Page 70 of Heavy Crown

OMG. She’s the one @HRH_PrinceAlexander went grocery shopping with.

UGH. I was shipping her with @HRH_PrinceAlexander. Obviously not smart enough for him. #ALORA

Does @HRH_PrinceAlexander know she’s seeing the cheater again? Can he come rescue her from this too?

On and on it goes. #ALORA is trending in Bellerive. If an irrational, raging jealousy wasn’t building at Rory’s lie of omission some of the comments would likely be funny.

Nothing is funny right now.

I haul myself to the edge of the bed from the middle where I was sprawled, exhausted. Tiredness left me with the first photo. Instead, I’m fighting the urge to go to Café Plutus and drag her out of there. While I realize that’s the worst thing I can do, I’ve never had to wrestle so hard to choose the right course of action.

Desmond’s assertion that my new model is “screw it, I’ll do it anyway” isn’t so far off.

My day-to-day phone pings on the nightstand with a security alert, and I snatch it up. An unknown car is at the gate seeking entrance. I zoom in using the security camera, and there is Rory in the passenger seat. Dumbass Derrick is driving.

She brought him here? She’s intending to reconcile with him here? Not bloody likely.

I text security to let Rory in but to deny the vehicle entrance. On the screen, Rory purses her lips and shrugs at Derrick before climbing out the passenger side. Derrick also gets out of the car and follows her to the entrance for guards and foot traffic.

He’s not parking there, is he? Granted it’s a parking lot, but I don’t want him on any part of the estate.

I scan the scene and wish I made it clear Derrick isn’t allowed anywhere. At the gate, Derrick draws Rory into a hug, and it lasts far longer than I’m comfortable with.

The urge to go out there is surging through me, an unstoppable flood of raw, uncontrollable jealousy. Tossing my normal phone back on the nightstand, I grab my burner.

Fuck it. I’m going to her apartment.

The mantra this is a bad idea plays in my head on repeat as I storm along the gravel path to her place. Women like Rory are worthy of more than whatever Dumbass Derrick has promised. Guaranteed.

She might not be able to be with me, but she sure as shit isn’t going to be with him either.

When I get to her apartment, instead of my usual knock, I pound on the door. It takes her a minute to answer, but when it swings back, my breath catches at how gorgeous she looks. Normally, she’s pretty. She rarely wears much makeup, but whatever she’s done to her eyes, they’re stunning. Most nights by the time I get here, she’s in sweats. Nothing casual about her outfit tonight. The lavender dress she’s wearing clings to her in all the right places.

She created this look to impress him. Jealousy has gripped me so hard I can barely breathe.

“Is he here?” I growl.

Her cheeks turn pink. “Who?” Her surprised expression morphs into a frown.

“The dumbass. Is he here?” I move past her into the tiny apartment. The only place he could be is in the bathroom.

“No—I—how—I left him at the gate. He wasn’t allowed in.”

At least security did the right thing without me having to be explicit. “You went on a date with him after he cheated on you?”

The red in her cheeks deepens. “That’s not—”

“You lied to me about what you were doing tonight.”

“I didn’t lie.”

I’m on one side of the couch, and she’s on the other. She’s fidgeting like she realizes she’s done something wrong. I’ve never been angry with her before, but I’m livid right now. My temper is barely in check. Have I ever experienced this intense surge of emotion toward anyone in my life?

“You let me believe something that wasn’t true. That’s a lie.”

“How did you find out? I don’t understand how you know.”

“Bloody hell, Rory. You’re not anonymous in Bellerive anymore. People were @-ing me all night with photos and comments on your date like I should care.”