Chapter 19

MILA

I was restless and anxious as the staff finished our cleaning from the banquet. Thankfully, it did not seem like anyone saw the interaction between me, Felix, and Edward, but I still felt deeply rattled. The consequences of my actions felt like a stormcloud over my head, threatening to rain down at any moment.

Mrs. Barker clapped her hands twice, summoning all the staff to gather around the main area of the kitchen. To my dismay, Felix and Isabella stood next to her. Isabella was fanning herself, as if to waft away the smells of cooking and cleaning. I was positive she had never made a meal or cleaned a kitchen a day in her life.

“Prince Felix has an exciting announcement for us all,” Mrs. Barker said. Her cheeks were flush with anticipation. Felix, to his credit, also looked excited. Isabella just looked bored.

Felix smiled at us. That smile made my heart skip a beat. Which was silly of me, considering he wasn’t even looking at me in particular.

There was absolutely no reason for my heart to keep doing that, considering Felix would never consider me as a viable option now. He knew my true identity, and it would all be over soon.

“The royal family would like to bestow a high honor on one of the chefs tonight,” he proclaimed. “We would like to give the Royal Chef Badge to one of the fabulous workers who helped us with this event.”

From next to me, Cassandra gasped softly.

“The Royal Chef Badge is the highest honor a chef in Fresonia can receive,” she whispered to me. “It’s a huge deal. It basically guarantees that the recipient will be able to own their own establishment someday.”

The royal family bestowed such honors? I really did like it here.

Prince Felix turned to Samara. “I would very much appreciate your input on this difficult decision, Samara.”

Samara beamed at him before turning to survey the crowd.

“We have many excellent candidates for this award,” she said carefully. “Fiona, for example, was invaluable in preparing our first two courses, and is a dedicated, hard worker.”

Fiona, from across the kitchen, looked surprised at Samara’s compliment. I knew it was mean of me, but a part of me felt resentful of the praise. It wasn’t completely justified of me–I knew what Samara said to be true, Fiona did work hard. It just hurt my soul a bit to see my bully awarded in this way, especially as Fiona puffed out her chest in pride.

“But of course, there is also Miya,” Samara continued. My head snapped up at the sound of my fake name. She couldn’t possibly be serious. I had messed up way too many times to be seen as a contender for this award.

“She is our favorite creative,” Samara said. She looked at me with joy in her eyes. “She continues to amaze our guests with her delicious, unique cooking. Her prickly pear lemon pie was a showstopping delight, at both our restaurant and this banquet. I can’t wait to see what treats she concocts for us in the future.”

Cassandra grabbed my hand.

“Miya! That’s so exciting!”

Felix turned to me and I swallowed. There was nothing but kindness in his eyes, which was odd, considering I had just been exposed in a lie. There was no way he would select me now.

“Miya has proven herself to be an excellent worker, going above and beyond since arriving in the castle,” Felix mused. From next to him, Isabella scowled.

He thought I was an excellent worker?

I could sense Fiona fuming from across the room. I looked at her, and sure enough, she was bright red.

Felix cleared his throat. “In that case, I think I would like to give the Royal Chef Badge to M–”

“Stop!” Fiona shrieked. We all turned to look at her.

Fiona held her phone out, pointing frantically to something on the screen.

“Miya is a thief and I can prove it!” She practically shoved her phone into Felix’s face. He took it from her, a dark cloud passing over his face. Isabella elbowed Mrs. Barker out of the way so that she could watch the phone screen over Felix’s shoulder. A wide grin slowly spread across her face.

That was my breaking point. I pushed my way to the front of the crowd.

“What is this?” I asked, attempting to sound authoritative. Instead it came out as more of a squeak.

“She’s clearly putting something in your coat pocket, Prince Felix,” Fiona demurred. “A necklace, that she stole. Your necklace, I believe, if you look at the insignia on the back. I saw it in our room last night but wasn’t able to confirm it was yours until today.”

My heart thudded. Felix watched the video footage calmly, not a sign of anger on his face.

My mind went blank. All I could manage was, “I didn’t steal the necklace. I didn’t steal anything!”

Fiona leered at me. “You didn’t steal it?! Then why go to all the trouble of sneaking around to put it back if you didn’t take it in the first place?”

I couldn’t muster an answer to that. I just stared at Felix, trying to beg for mercy with my eyes.

“She’s a dirty little thief and a liar,” Fiona was practically preaching to the kitchen staff. “You should all check your pockets and the fancy silverware because I’m sure she stole something from here, too. Nothing is off-limits to her. You know foreigners, they’re untrustworthy, they’re nothing more than a bunch of–”

“Stop, Fiona.” That order came from Samara. Fiona ignored her and kept going.

“Now that you mention it, I did see her sneaking around Felix’s rooms last night.” Now Isabella was joining in on Fiona’s speculation.

“See? She probably grabbed something last night. She didn’t wait a single second after getting invited into the castle. The only reason she put it back is because she started freaking out about being caught with such a valuable personal item,”Fiona went on. It was a small comfort that most of the kitchen staff seemed tuned out of her tirade. “If she can steal from the prince, she can steal from you, too! Miya should be fired immediately!”

“It’s the only explanation,” Isabella said with a nasty smile. “I knew there was something wrong the moment I laid eyes on her.”

“Thank you for your investigative work, Fiona, but no stealing occurred,” Felix said calmly. He handed Fiona’s phone back to her. She started shaking with rage.

“What are you–”

“Are you questioning the Prince?” Felix’s face was cold as he stared down Fiona. She shrank into a curtsy.

“No, Your Highness,” she murmured.

Felix turned to me, his eyes full of an emotion I couldn’t quite place.

“Miya didn’t steal this necklace,” he continued. Everyone leaned forward in rapt attention. “It was a gift, from me to her.”

Fiona gasped. The staff behind me froze in confusion and awe. Isabella even stopped her fan for a second.

“You cannot steal a gift,” he said plainly. “Although, Miya, I do wish you would have told me you didn’t like gray stone. Clearly, you were returning the necklace because you did not like it and did not wish to offend me.”

Isabella and Fiona were twin flames of smoldering fury at this sentiment. I felt stuck in place, unable to move or think or begin to process what he was saying.

Somehow, Felix was saving me, again, but it made no sense.

Did he actually mean to give me the necklace? Had I been the one in the dark this whole time?