2

I took a detour on my way home and stopped by Aiden's family. His parents were there, although my boyfriend is still working. He got his job as a cabinetmaker last year and helps an old gentleman, the manager of the factory, every day. He finishes late at night so I asked his parents if they could let him know I was coming, and that I needed to talk to him.

I met Aiden in a supermarket a little over a year ago. As a matter of fact, we ran into each other and he blew the jar of crème fraiche he was holding in his arms on my shirt. My first instinct was to yell at him, furious but he managed to calm me down, offering me a drink afterwards. So we went to my house so that I could change and I discovered that he lived in the neighborhood. Then, everything happened very quickly. We were texting and seeing each other on the sly until my mother found out about our secret relationship. She was disappointed at the time of my secretiveness but ended up forgiving me. The more time passes, the more Aiden and I are inseparable, like two people who complement each other perfectly.

Today, our relationship has lasted a little over a year and a half and it's still love at first sight, something my mother hasn't understood for a week. So far, she's always liked Aiden, though she's reserved whenever he comes home. And now she persists in wanting me to participate in the Selection to perhaps have a chance of marrying Prince Kaled.

But me, I have no desire to leave my life, my family and Aiden for a simple prince that I don't even know. He will find a girl willing to become a flowerpot for him, but that person will not be me.

As for the test, it consists in evaluating our aptitudes, our fertility, behavior, character... in order to finally select twenty who will live for five months in the palace. Every woman between seventeen and twenty-five has the opportunity to participate. That's why Solenn, my twenty-two-year-old sister, signed up.

So much the better for her, but I will not follow her in this idea.

- Sarah, let's eat! shouts Solenn from below.

I get up from my bed, then open the door. I go down the stairs slowly. The stairs creak with every step taken. It makes me think that our house has aged quite a bit over time. My parents bought it after Solenn came into the world with the rest of the money they had.

Shortly after I was born, our father left. He wanted strong and enduring children, sons more precisely. Realizing that he had had a second daughter and that my mother wanted no more children, he went elsewhere, trying his luck with another to get what he wanted.

My mother later lost her job as a secretary and Solenn and I grew up in poverty until we were old enough to get a job. I found a small job as a cashier in a supermarket as for Solenn, she became a baker.

I reach the dining room, which is as small as it is narrow, and sit down at the table opposite Solenn. The dust-covered shelves remind me how miserable we still live. My mother is aging and my sister and I are not earning enough money. This Selection promises to be a waking dream for all of us.

"Sarah, are you eating?"

I am pulled from my thoughts by the worried voice of my mother. His plate is barely full, Solenn's is moderately full and mine is excessively full. I look at the amount of potatoes on my plate, looking disgusted. I will deprive myself for my mother.

"It's nice of you to worry about me, Mom, but hey...

I get up and pour the potatoes onto my mother's plate, who stares at me, stunned.

- No Sarah, eat!

- No way. Eat your fill, mom. There's bread in the store anyway.

"There aren't any more," Solenn declares coldly. I sold it at the end of the afternoon.

I swallowed quietly as I stood up, a tight smile on my face.

- Too bad. I'm not hungry anymore.

— Sarah, come back here... Come eat...

Ignoring them, I leave the room and head back up the stairs, the urge to eat suddenly overwhelming me. I'm a lousy liar and my stomach reminds me of it. My stomach starts to rumble so loudly that I almost laugh.

I close the door to my bedroom behind me and lock the latch. At a glance, I stare at the long mass lying on my bed.

Help.

“I already told you not to do that,” I whisper. You're scaring me.

Aiden gets up and despite the darkness, I can see his smile.

- You're afraid of me ? That's not what you said the other day when you swore to love me forever...

He walks up to me and I gasp. It smells terribly good and has such an effect on me that I remain frozen, not daring to move. His presence intoxicates me and each time he comes, the same flame always burns in my heart. She will never go out and I'm sure my love for him is stronger than anything.

- So you love me Sarah?

He pushes me against the wall, his arms gently squeezing my waist. His lips are suddenly so close to mine and my heart is racing to hurt my chest.

“You already know the answer.

- Tell me.

I raise my head so that I can gaze into his.

“I love you, Aiden.

I barely finished my sentence when his lips crashed on mine in a frenzied kiss. His arms envelop me like a comforting barrier, his warmth invades me suddenly. His tongue tangled in mine, his heart beating against me, I let myself be carried away in a whirlwind of emotions.

He pushes me on the bed with a quick movement, then his mouth goes down my neck.

"Mmh... Aiden...

I put my hand on his chest to gently push him away.

“I wanted to talk to you about something.

He resigns himself to lie down next to me, sighing.

“I need to talk to you too,” he replies, his face turning serious again.

He avoids my gaze and nods at me to start.

"My mom wants me to take the test," I said point-blank.

A long silence passes without either of us saying anything. I don't need to specify which test it is, he knows it perfectly well. Everyone is talking about it right now anyway, the news is just repeating the same things.

"Aiden, say something...

He just stares at me, clears his throat, then adds in a low voice:

“I want you to participate too.

I frown, my heart stopping beating.

- What ?

“I want you to pass this test.

- What ? But no, I...

"Listen, Sarah, we never really talked about it, but face the truth: you're not eating, you're tired, your dark circles are visible for miles and you're getting weaker day by day because of your work that takes up all your time. I don't want you to go away, believe me but at least give yourself a chance to resume a healthy life. I'm not asking you to marry this damn prince, to participate in all the projects in this palace, I'm just asking you to try your luck to have a better life for a few months.

I stare at him, dumbfounded by his words. It's not the same Aiden I have in front of me. He would never abandon me or push me away from my family! He must have plotted with my mother, I can't see otherwise.

“Aiden, are you kidding me? So we're breaking up, right?

- Listen to me. I want you to put on the pounds, stop working ten hours a day to feed your family and realize your condition! I don't want to see the girl I love so exhausted, can you understand that?

-- But I'm fine ! And I love you... I thought you loved me.

“You are not well, Sarah. Do not lie. And I love you too, that's why...

He doesn't finish his sentence and bites his lip, nervous. I'm exhausted, I want to explode and insult him.

- Finish your sentence, damn it!

“That's why I have to break up with you.

I stand up and step back suddenly as if his words had electrified me. I am paralyzed. He can't be serious, he has no right to do this to me. Our love was supposed to be stronger than anything and it literally pushes me into another's arms!

"I'm breaking up with you for your own good. If you really love me, go pass this test. If you fail it, so be it. If you pass, eat your fill, be happy for five months and try to stay qualified as long as possible. But don't stay in this situation, it's no longer possible Sarah.

He smiles sadly, gets up and walks over to my window to leave. No, but I'm hallucinating! He will leave me. My heart sinks when I watch him leave, without even stopping him.

I ended up falling on my bed, tears streaming down my cheeks. Too stunned to put things straight, I curl up in a ball and let sadness overwhelm me for a moment.