“You don’t have to be nice about it,” I muttered.
She propped herself up on her elbow. “I’m not being nice. You were sweet. Honest.”
“Drunk.” I rubbed my hand over my jaw. “Remind me to never let you stay in my bed again after I’ve had whiskey.”
She grinned. “You begged me to.”
“Did I?”
She nodded, smirking. “You told me I was real and that I wasn’t allowed to leave. That you were good at impossible things…except me.”
That sounded like me. Unfortunately.
“You don’t have to be nice about it,” I muttered.
She propped herself up on her elbow. “I’m not being nice. You were sweet. Honest.”
“Drunk.”
“That too.”
“Fuck me.” I dragged the pillow over my face. “Just end it. Smother me. Put me out of my misery.”
She laughed. Then gently pulled the pillow away from my face.
“It is.” I paused. “I wish you’d come on a night I wasn’t drinking like a maniac.”
“I know.” She sat up slowly. “We do need to talk.”
It felt like my actual heart actually stopped.
She watched me closely. “I came for a reason.”
Here it was.
The part where she let me down gently, she cared about me but couldn’t be part of this world. Told me what she saw on the screens confirmed what everyone always said about me.
“Was it to look me in the eye and end it?” I asked.
“No.”
I waited. Ready for her to rip my heart out. Didn’t even know I really could give it to someone before her.
“I didn’t want you to think I ghosted you. I just… got scared. I needed to understand why I wasn’t scared of you when the whole world was.”
I swallowed. “You don’t have to explain.”
“I do.” She sat fully now. “Because I missed you. Because two weeks felt like forever. And because…” She hesitated, her eyes searching mine. “I don’t know if you’re interested, but I thought maybe we could try something. Not public or dynasty-level. Just… us.”
“What are you saying?” I asked slowly.
“Discreet. Just… seeing each other. If that’s what you want.”
I stared at her. Replayed it twice in my head making sure it hadn’t been a hallucination.
“I mean, we don’t have to talk about it now. Your head’s probably?—”
“Yes.”
