She's a fucking princess?" I ask dumbly.

"I think so. Has she given you any reason to think this is true?"

"No," I scoff. "She hasn't given me any reason to doubt it, though."

She's been lying to me this whole time.

I have the sudden urge to break something or punch a hole in the wall.

"I can't believe she's been lying about this for the past five months," I say in disbelief. Five months is a long time.

"I know you must be feeling hurt right now, but it gets worse."

"How could this possibly get worse?"

I just found out my girlfriend has been lying to me about who she really is. What could possibly top that?

"I don't know how I even say this," my mom sighs and scrunches her face.

"Just say it. I can handle it." I'm bullshitting. I don't know how much more I can handle.

"Okay... She's engaged to a prince from Denmark." She gives me a sympathetic look.

It takes a moment for this information to register in my mind.

"Did you just say engaged?" I ask, making sure my ears aren't tricking me.

She closes her eyes. "Yes."

What the fuck? My girlfriend has a fiancé?

"Bullshit. Why would she be dating me if she were engaged to another dude?"

"Just look at these articles," she hands me printed out articles from the New York Times and US Weekly.

I read the US Weekly article first.

"A Royal Wedding is on the horizon! Princess Katherine, the Crowned Princess of Amaria announced her engagement to Prince Alexander of Denmark in a press release earlier this month. Sources inform us that the two have been seeing each other discreetly for years. Another source at the palace says the wedding planning has not started yet.

"The happy couple was spotted roaming a park in Carcalles two weeks ago (pictured to the right). They enjoyed a lovely afternoon walk, where Prince Alexander was seen glancing lovingly at the Princess. It is rumored that Prince Alexander has visited Princess Katherine in Boston, where she is attending Harvard University."

Fuck.

I look at the pictures and see Kate and that Xander dude. I knew there was a reason I shouldn't like him. What a douche.

My blood is boiling. It takes a few minutes to calm myself down so I don't punch something.

I look at the NYT article from December.

"A Royal Night Out! Prince Alexander of Denmark and Crowned Princess Katherine of Amaria spend a night out in a New York City cub with friends. The pair attended the Make-A-Wish Charity Gala earlier in the evening. Princess Katherine is well known for her philanthropy. She is an active participant in multiple charities and was a keynote speaker at the event.

"After the gala, the couple spent the night dancing and drinking in an unknown club downtown. They were seen dancing very close together, suggesting that there might be an intimate romantic relationship between the two. (Pictured below). Will there be another Royal Wedding in the near future? Only time will tell."

I look at the pictures my mom printed. Xander has his arms around my girl in one. Another shows him practically grinding on her in a club. Another shows him kissing her.

Another guy was making out with my girlfriend.

And she allowed this?

Why is she even allowing this?

Has she slept with him like the magazines suggest?

I squint and see Grace and Blair in the background of one picture. Even Grace fucking knew about this!

How could Grace not tell me? Or Marc?

I thought we were friends. Some friends they are.

I desperately want to give Kate the benefit of the doubt, but there's no way this is a doppelgänger.

"I'm so sorry honey, you don't deserve any of this." My mom leans in to give me a hug. I totally forgot she was still here.

I feel tears welling up in my eyes. I force them to go away. I'm not going to cry over this.

"I can't believe she's been lying to me this whole time! And why the fuck is she engaged?"

"I don't know. You should give her a chance to explain herself, though."

I scoff. No way in hell.

"She could have explained herself months ago. But no, she decided to lie. I wonder if anything she has told me is the truth."

"Don't you at least want to hear what she has to say?"

I don't respond. My mom takes that as her cue to go.

Do I want to hear what she has to say? I don't know if I could handle more bad news.

I stare blankly at the wall for a few minutes, unsure what to do with myself.

What do you even do when the girl you're in love with is secretly a princess and has a secret fiancé?

I end up re-reading the articles and Googling her.

A small part of me is hoping this is a huge misunderstanding and some other girl will show up on Google.

Sure enough, 'Princess Katherine Amaria' comes up with countless photos of my girlfriend. There are photos of her as a baby, at Royal events, and family portraits. The most recent additions are the pictures of her and Xander.

I fucking hate that guy.

I have the urge to smash my computer screen to make the pictures disappear.

This is so fucking frustrating.

I run my hands through my hair, aggressively pulling it.

I just can't figure out why she has been lying and cheating on me.

I thought I meant something to her.

I clearly don't, since she treated me like shit.

Does she even have feelings for me?

Am I just the American guy she'll just fuck for the experience?

Is she in love with Xander? I really hope not.

I can't believe I almost told her I love her last week. I'm such an idiot.

That's it, I'm going to call her.

I grab my phone and dial her number.

No answer.

Her voicemail is full too.

Five minutes later, I call and get no answer.

Again. No answer.

I almost throw my phone across the room, but I stop myself. It'll be a bitch to replace.

I take a deep breath to calm down.

Minutes later, I text her.

Me: We need to talk. Call me please. It's important

oOoOo

Thanks for reading chapter 25! Please don't forget to vote and comment! <3

I hope everyone enjoyed Kaden's POV. The next chapter will be his POV as well. (The story will go back to Kate's for the rest)

What were your thoughts on this chapter? Was Kaden overreacting?

I'm thinking of writing a sequel to this book. It will probably be a retelling of this story, but entirely in Kaden's POV. Is that something you guys would like to read?

Or should I start with a new story? I have a few ideas for potential books. I'm thinking of a sports high school/college romance series...