15
“Because you’re u-ugly?”
“No.” She waited for herself to laugh, but nothing came. She waited for herself to cry, but the tears refused to come.
She was completely empty.
Slowly, she lifted her head, turning to Grant.
Her flesh was no longer smooth, her skin nothing but a mass of scars. She was the stuff horror movies were made of, and yet Grant’s gaze didn’t swerve from hers.
“I w-was proud, you know,” she told him tonelessly. “Because I thought...it was—-”
Meredith Grayson’s words screamed into Fawn’s mind.
Do you get it now?
You’re a fucking brick around his neck he doesn’t want—-”
You know.
YOU KNOW.
Fawn screamed.
Grant whitened. “Fawn—-”
She turned to him, screaming, sobbing, “I know.”
And suddenly, it was all Fawn could say.
“I KNOW.”
“I know, I know, I know!”
And she did.
She finally did.
The prince didn’t love her.
Nurses burst into the room, the doctor following behind them, and Fawn couldn’t stop screaming.
“I knooooooooow. I know. I know. I know.”
NICK CHRISTAKOS WAS the first one to visit the prince, who had been sentenced to jail overnight after being held in contempt. Upon seeing his friend, he rose to his feet immediately, asking tautly, “Did you talk to her?”
“Yes.” Nick’s voice was strained.
The prince swallowed. “And?”
“She’s had to be sedated.”
Ah. The prince slowly held on to the bars of his cell, his fingers tightening until his knuckles turned white.
“That’s not all.” Nick took a deep breath. “I just learned from Fredericka...that aside from requesting you be in court when the video played...” Regret flashed in Nick’s blue eyes. “She had another condition. She had also asked to watch a recording of the proceedings. She had wanted...to see your reaction to the video, and I’m afraid—-”
The prince said harshly, “Just spit it out, Nick.”
“She saw your reaction to what happened, and she thinks...she thinks it disgusted you, the sight of her drinking her pee—-”
Dio.
Torment surged inside of him at the thought that Fawn would believe such a thing—-
Oh God.
That he had made her feel he thought so little of her—-
“I love her,” the prince said hollowly. “I love her, Nick. More than anyone, more than the parents I used to have, more than the parents I have now—-” His breathing turned ragged. “ I love her .”
Nick didn’t know what to say, and he whispered bleakly, “I’m sorry, Reid.”
“I thought I was protecting her all this time, and yet I was an idiot. I was a fucking idiot.”
Nick could only gaze at his friend, knowing that the most he could do was let Reid get all the words out.
“I didn’t even think, and goddammit, someone like Meredith Grayson had to be the one to make me see I was such a fucking idiot.” The prince’s voice faded into a raw, agonized whisper. “You all mattered to me. My parents. My friends. You all mattered. But there was a part of me that none of you were able to reach, a part that would ensure I would survive if you all died on me—-”
The prince swallowed.
“But Fawn...she was different, and I think I knew it unconsciously from the very start.”
His eyes closed.
“She reached the part of me, that last part of me no one could touch—-” The prince’s tone became savage. “And that’s why I tried so fucking hard to keep her at a distance. I pushed her so damn hard I didn’t realize I was already killing her—-”
Unable to bear the devastation on his friend’s face, Nick shook his head fiercely, gritting out, “Stop it, Chalkias.”
The prince looked at him with dull green eyes. “I love her, Nick. Go back to her, please. I’m begging you. Please make her hear you and let her know I love her. Please. I’m begging you. Please .”
“I will, Reid. You risked everything for us, so you know Jason and I would do anything for you, but—-” Nick expelled his breath in a mixture of frustration and acute remorse. “It’s just not up to me. I spoke to Bennett, and I saw her, and... it’s bad .”
Nick remembered the one glimpse he had of Fawn Cornwall’s face, the way it had been all carved up—-
He had made it to the hospital just before the doctor had been forced to sedate her, and he didn’t think he would ever forget the way she had screamed.
I know.
I know.
I know.
Almost as if she was echoing Meredith Grayson’s taunting words, affirming what the psychotic killer had manipulated her into believing—-
“What exactly are you saying?” the prince demanded unevenly, the look of defeat on Nick Christakos’ face causing fear for Fawn to skitter down his spine.
“I don’t think whatever I say can or will ever reach her, Reid. It has to be you...and only you. And if you don’t succeed – she’ll be lost to us forever.”
TIME MOVED TOO DAMN slowly on the night the prince had to spend behind bars, and all he could do was sit on the floor while he punished himself with an endless cycle of images of Fawn’s suffering.
