Chapter 8: If You Leave I’ll Leave Too

Jane tried to respond, but Basil wouldn’t let her.

"Nobody talks about anything else around here. Nobody talks about me anymore."

"Basil—"

"Nobody cares about me anymore."

Jane felt her throat tighten. She wanted to argue, wanted to tell him he was wrong, but looking at him now, she realized he genuinely believed every word. The realization broke her heart because this wasn’t anger speaking anymore. It wasn’t bitterness or jealousy. This was genuine hurt that had been festering quietly for weeks while she remained completely unaware of it.

"You said you’ll always love me."

His voice cracked, and the anger that had carried him through the conversation suddenly faltered, exposing something far more painful beneath it, something that made Jane’s chest tighten with dread. Basil looked away, unwilling to let her see just how much those words had hurt him, but it was already too late. His eyes had begun to shine with unshed tears, and the effort he was putting into holding them back only made the pain written across his face more obvious.

"Do you know what day it was, the day after you found him?"

"Basil..."

Jane’s hand flew to her mouth as understanding finally dawned on her. The color drained from her face, horror settling heavily in her chest even before he said the words aloud.

"You freaking forgot my birthday."

The accusation landed with devastating force, and the moment the words left his mouth, tears spilled freely down his face. He tried to blink them away, tried to maintain the anger that had been carrying him through the conversation, but the hurt beneath it was simply too deep.

"My birthday. The one that was supposed to be celebrated by the entire kingdom. The birthday I’d spent months preparing for."

Jane felt physically sick. A cold wave of guilt crashed over her so violently that she almost couldn’t breathe. She stared at him in disbelief, as though hearing it from his mouth made the reality somehow worse than realizing it herself.

Basil wiped angrily at his eyes, but more tears immediately replaced the ones he brushed away. "I had to cancel the birthday gala myself because I already knew nobody would show up. Why would they?" His voice rose, raw with hurt. "I’m not the prince anymore, and you and Dad would rather spend your time at the hospital than spend it with me. But what hurt me most wasn’t finding out I’m not your real son. It wasn’t even having my birthday canceled. It was the fact that you and Dad forgot to wish me a happy birthday. That made it pretty obvious where your priorities lie. I don’t matter anymore."

The words struck the queen like a physical blow, and a broken sound escaped her throat as her knees nearly gave out beneath her. Her chest tightened painfully, guilt and heartbreak twisting together until she felt sick with it.

God, what had they done?

While worrying about Darius’s condition and trying to navigate the chaos that followed the truth, they had forgotten Basil’s birthday. Their son, the boy they had raised, the boy she loved. The realization made her stomach twist violently.

"I didn’t ask you to choose your real son over me," Basil continued, his voice trembling as fresh tears slipped down his cheeks. "I didn’t ask for any of this. But I never thought the two of you would forget my birthday."

"Basil, I’m so sorry." Jane burst into tears.

He laughed, a bitter, hollow sound that only made her cry harder. "I don’t need your freaking apology. Everything is already ruined."

"Basil—"

"And guess what? Nobody even cared enough to ask how I felt about any of this. Nobody asked whether I wanted any of it. They’re already out there calling me fake."

Jane’s heart shattered at the raw hurt in his voice, and for a moment she could barely process anything beyond the fact that her son had been carrying all of this alone. Then one particular part of his words finally registered, causing her head to snap up as alarm replaced some of the guilt flooding her chest.

"Who called you fake?"

"Does it matter?" Basil snapped before his voice rose into a near shout. "Did I ask to be switched? Did I? I didn’t ask to be switched, and I sure as hell didn’t ask to be anybody’s brother."

The tears refused to stop.

"And now some random guy is calling me big brother and everybody expects me to smile and accept it. For fuck’s sake, I’m only older than him by one day."

Despite everything, the absurdity of it clearly wasn’t lost on him. His expression twisted somewhere between anger and despair.

"You want me to accommodate him? Did any of you bother asking whether I wanted to? Just because I’m the fake one, I should accommodate him? Did I ask to be fake? Why am I being punished for something I didn’t do?"

Jane couldn’t bear it anymore, and before she could think better of it, she threw her arms around him.

Basil immediately tried to pull away, but she held on tighter. "I’m so sorry, son," she sobbed. "I’m so sorry we made you feel this way. It wasn’t our intention. No one is punishing you, Basil. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry."

The guilt was unbearable. Every word coming out of his mouth revealed a wound she hadn’t known existed. All this time she had been focused on helping Darius adjust and making sure he felt welcome, and in doing so she had completely failed to see the pain swallowing Basil whole.

Gradually, the fight seemed to leave him, his shoulders sagging as the strength drained from his body. His knees finally gave way beneath him, and Jane followed him to the floor, both of them ending up kneeling beside the bed as Basil broke completely.

The tears came harder than before. Whatever strength had carried him through the past few weeks finally abandoned him, and he buried his face against her shoulder while sobs shook his entire body.

Jane held him tightly and cried with him, neither of them keeping track of how much time passed. Eventually the worst of it subsided, the sobs gradually weakening into shaky breaths and exhausted sniffles as the storm of emotions that had been building inside Basil for weeks finally began to ease.

After several minutes, he slowly pulled away and sat back on his heels. His eyes were red and swollen, his cheeks damp with tears, and he wiped at his face with the sleeve of his shirt while Jane watched him anxiously, afraid that if she looked away for even a second he might disappear.

She would make sure every servant who had disrespected him was dealt with. She would make William find out exactly who had dared call her son fake, and every single person responsible would answer for it. More importantly, she and William needed to take a long, hard look at themselves and the damage they had unknowingly allowed to happen right under their noses.

"I think it’s best if I leave." ℯℯ𝑙.

The words caught Jane completely off guard.

"What?"

Basil lowered his gaze to his hands. "You have your real son now. You don’t need me here anymore." His voice was quieter than before, exhausted rather than angry. "Besides, that’s what’s best for everyone. If I leave, it’ll make things easier."

Jane immediately shook her head.

"Stop saying things like that."

"I’m serious."

"And I’m serious." She reached for him again. "You are not leaving. We are not letting you go. Give us a chance to fix this. Give us a chance to make things right."

Basil laughed weakly and looked away.

"Everybody would be happier if—"

"You are going nowhere."

Darius’s voice came from the doorway, causing both Basil and Jane to turn at once.

Darius stood at the threshold.

Neither of them had heard him open the door.

For the first time since Jane had found him, there wasn’t a trace of excitement or cheerful optimism on his face. His expression was serious, his fists clenched tightly at his sides and his gaze fixed firmly on Basil.

Basil frowned immediately.

The irritation returned almost on instinct.

Who the fuck did this guy think he was?

He had known Darius for less than five minutes, and somehow the man already seemed determined to insert himself into everything. The whole good prince act was starting to get on his nerves. Everyone else might be falling for it, but Basil wasn’t. He was tired, angry, humiliated, emotionally drained, and the last thing he needed right now was another lecture from the kingdom’s newly discovered golden child.

Darius met his glare. "If you leave, I’ll leave too." He then shrugged slightly. "There’s no point staying here if you aren’t here. You’re the whole reason I wanted to come home in the first place."