Page 85 of Prince Material
My hands were shaking. After all this time, after the months of speculation and accusations, after I’d kept his secret even when it cost me my reputation…
“I’m sending you the link to his video statement now. Do you want me to stay on the line while you watch it?”
I swallowed hard. “No, I… I need to process this alone. But thank you.”
“Call me after, okay? We’ll need to prepare a response.”
I nodded, then remembered she couldn’t see me. “Yeah. Okay.”
The link appeared in my messages as soon as we hung up. I stared at it for a long moment, my thumb hovering over the screen. Part of me wanted to ignore it, to pretend this wasn’t happening. Things were so good with Orson, with my life here. Did I really want to revisit that night?
But I had to know.
The video opened on Jason’s face, looking more serious than I’d ever seen him. Gone was the carefully crafted celebrity persona, replaced by something raw and vulnerable.
“I need to set the record straight,” he began, his voice steady despite the obvious tension in his shoulders. “A little over a year ago, a video surfaced of Prince Floris van Oranje Nassau and me outside a London club. The media painted it as an assault, suggesting he had forced himself on me. Those accusations were completely false.”
My breath caught. After all this time…
“The truth is, I wanted that kiss. I initiated it. But I was terrified of being outed, of what it would do to my career. So when the edited video appeared, I stayed silent. I let Floris take the blame rather than face my own truth.”
Jason’s face on my phone screen blurred as tears filled my eyes.
“Floris showed incredible integrity by refusing to out me, even when it meant enduring public criticism and judgment. He protected my secret at great personal cost, and I can never fully repay that kindness.” He took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. “But I can’t stay silent anymore. Not when I see the press trying to use that incident to cast doubt on his current relationship. Prince Floris and Orson Ritchey deserve to build their life together without the shadow of my cowardice hanging over them.”
My hands were shaking so badly, I could barely hold the phone. After all this time, after the headlines and whispers and sideways looks, after learning to live with people thinking the worst of me…
“I am gay,” Jason continued, his voice growing stronger. “I’ve known it for years but was too afraid to acknowledge it publicly. That night with Floris wasn’t an assault. It was a moment of courage that I immediately regretted, not because of him, but because of my own fears. He has carried the weight of my silence for far too long, and I am deeply sorry for that.”
The video ended with Jason looking directly into the camera, his expression sincere. “Floris, if you’re watching this, thank you. For protecting me when I couldn’t protect myself, for bearing the burden of my secret with grace. You deserved better, and I hope this truth brings you some peace.”
I sat there for a long moment after the video ended, tears rolling down my cheeks. All the anger and hurt I’d carried, all the times I’d wanted to scream the truth but couldn’t—it was finally over. The truth was out there.
My phone buzzed again, this time with a text from Orson.
Orson
Are you okay? I saw the video.
Of course he had. Everyone probably had by now.
Me
I don’t know. Can you come find me? I’m on the bench by the library.
Orson
On my way.
Less than two minutes later, I heard familiar footsteps approaching. I looked up to see Orson hurrying toward me, his wild curls even messier than usual, like he’d been running his hands through them in agitation. The concern in his eyes made fresh tears well up in mine.
“Hey,” he said softly, sitting beside me and immediately pulling me close. “I’m here.”
I buried my face in his neck, letting out a shaky breath. “It’s over. After all this time, it’s finally over.”
His arms tightened around me. “How do you feel?”
“I don’t know.” I laughed wetly. “Relieved? Angry? Grateful? All of the above?” I pulled back enough to look at him. “Part of me wants to be mad at him for waiting so long, but I understand why he couldn’t come out before. And the fact that he did it now, to protect us…”