He forced himself to relive every second of it—-
Forced himself to imagine it in the most vivid way possible—-
The way Meredith Grayson’s fingers wrapped around the handle of the knife with a mixture of expertise and eagerness—-
The way the knife pierced Fawn’s tender flesh—-
The way the blade cut through the skin, its edge scarring the bone—-
And blood.
So much blood.
And all throughout it, he could only think of three damn words.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
He would carve it on his damn face, his heart, his body if that was what it took to make her realize she was right all along.
He loved her.
The prince clung to the thought as he continued to lash himself with memories of Fawn’s suffering.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
Sunlight eventually broke through the tiny barricaded window of the prince’s cell, the brightness hurting his tired, swollen eyes. The hours ticked by, and when Fredericka Spears came to secure his release, the prince only had one question in mind.
As soon as he was out of his cell, the prince asked tautly, “Have they filed a TRO against me?”
The attorney blinked at him in surprise. “Did Nick or Jason tell you?”
A ghost of a smile touched the prince’s bloodless lips. “It’s the next logical step, and I would think Bennett’s parents would be able to pull enough strings to make it happen.”
Walking down the hallway, Fredericka said reluctantly, “I’m sorry to say you’re absolutely right, Mr. Chalkias.” She bit her lip. “And in all conscience, I can’t say I completely disagree. Watching the proceedings has left Ms. Cornwall in pretty bad shape—-”
The prince shook his head, saying tonelessly, “You don’t understand, attorney. Regardless of how she feels for me now, I have to make her believe that she was...right. That I love her. Because if not...she’ll be trapped in the past forever.” He swallowed. “The way I had been all these years, and I hadn’t even known it.” An empty laugh escaped him. “And I still wouldn’t know if...if Fawn hadn’t come into my life.”
The prince started to reach for the handles of the main doors, but the older woman suddenly blocked his way.
“The media’s out there,” she warned, “and right now you’re the most hated man on the planet.”
The unemotional mask on the prince’s face didn’t crack. “I don’t give a damn. All I know is that I have to get to her.”
Oh. Fredericka said quietly, “You really love her then?”
“More than my life.” And the way the half-Greek playboy spoke, Fredericka knew he was telling the truth. She chewed on her lip harder at the realization, unable to help feeling responsible for the situation Reid Chalkias and Fawn Cornwall now found themselves in.
Fawn loved the prince, and the prince loved his fawn.
But after all that had happened, would love be enough?
If the question had been asked of the world outside the police station, the answer was an unequivocal no.
As soon as the prince stepped out, he became the center of a media circus. Civilian protesters saw in Reid Chalkias an opportunity to spread their hatred, alternately screaming obscenities at him and taunting him for his rumored ties with the Mafia.
The prince’s security did their best to keep everyone away, their stoic expressions mirroring their employer’s as they forcibly opened a path through the throng. But while they were able to secure his safety, they were unable to prevent the rowdy crowd from spitting at the prince and throwing anything and everything they could get their hands on—-
By the time the prince and Fredericka were finally ensconced inside his limousine, the redheaded attorney was shaking with rage. “This is exactly what they did to Vassi Grachyov two years ago,” she told him between clenched teeth. “I hate it when people act like they’re so damn blameless.”
The limousine started to move, and Fredericka said hotly, “Just tell me if you wish me to sue them.”
The prince shook his head. “I’d rather not waste my time on them, and besides, I’m used to such treatment.” He paused, and when he spoke again, quiet gratitude underlined the prince’s voice. “Thank you for agreeing to represent me as well, Attorney Spears.”
“I have to, Mr. Chalkias.” Fredericka’s tone was slightly discomfited. “When I asked permission from Ms. Cornwall to use the video as evidence, I never paused to think of what its impact would be on you or your relationship. I’m afraid...I didn’t really believe her when she told me you love her.”
“You weren’t the only one, attorney.” The prince’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
When the prince reached his home, he thanked the lawyer again and insisted on having his chauffeur drive her back to her office.
Igor was there to greet him by the front doors, and the older man asked, “Are you alright, sir?”
The prince nodded. “I’d appreciate a moment alone.”
“Understood, sir.” Igor had the entire staff disappear from view in moments, and soon the prince was and wasn’t alone.
Memories of Fawn surrounded him.
This was where he and Jason Christakos had spoken in front of Fawn , the prince thought.
He headed down the hallway.
This was where he had first spoken to Fawn after her interview, and she had done her best but failed to make herself smile at him.
He looked at the end of the hallway.
That was where Fawn had thought she was being haunted.
He stopped in front of his study.
And here—-
Here—-
Prince, please. Her cry echoed in his mind, every word whipping his heart.
For your sake, you must learn to forget me.
