Chapter 146: A Very Unusual Morning

Starlight folded her arms and regarded Elle with a level stare. "Elle, you’re being unreasonable right now. Don’t make me throw you out of this suite. You’re going to sleep on the side I tell you to sleep on. Don’t play with me."

Elle clutched her chest dramatically. "Oh my God, Starlight! I can’t believe you’re bullying and threatening me right now! This is so unfair!"

Starlight merely stared at her. "You’re just being unnecessarily dramatic."

Elle pushed her lower lip out, giving Starlight an exaggeratedly wounded look as though she had just suffered the greatest injustice imaginable.

Starlight shook her head at her antics and turned away, deciding that arguing with her over which side of a bed she would sleep on was a waste of her morning. If Elle continued pushing her luck, Starlight would simply drag her to the sofa and let her complain there instead. She headed towards the wardrobe, intending to unpack some of her belongings before doing anything else.

Elle continued muttering behind her, complaining about the cruelty she had supposedly suffered and how little appreciation her best friend had for her sacrifices. Starlight paid her no attention.

As bubbly and sociable as Elle was, she could sometimes be utterly insufferable. She had a way of becoming so comfortable around people that she forgot to recognize when she was crossing a line. She didn’t necessarily mean any harm by it.

Most of the time, she was simply excited, eager to be included, or determined to make everyone around her feel as close to her as she felt to them. But good intentions didn’t automatically make someone else’s boundaries disappear.

Starlight understood that better than most.

Back when she had worked at the bakery, she had encountered someone with a similar personality. The person was excessively friendly, quick to become familiar with customers and coworkers alike, and often behaved as though a few pleasant conversations meant they had known someone for years. Whenever someone tried to establish a boundary, they took it personally, interpreting a simple request for space as rudeness or rejection.

Starlight had learned from that experience that some people needed to be reminded where the line was, even when they didn’t realize they were crossing it. Being friendly wasn’t an excuse to disregard someone else’s wishes, and being close to someone didn’t mean they were entitled to everything that person had. Elle wasn’t a bad person, and Starlight knew her well enough to recognize that most of her antics came from an innocent place. Still, that didn’t mean Starlight had to indulge every demand she made.

She had to draw the line sometimes, even with a friend. She was just about to unzip her backpack when a sudden chime rang through the suite.

Both girls froze.

Starlight slowly turned towards the bedroom door, while Elle’s head snapped up from the bed.

"Was that the doorbell?" Elle asked.

Starlight stared at her. "I think so."

Elle glanced towards the entrance, then back at her best friend. "Who could that be?"

That was precisely what Starlight wanted to know. Who would be visiting her suite this early in the morning? Most of the students were probably still asleep, and she had deliberately chosen this time to move precisely because she expected the upper floor to be quiet. She hadn’t anticipated anyone showing up at her door so soon.

"Should I go and check?" Elle asked, already looking as though she was preparing to leave the bedroom.

"No." Starlight straightened. "I’ll go."

Elle paused and looked at her. "Why? I can answer the door."

"Because this is my suite, and whoever is outside is either here to see me or looking for the person who lives here. I’ll find out who it is."

"But what if—"

"Elle, I will get the door," Starlight interrupted firmly, giving her a look that made it clear she wasn’t interested in discussing the matter any further.

Elle studied her for a moment before lifting both hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Go ahead. I was only trying to help."

Starlight gave a small shake of her head and left the bedroom, crossing the sitting area towards the entrance. Behind her, Elle hesitated for a moment before following, apparently unwilling to miss the chance to discover who had decided to visit them so early in the morning.

Starlight reached the door and unlocked it. Grasping the handle, she pulled it open and immediately felt the corners of her mouth turn downwards.

Standing outside were Nikolai and Mikhail.

Of course.

She had half expected it to be them. The other possibility had been Eden, their manager and Beta. After all, there were only three private suites on this floor, and those were the only people she could imagine showing up at her door this early in the morning. Still, she had secretly hoped her first guess would be wrong.

Apparently, the universe had decided to disappoint her before breakfast.

Starlight stared at the two Crown Princes, already regretting her decision to answer the door herself. She had only arrived a few minutes ago, yet somehow, they had already found out she was here. So much for enjoying a quiet morning. She briefly wondered whether the soundproofing in the upper-floor suites was actually as effective as she had been told. Had they heard her arrive? It wasn’t as if the twins had simply been waiting for her to show up.

She had no way of knowing, and she wasn’t about to waste her morning investigating it. She could find out later.

For now, she had two unwelcome visitors standing in front of her door. "What do you two want?" she asked flatly, making no effort to hide her displeasure. The last thing she wanted was for these two to ruin her morning before she had even finished unpacking.

Mikhail looked at her, then briefly glanced at his brother. Nikolai, however, was acting strangely.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, rubbed the back of his neck, and seemed unable to decide where to look. Every few seconds, his gaze flickered towards Starlight before darting away again. He even fidgeted with the sleeve of his shirt, an unusually nervous gesture that looked completely out of place on someone who usually carried himself with such arrogance.

Starlight blinked.

What on earth was wrong with him?

This was Nikolai, the same person who had grabbed her by the jaw on two separate occasions and squeezed hard enough to make her fear he might actually break it. This was the guy who had once looked at her as though he wouldn’t hesitate to crush her beneath his heel if she gave him a reason.

And now he was standing outside her door, fidgeting like a schoolboy who had been summoned to the principal’s office.

For some inexplicable reason, Starlight found the sight almost cute.

Cute? She mentally recoiled.

Really, Starlight? What are you even thinking about right now? She had to be losing her mind if she was starting to find Nikolai cute.

There was absolutely nothing cute about a man who had nearly crushed her jaw, regardless of how awkward he looked right now. Meanwhile, Mikhail cleared his throat, apparently deciding that his brother wasn’t going to be much help.

"Can we come in?" he asked.

Starlight’s expression remained unimpressed. "No, you cannot."

"See, Starlight, we didn’t come here to quarrel with you or make any unreasonable demands, okay?" Mikhail replied quickly. "We just want to apologize."

She stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

Mikhail drew a breath and glanced at Nikolai, who finally seemed to remember that he was supposed to be part of this conversation.

"We talked about everything last night, including how unreasonable we’ve been towards you. We went over everything that happened between us, and we both came to the same conclusion. We were wrong. We really wronged you, Starlight, and we understand that saying we’re sorry won’t automatically make everything right."

Nikolai nodded, though he still looked uncomfortable. "Yes, we know we’ve given you plenty of reasons not to trust us, especially me."

That, at least, was an understatement. Still, hearing Nikolai acknowledge his own mistakes was unexpected and caught Starlight off guard.

Mikhail continued, his expression more serious than Starlight was accustomed to seeing. "We’re not asking you to forgive us immediately, and we’re not here to pressure you into anything. We just want a chance to apologize properly. If you don’t mind letting us in, we’d appreciate it. We’d rather have this conversation without standing in the hallway like we’re waiting to be sentenced."

Starlight looked from Mikhail to Nikolai. One of them appeared determined to make his case, while the other looked as though he would rather face an entire army than stand in front of her and explain himself.

She folded her arms across her chest.

An apology from the Crown Princes? Really? This morning was becoming far more interesting than she had intended.

Starlight had seen plenty of things since arriving at Asterion Academy, most of them unpleasant, but she had never expected to see either of the Crown Twins standing at her door, attempting to apologize for their behavior.