Thad had me followed. My father knows… not everything, but enough to be suspicious. And if I don't go home, I lose everything—my degree, my funding, my freedom.
I'm trapped. Completely, utterly trapped.
I'm throwing clothes into my suitcase an hour later when someone knocks on my door. For a moment, I think it's Vivian, coming to check on me. But when I open the door, it's Romeo.
He looks terrible. His hair is disheveled, his eyes are red, and he's staring at me with an intensity that makes my breath catch. I sent him away an hour ago, and now he’s here, and I know I should remind him that I didn’t ask him to come back. But instead, I just take a step back. I want him here, even after everything.
It helps that he looks as if realizing what he did wrecked him entirely.
"What are you doing?" he asks, looking past me at the suitcase on my bed.
"I'm packing."
His jaw tightens. "Why?"
"Because I have to go home. My father—" My voice breaks. "He knows. About us. About everything."
Romeo's expression darkens. "How?"
"Thad had me followed. He has photographs. Documentation. He told my father, and now—" I can't finish the sentence.
"Now what?"
"Now I have to go home. I have to—I have to fix this."
"No." He steps into my room, closing the door behind him. "No, you're not going anywhere."
"I don't have a choice?—"
"There's always a choice." He's pacing now, and I can see his mind working. "We can handle this. I can handle this."
"Romeo, no?—"
“I’ll find a way to get Whitmore away from you. Or I can talk to your father directly. I can explain?—"
"Explain what?" I stare at him. "That you've been sleeping with his daughter? That you stole my birth control? That you're the son of a crime boss?"
He stops pacing. "He knows who I am?"
It doesn’t escape me that Romeo just admitted to it being true. My stomach turns to ice, but there’s so much happening that I can’t focus on anything but the most imperative thing that’s right in front of me, right at this moment.
"Yes. He knows everything. And he's furious. And if I don't go home right now, he's cutting off my funding and moving up my wedding date." I shake my head. “You didn’t tell me who you were, Romeo. I thought I knew you but… this is a mess. It’s all a mess.”
"Then don't go. Stay here. I'll take care of everything?—"
"You can't take care of this!" I'm crying again, frustrated tears streaming down my face. "This isn't something you can fix with money or leverage or—or violence. This is my family. My life. And I need to handle it myself."
"I can help?—"
"No, you can't. Don't you see? If you interfere, it'll only make things worse. My father will see through any manipulation. He'll know it came from you. And then—" I take a shaky breath. "And then I'll lose everything."
"You won't lose everything. You'll have me?—"
"That's not enough!" The words come out harsher than I intended, and I see him flinch. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but it's not enough. I need my degree. I need my independence. I need—" I gesture helplessly at my suitcase. "I need to go home and convince my father that this was a mistake."
He looks stricken. "Don't say that."
"It's what I have to say. It's what I have to make him believe."
