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Chapter 2

Autor: Alicia H
[Temporal Correction Countdown: 47:56:12]

The next morning, I was woken by the sound of cardboard boxes scraping across the living room floor.

When I walked out, a few movers were hauling boxes back and forth, all labeled the same: Ryan Bennett, Personal Belongings.

Evelyn stood in the middle of the room, directing them upstairs.

"That one goes in the master bedroom."

She noticed me, her tone so natural you'd think yesterday never happened. "Ryan's not doing well. The doctor said keeping his spirits up helps with the treatment. I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone, so I'm having him move in."

I paused. "Where's he staying?"

"Master bedroom." She frowned. "It's bigger, better light—makes it easier for me to take care of him."

"And me?"

"Guest room." Like it was obvious. "You're always in the study anyway. Besides, Ryan needs looking after now. You're a grown man—does it really matter where you sleep?"

A year ago, I'd have been furious.

But now, I just nodded. "Fine."

She froze, clearly not expecting me to let it go that easily.

I didn't explain. I just turned and walked into the study.

This room—this was where I'd spent the most time over the past ten years. Shelves packed with everything I'd collected: finance, industry, commerce, mechanics, communications—and decades of future development data.

When I first got here, I studied all of this because I was terrified that one day I'd be sent back empty-handed.

Turns out, those ten years weren't wasted.

The system couldn't let me take phones, cash, or any physical modern items. But it could store a certain amount of information.

So from the moment that countdown started, I knew exactly what mattered.

Love. The wedding. Whether Evelyn still loved me. None of it.

What mattered was that in two days, I'd be back at the height of the royal family.

And with everything I'd learned in this decade—I'd push the House of Windsor to the top again.

"Alex." Evelyn walked into the study. "Ryan's moving in this afternoon."

"I know."

She hesitated. "You're really okay with this?"

I kept sorting my papers. "Ryan needs a home. You want to give him one. So give it."

She stared at me a long time, searching for anger, frustration, something. Disappointed her—she found nothing.

Finally, she left me with: "You better actually mean that."

The door clicked shut.

[Remaining Time: 46:32:17]

I smiled.

Forty-six hours from now, whether this house had a place for me or not—it wouldn't matter.

By afternoon, Ryan was officially moved in.

He sat on the sofa, Evelyn beside him pouring water, her expression tender as if she were already his wife.

"Alex, I really appreciate this." Ryan looked at me, his mouth forming the words sorry, but his eyes holding all the triumph. "This was supposed to be you and Evelyn's new home."

I didn't respond. Just tucked my sorted materials under my arm and headed for the study.

Evelyn frowned. "What are you packing?"

"My things."

Ryan let out a low laugh. "Alex, you're not actually planning to leave, are you? What, going back to the past again?"

The room went quiet.

Evelyn's face turned cold. "Enough. Stop with that nonsense."

I looked at her.

I told her I came from old London.

I told her about the House of Windsor. About who I used to be.

She never believed a word.

To her, it was just some lie a homeless drifter made up to sound interesting.

Ryan let out a dramatic sigh.

"Look, if me being here makes Alex uncomfortable—I'll go."
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  • The Prince She Cast Aside   Chapter 10

    Another rainy afternoon in London. Evelyn found herself alone, standing in the small Italian town they'd once planned to visit together countless times.She wore the long dress Alexander had once said looked lovely on her. She walked the cobblestone streets they'd only ever seen in photographs.Old stone walls were draped in ivy. Church bells tolled softly in the distance. Couples passed by hand in hand, their smiles easy and ordinary.Evelyn stopped and looked up at the cathedral spire ahead—and tears slid silently down her cheeks.She found a café by the canal, ordered his favorite Earl Grey, and sat by the window, watching the rain fall onto the water in soft, spreading ripples—like the restlessness inside her that wouldn't settle.She whispered to herself: "Alex, you said this place was beautiful. Like your London. Old. Quiet. Worth spending a lifetime wandering through.""You said you wanted to bring me here for the sunsets. To see the cathedral's rose windows. To browse the handm

  • The Prince She Cast Aside   Chapter 9

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  • The Prince She Cast Aside   Chapter 8

    That night, Evelyn didn't sleep a single hour.At first light, she booked the earliest flight back from Italy to the States. The whole way, she told herself Alex was just angry—that he wanted her to realize her mistake. He'd probably still be at home waiting. Maybe if she apologized, everything could go back to how it was.But the moment she opened the front door, her last shred of hope shattered.The house was pitch black. Deathly quiet. She flipped on the lights—living room, kitchen, bedroom—every corner was eerily clean, as if someone had carefully erased every trace of themselves before leaving. The guest room bed was made perfectly. Alex's clothes, books, belongings—all gone. She rushed to the study and found it just as empty. The modern books, historical records, finance and industry notes he'd collected over ten years—all vanished. Nothing but bare shelves.Evelyn stood there, a chill crawling up her spine. She started tearing through everything.Closets, drawers, desks, storage

  • The Prince She Cast Aside   Chapter 7

    Her hands trembling, she opened the photo album on her phone and scrolled through ten years of photos they'd taken together.In every picture, she was always smiling brightly—and Alex was almost always right beside her.Shopping with her. Riding the subway with her. Eating meals with her. Celebrating her birthdays.She'd never noticed before.In every single photo, Alex's eyes were fixed on her.It was a kind of tenderness so constant, so familiar, that she'd never once stopped to really see it.Then she remembered—ten years ago, the first time she met him.A young man in an ill-fitting vintage suit, standing lost on a modern London street, not even knowing how to use a phone.He told her then that he came from another time. She didn't believe him.Later, he told her he'd once been royalty—a crown prince who'd vanished ten years before. She still didn't believe him.She thought it was just a story a homeless man made up so he could stay.So she took his care for granted.She took his c

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    A thousand miles away in Italy, Evelyn stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of her seaside hotel room.Outside lay ancient cobblestone streets, cathedral spires, and horse-drawn carriages drifting past—the whole city bathed in golden sunset light. The wine in her hand had long gone cold. And somewhere in her chest, a hollow ache had settled.This was a place Alexander had talked about endlessly.That man who always leaned close when he spoke of his homeland—he'd told her more than once that above all else, he wanted to bring her to Europe.He said that though he was born into royalty, he'd never truly seen the world as an ordinary man. He wanted to walk through the ruins of Rome with her. Gaze at Florence's art. Spend lazy days along Venice's canals.Back then, she'd smiled and promised him: "After we're married—we'll go together."Now she was finally here.And the person beside her was Ryan."Evelyn, why are you standing there spacing out?" Ryan walked over with his glass, smiling

  • The Prince She Cast Aside   Chapter 5

    Light engulfed me—and in an instant, the modern American skyline, the streets, the honking cars all peeled away. Even Evelyn's cold, distant face was swallowed whole by endless white.Then came the clip-clop of hooves.The hiss of steam engines. Carriage wheels grinding over cobblestones. And from somewhere in the distance—the layered chorus of London street vendors calling out their wares.I opened my eyes slowly, taking in every tiny shift in my surroundings.Beneath my feet was not cold modern flooring. It was familiar cobblestone.The air carried London's signature dampness, laced with coal smoke. Traditional buildings lined both sides of the street. Black carriages rushed past. Gentlemen in top hats strode briskly by. And at the corner, the royal standard fluttered in the breeze.I looked down at myself.The black modern suit was gone. Replaced by a dark royal dress coat, the insignia of the crown prince pinned across my chest.I stood there as if I'd never left.[System Update: T

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