After he left, I sat back down and pulled out my phone.Texted Roberto:Viktor just tried to convince me to send Betty back to America.Check his intelligence sources.I want to know if this threat is real or manufactured.
The response came quickly:Understood.Sir, the Princess is still in the stables.Should we,
Leave her.She needs space.
I turned back to my computer, pretending to work on the policy reviews that had been sitting untouched for days.But my mind was in the stables with Betty, wondering if she was reading those annulment papers or using them to start a fire in Azzurra's stall.
Wondering if I'd just given away the only thing that mattered because I'd been too much of a coward to give her choices from the beginning.
My phone buzzed.A text from Betty:Still in the stables.Still thinking.Don't send anyone to check on me.
I smiled and typed back:Take all the time you need.Azzurra is excellent company.
She doesn't judge me for crying.
Horses rarely do.It's one of their better qualities.
She also doesn't offer me annulment papers and make everything impossibly complicated.
That's definitely a point in her favor.
A pause.Then:Thank you.For the papers.For the protection for my parents.For all of it.Even if I'm furious at you for making this decision even harder.
You're welcome.And I'm sorry.
You're always sorry.
I'm always wrong.It tracks.
Another pause.I need more time.
I know.I'll be here whenever you're ready.
I set down my phone and returned to staring at my computer screen, trying not to calculate the odds of her choosing to stay versus choosing to leave.
Trying not to think about what my life would look like if she signed those papers and walked away.
Trying not to remember the way she'd looked at me in the stables when I'd told her I loved her, like she wanted to believe me but wasn't sure she could.
This was what love looked like.Giving someone the power to destroy you and hoping they chose not to use it.
I'd never been particularly religious, but I found myself hoping that whoever was listening would convince Betty that staying was worth the risk.
Even if I didn't deserve it.
Even if I'd spent the last three weeks proving I wasn't worthy of her trust.
Even if the smart choice, the safe choice, was to sign those papers and run as far from me as possible.
I hoped anyway.
Because hope was all I had left.
