“I’m fine.”
“Baby, you’re not fine.” Majesty’s hand hovered near mine but didn’t touch. “And that’s okay. But we need you to talk to us.”
The dam broke.
“I watched Iris fall apart because she wasn’t enough for her partners.” The words came out in a rush. “I’ve been watching all these women who actually know what they’re doing, who don’tneed to be taught every little thing. And I keep thinking... when are you going to realize? When are you going to see that I’m not what you need? That I’m too new, too inexperienced, too... not enough.”
“Cami—”
“No, let me finish.” Tears were streaming down my face now. “Just like he did. My ex. Two weeks before our wedding, he realized I wasn’t enough. And I keep waiting for you to realize it too. Then you sent me to my bed in my room. Not yours, Majesty. Not Lex’s. Notour bed.Mine. Alone. But, better now than later, right? Better before I’m in so deep I can’t survive it.”
My voice broke. “Except I’m already there. I already love you both so much it hurts. And in two days I have to leave and you haven’t said one word about me staying. So I guess... I guess I know what that means.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Lex moved from the chair to the bed, kneeling in front of me. “Cami, look at me.”
I forced myself to meet his eyes.
“We fucked up,” he said simply. “Majorly. We got so caught up in the logistics of observation week that we didn’t see what was happening right in front of us.”
“You’re experiencing sub drop,” Majesty added, his voice thick with regret. “Severe sub drop. And we missed it.”
“What?” I blinked at them. “I don’t understand.”
“Sub drop,” Lex explained. “It’s what happens after intense scenes when your body comes down from the endorphin high. It can cause depression, anxiety, feelings of worthlessness. Especially when you’ve had multiple intense scenes in a short period without proper recovery time and aftercare.”
“We pushed you too hard,” Majesty said. “We didn’t give you enough time to process. And then we got distracted with work and left you alone to spiral.”
“But that’s not...” I shook my head. “That’s not why I feel this way. I feel this way because you haven’t talked about what happens when I leave.”
“Because we’re idiots,” Lex said bluntly. “We assumed you knew. We thought it was obvious that we weren’t letting you go.”
“What?”
Majesty took my hand gently. “Cami, we love you. We’ve loved you since before we said the words. And we have no intention of this ending when you leave the Ranch.”
“We haven’t figured out all the logistics yet,” Lex admitted. “Long distance, how often we can visit, when you can come back here. But we thought you understood that we’re in this. Fully. Permanently.”
“You... you want me to stay?” The words came out small, broken.
“We know you have a life back home. A job, friends, commitments. But we want you in our lives and to come visit us in our home. However this needs to look for the three of us. We’ll make it work.”
“But I’m not... experienced like those other women. I don’t know what I’m doing. I make mistakes.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Lex said firmly. “Experience doesn’t equal worth. And we don’t want someone else. We want you. Exactly as you are.”
“As I told you before, your ex was an idiot,” Majesty added. “And Iris’s situation has nothing to do with yours. We’re not them. And you’re not ‘too much’ or ‘not enough’. You’re perfect.”
I wanted to believe them. God, I wanted to believe them so badly.
“Can we make this right?” Majesty asked. “Can we help you through this drop? Give you what you need?”
I hesitated, still scared to trust this.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Lex said softly. “Even if you push us away. Even if you’re convinced we don’t want you. We’re staying. Because we love you. And we’re going to prove that to you. Every day. For as long as it takes.”
“Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, Sir.”
