"A man who's desperate is a man who's in love."

Alex' POV:

"Have you seen Scar?", I ask my brother worriedly. She hasn't been seen anywhere since she went to the gym after dinner. We wanted to hang out afterwards but she seems to have ditched me for an hour already. "No, isn't she with you?", he asks me confused. "Shit, no. I've already asked Saul and Liv but they don't know anything else." 

"Hey, she's probably just taking a bath or so. Daphne does this all the time. She wants to hang out at seven, is ready at nine. Girls." "Yeah, you're probably right", I nod resting my chin on my fingers as I wonder if I did anything to her hurt today. I've talked to Dominic but I know he wouldn't harm us. "What I've told you earlier.. you know it's a secret, right?", I ask him cautiously. 

"Alex, brother", Dominic sighs, "Have I ever done something to harm you? You're family and if you like her, she's family as well. I'll protect her when necessary although she seems to have good right hook. She's learnt from the best." "Yeah, you're right", I chuckle and smile thinking of her, "I don't just like her. I actually.. I don't know, this is some stupid romantic shit and I know that mom, dad and you think that I'm hopelessly romantic but I love her. I don't know what I'd do if she decided for someone else." 

"Is this about Stephen? I've never been a fan of his character. The better the fighting skills the worse the character." "Nah, he's alright. I'm just being dramatic because of Becca." "You're right, I'm not as romantic, but I'm glad you are, Alex", Dom gives me a brotherly hug. Good conversation. Now I need to find Scar to tell her this. Scar, I love you. I love you, Scar. What is better? Is it too early? Too late? No, I don't think it's really late. I just need to find her first.

"William, have you seen princess Scar?", I ask him just as worriedly. He looks at me confused. "Probably in her room. She went to the gym after dinner. She'd usually take a shower afterwards and sit down to read a book." "I couldn't find her anywhere. We were supposed to meet a few hours ago but I can't see her anywhere. Did she forget to tell me about a meeting? No, she would have texted me. She-" 

"She's left, her car's not in the garage", Saul notices sighing, "I've already checked where it is. Alfea." Wait.. Alfea? Why would she leave for Alfea at ten in the evening without informing us? Is she with Stephen? No, she wouldn't do that. She's not Becca. But what if..? No. I'm overthinking. But why would she leave without a word if she's not doing something that none of would approve? 

"I'll call Stephen. He would have noticed her car. Why wouldn't he call me then", Saul wonders shaking his head as he taps the right buttons on his phone. Thank god he opts for the speakers. "Yes?", Stephen accepts the call dryly. He knows something. He has to. I get a grip on myself and avoid asking him about Scar. Saul knows what to do. "I assume Scar's with you", Saul immediately gets to the point, "Where are you now?" 

"In my apartment. And no, we're not doing anything forbidden. She tries to sleep in my bed and I sit in the living room", Stephen sighs and calms me down unintentionally. "She's staying here for the weekend." So much for calming me down. Hell no, she won't. How could I admit my feelings to her this way? Why did she even run away? Was my mom right and is Scar too young for me? No, that's not a valid argument. Stella's the same age as her and from talking to Scar I could tell that she's far more mature. She has to have a serious reason for trying to hide from us. 

"Did the princess tell you why she came so suddenly?", William asks politely. Thank you, William. Good question. "Is Alex with you?", Stephen asks instead. Wait, is this about me? No.. it can't be. We've been having a great time ever since we let each other take a look behind our walls. "He's here, yes." The confusion leaves me speechless. Even if I told Stephen that I want to talk to her, he wouldn't let me. I know him too well. He's so protective of her. He still loves her. "Good. He knows exactly what he did", Stephen replies coldly, I can literally see him shrug. 

"Steph, seriously, I've got no idea what you're talking about. I thought we're over this stupid idea of me taking revenge on you. I lo-" "Fuck, Alex, this is not about a stupid situation when we were younger. This is about Scar who's supposed to rule the most powerful country in the magic universe and you were supposed to be by her side. Instead you fuck her up by talking to that asshole of a brother of yours who attacks her. If anyone keeps on fighting over a teenage discussion, it's him. I don't even claim that you had a bad intention but you fucked it up. Scar and I need time to come up with a plan on how to fix this before it's too late." 

Wait.. what.. I mean I knew it wasn't smart of me to talk to Dominic this honestly, I could feel it afterwards.. but he wouldn't attack her.. or would he? Fuck, I don't know who to trust. He's my brother. I know he's not a great husband and a great leader all the time but attacking Scar.. that'd be too much, even for him. Saul and William glance at me seriously before turning back to the phone. 

"How did he attack her?", Saul asks worriedly. I wouldn't have seen the worry without hearing his voice because his throbbing veins indicate rather anger. "He approached her in the gym, tried to kiss her, held a monologue about how she's the actual enemy, threatened her that he'd tell the world about it." 

No, he wouldn't try to kiss her or insult her this much. He told me that he likes her, that he's happy for me that we get along. No. Well, it wouldn't be the first time. Many remarkable faux pas indicate that Stephen's right. Why would he lie about? Why would Scar lie? I trust her. Do I trust her more than my own brother? "Alex?" "Yes?" 

"I want your family to be gone until the vote next week. Dominic will use these information to make Scar vote in his favor. If you do love her, I'll see you in Solaria on Sunday. If not, follow your family tomorrow. I won't let someone be around her who's harmful", Stephen orders making me nod. From his point of view, I get it. But what do I do?