I wait.
I wait.
Because I think… some part of me knows he’ll come, even before he makes the conscious choice to leave the manor, far before I hear his voice in the darkness at my back.
“I see you’re back to your original plan.”
Carter.
My throat convulses. I don’t turn to look at him. I can’t. Not yet. Not with my face a mess of tears.
There’s a crunch of gravel as he walks up behind me. A second later, my shoulders are enveloped by warm fabric — his suit jacket, settling around me like a blanket. My fingers latch onto the lapels as his lips brush my ear.
“I thought we already ruled out you dying of exposure to avoid becoming the princess,” he murmurs.
I try to find words, but my throat is clogged by tears and grief and something else. Something I’m not ready to name just yet.
Carter sits down on the bench beside me. He’s so close, the heat of his strong thigh seeps into mine. I slide my arms inside his sleeves and try not to notice how much better I feel, just being near him.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” I croak. “No, I’m really not.”
“Is there anything…” He blows out a breath, as if he’s not sure how to say this properly. “Can I do anything to make this better for you?”
“You don’t happen to have a time machine?”
“Afraid not.”
“Cloak of invisibility?”
His head shakes.
“Then, no, Carter. I think I’m on my own.”
His hands curl around the stone bench seat. He’s practically thrumming with anger and frustration.
“It’s actually pretty funny,” I tell him in a hollow voice that isn’t funny at all. “I’m a psychology student. I study human behavior. I read all these books about our capacity for manipulation and evil. About every atrocity we, as a species, have committed against one another over thousands of years. How we’ve actuallyevolvedto be cruel and self-serving, rather than honest and true.” I pull in a shallow breath. “All that knowledge, right there at my fingertips… and still, I’m totally blindsided when it happens to me.”
“Emilia…” My name catches in his throat.
“Why did he do it?” I ask, another tear trickling out. “He’s my best friend. I’d do anything to protect him — even cut him out of my life when I need him most. But he… he decided to hurt me in the precise way he knew would inflict the most damage.How could he do that to me?” I feel like my heart has been ripped right out of my chest, leaving only a gaping hole behind. “And Linus… Linus…”
I can’t even begin to get the words out.
“Emilia, please look at me.”
I shake my head, still crying, and use his sleeve to mop the tears off my cheeks. “You should go. Just… leave me alone.”
“No.”
“I’m not good company at the moment, Carter.”
“I don’t give a shit. I’m not good companyever. But we all need someone sometimes. Someone to lean on.” He’s breathing hard. I can hear the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he watches me weep. “If you need to lean on someone tonight… I’ll be here.”
My breath hitches on a sob.
He’s whispering, now. Barely audible. “I’m here, love.”