Evelyn groaned at the sound of a knock on her door.
No. It’s probably Leo or my father or Hannah. Whoever it is can go away.
“Princess?”
Damien?
She tossed on a robe and hurried to open the door. Damien stood in the hallway carrying a tray of food from the kitchen. “I brought you breakfast.”
Evelyn stepped aside to let him in. She’d expected to be angry when she saw him, but a wave of relief hit her instead.
Damien set the tray on the table by the window. He didn’t comment on the ashes in the vase or the scorch marks on the carpet.
Evelyn was trembling when she met his eyes. “You tried to warn me.”
“I’m sorry,” Damien whispered. “I wanted to tell you everything, but I couldn’t.”
“His lies aren’t your responsibility.” Evelyn shook her head. “I feel so stupid. It’s so painfully obvious now.”
“You’re not stupid, Evelyn. Leo let this get out of hand.”
“I should have known something was wrong.”
“You couldn’t see it because you love him.”
“I hate him!” Evelyn shouted.
“No, you don’t,” Damien said calmly. “This wouldn’t hurt if you didn’t care. You would’ve thrown a shoe at his head last night and moved on.”
“I can’t love a liar.”
“You can, and you do. It’s pathetic how much your eyes light up when he smiles at you. But that doesn’t mean you have to be with him. You still have a choice in what comes next.”
“Do I have a choice? He’s supposed to marry Hannah!”
“Do you want to marry him instead?”
Evelyn looked away. “You already asked me that.”
Damien stepped closer. “And you dodged the question.”
“Leo hasn’t asked me to marry him,” Evelyn said, avoiding the question again.
“And if he does?”
Evelyn tried to imagine Leo kneeling in front of her, holding her hands and smiling. But the idea made Evelyn’s heart rip open. “I don’t know.”
Damien wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed against his chest, soaking his uniform. He held her, caressing her hair while she cried.
I wish I didn’t care. I want to walk away from this. But I like Leo! I was thinking about staying in Gryon with him. I can’t just forget about that.
Evelyn didn’t know how long she was in Damien’s arms. Eventually, her tears stopped and her breathing slowed.
She pulled away and wiped her face. “I’m sorry. You took care of me for hours at the ball yesterday, and now you’re here again and I’m a disaster.”
“I’m your friend, Princess. When you need me, I will be here. I would also be happy to kick Leo’s ass.”
“Thank you. But since he’s apparently theheir to the kingdom, we probably shouldn’t do that.”
