Esme couldn’t find Derek. She looked through the halls, she wondered if he had gone back to the party. 

Right before Esme was about to go back to the ballroom, a serving girl came up to her, “The prince is in the kitchen.” 

She smiled and walked away. 

Esme hurried to the kitchen. She didn’t see him at first. She scanned the kitchen for any sign of him. She was about to go back when she saw the tips of a small pair of dress shoes poking out from under a table. 

Esme smiled. She slowly walked to the table. She bent down to see Dere in a ball. He had tears flowing down his face. 

“Derek? What’s wrong?” Esme asked. 

Derek just shook his head. Esme sighed. She got on her knees and crawled over to Derek. She sat beside him and leaned into his side. 

“Does this have anything to do with what Victor said earlier, because what he said is not true. You're not a wimp. You have to give Victor a break, he has no brain. It’s hard for him to not be an idiotic jerk.” Esme said in a serious tone. 

Derek chuckled at that. 

“So you can’t believe anything he says.” Esme said, “Understand?” 

Derek nodded, “Understand.”