“Okay, so explain.”
His eyes slid shut, just for a second. When he looked back at her, they were darker. “It’s like… feelings were a hard pass in my world. I learned real fast how to shut that part off. Then you showed up, and suddenly I was terrified, because for the first time in my life I was thinking, please don’t let me fuck this up.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’m not ashamed of my past. But I didn’t want you deciding who I am now because of it. I know that doesn’t excuse it. I should’ve trusted you to make up your own mind. Instead, I made it worse.”
Allegra’s arms dropped. She realized she’d moved closer, like her body had decided before her brain could protest.
“These last few weeks have been… yeah,” Nate said, running a knuckle along his forehead. “I took that job with my brother—no clue what I’m doing, and he’ll probably fire my ass. But I want to create something that matters, you know? Something that maybe you’ll see someday and go, ‘Damn, that’s cool. I know the idiot who made it.’”
He shrugged, a little helplessly. “I didn’t come to sabotage your engagement. It’s your life. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. And that you deserve someone who makes you happy. Really, truly happy.”
And God, the way he said it—the calm, measured words—made her want to scream, laugh, and cry all at once. Because it hurt a thousand times worse than if he’d fallen to his knees and groveled.
“Yeah,” Allegra said, her pulse ricocheting against her ribs. “So, I wasn’t exactly honest with you either.”
Nate’s brows lifted. “Not exactly?”
She gave a brittle laugh. “Fine. I lied. A lot.” Her palm pressed to her chest, as if she could steady the chaos in there. “But not about you. Never about how you made me feel.”
Allegra gulped. “You probably think that’s insane, right? That I could pretend but still—”
“Not crazy,” Nate cut in, his eyes burning into hers.
“Oh.” The word came out breathless. “It’s just… I fake smiles for a living. I measure every word. I tilt my chin the correct royal degree. With you, I could just exist. Hungover and sarcastic and not especially impressive. And you never once asked me to be anything else.”
She looked away, her fingers twisting the fabric of her dress. “But wanting something doesn’t mean you get to keep it. You should’ve told me—yeah—but I’m not innocent here either. I used you. Like you were some escape I could step into for a while… and then walk away from when my real life caught up with me. That wasn’t fair.”
“So that’s why you’re doing this?” Nate’s voice was raw. “Because your ‘real life’ means all that royal bloodlines crap? Marrying someone who was made to order for the throne?”
“Yes. No. I mean… it’s more complicated than that.”
“Okay?”
She drew a breath through her nose, the way she’d been taught to do when panic threatened to leak out. Composure is kindness, one of her tutors had liked to say. “This tabloid,Blitz, tracked us down. They’d have ripped you apart, Nate. Your brother’s company too, just for being connected to you.”
Her voice shook despite the calm she was trying to hold on to. “Then they’d go after your mom. Ambush her in the cereal aisle. Make her life a circus.” Her fingers curled. “I can survive them. They’ve been stalking me my whole life. But you’re trying to start fresh. If this story got out, it would stick. No one would give you a chance.”
A trembling exhale. “This way, they’ve got a wedding to salivate over instead.”
Nate stared at her, stunned. “No. Allegra, fuck no. You don’t get to sacrifice yourself for my choices. I won’t let you.”
She forced a weak smile, but her eyes were glistening. “This isn’t your decision. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this mess. I’m doing what’s best. For you. And for Valenstadt.”
“And who,” Nate shot back, voice splintering, “is doing what’s best for you?”
The question hit harder than any accusation. She turned away, her chest so tight she could barely breathe. Because if she looked at him, she’d unravel right there on the Persian rug. And princesses did not unravel.
Her hand reached blindly for something solid and landed on the spine of a book:The Art of Noble Comportment.She traced the gilded letters with her fingers, pretending to read.
Swallow it. Straighten. Divert.
“Anyway,” she chirped, her voice vaulting into a register usually reserved for ribbon cuttings, “I may have cyberstalked you. Swore I wouldn’t. Gave myself an entire speech about curiosity and dead cats.”
Nate’s head tipped back. “Youreallyshouldn’t have.”
“You’re probably right. It’s just… it’s a lot. There was this one scene. Underwater. With mermaids. And—” She winced. “God, why am I even saying this?”
Nate’s ears went pink. He hooked a finger into his collar.