I can’t. The words repeated over and over, and his heart began to bleed.
Then that’s a pity...because I can forget you.
The prince’s gaze burned.
Oh God, Fawn.
Here was his last chance of saving her from all the fucking agony—-
Here was where he had abandoned her.
Jaw clenching, he forced himself to step inside the study.
And then he started to call.
Again and again.
And typed.
He typed nonstop.
Emails. Text messages. Chats on applications.
I love you.
Please believe me.
I love you.
Please believe me.
One day passed.
Two days.
But the prince didn’t stop trying to contact her. Only the knowledge that the TRO would send him back to jail kept him from visiting her. His fear had nothing to do at all with being behind bars but of not being there for Fawn again if she needed him.
The nights were the hardest, the darkness making it impossible for the prince to hold on to illusions of hope. In his mind, his heart, he knew that his time to reach her was running out. He wished it was paranoia but he knew it wasn’t, the same way the prince had known that last time his biological father had told him goodbye—-
He had known he would never see his father alive again.
Death was like that.
It only needed to meet you once to be a friend for life, never to be forgotten.
And on the fifth day after his release from jail, the prince learned he was right.
He had just forced himself to swallow a few bites of breakfast when he received a call from Derek Christopoulos.
“Reid, I have news.”
“Fawn?” He gripped his phone hard. “Is she alright?”
“You told me to let you know if anything comes up, and she’s just been admitted to Wyndham Hospital. She’ll be undergoing surgery—-”
The prince said abruptly, “I have to go.”
Stalking out of the house, he found Noah and Igor waiting for him outside, the limousine’s engine already running and on standby.
He stopped dead in his tracks. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“We heard your conversation, sir,” Igor said. “We’ll be coming with you.”
The prince said in a hard voice, “No.” What he planned was against the law in every sense, and he didn’t want any of his men involved.
“We can either ride with you or we’ll follow behind you.” Noah’s tone was matter-of-fact. “Either way, sir, we will stand by you.”
“She’s important to us, too, sir—-” Igor’s voice suddenly cracked, and it was the first time for the prince to see the other man look every year of his age.
The prince breathed hard. “You’re both fucking idiots,” he muttered jerkily. “What...happened was my fault.”
Noah shook his head, saying hoarsely, “When we got to her that day—-” The older man’s gaze started to blur as memories rushed in, and he remembered Fawn’s bleeding, disfigured face. God.
He had survived war more times than he wanted to remember, and yet why could none of those battles compare to the pain of knowing that he, too, had played a role in Fawn’s suffering?
“She was already delirious, and we had to rush her to the chopper for medical attention. We hooked her up, stopped the bleeding, and then, she saw me—-” Noah’s chest heaved. “ She smiled, sir. Like she hadn’t just had her face carved up. And you know why? You know what your fawn said, sir?”
The prince turned ashen at the bleakness that darkened the older man’s gaze.
“She asked me to tell you it doesn’t hurt as much as it looks.”
Ah.
Tears fell on Noah’s weathered cheeks. “Your love made her strong. That’s the only thing you gotta remember. The only thing that’s important.”
And the prince realized that all this time he had thought he was alone in his suffering—-
The people around him had been suffering, too.
They were blaming themselves, too.
But most important of all—-
They loved Fawn, too.
He said unevenly, “Let’s do this then.”
Igor and Noah nodded.
“And if we don’t make it out alive—-”
The two nodded again.
In spite of everything, the prince was unable to prevent his lips from twitching. “That was a joke,” he said mildly.
His two most trusted men stared at him blankly.
But then Igor, who had been with him from the very start, said finally, “It must be the end of the world.”
The prince laughed hoarsely. “That’s what my mother says.”
He had made his first joke during his adoption hearing, he had made a joke when he had asked Fawn to be his lover, and now—-
He was hoping his joke, however fucking lame it was, would be a good omen as well.
Because he needed every bit of luck he could get.
On his way to the hospital, he made a call to his friend Silver March, relaying his favor in terse terms.
Silver called him back after five minutes, and the man said succinctly, “Slade Wyndham’s agreed to stonewall the procedure. He’ll have admin dump a ton of paperwork on them, but it can only buy you an extra thirty minutes.” Silver paused. “Needless to say, you’ll be paying for all damages incurred.”
“He can charge me any fucking amount he wants, as long as it stops Fawn from going under the knife.”
“Good luck,” Silver murmured.
“Thank you.”
Fifteen minutes passed, and every minute felt like an eternity of suffering.
When they made it to the hospital, the prince and his men took the service elevator, knowing that they would meet less resistance this way. The three of them made it past both the police officers and private security employed by Bennett’s parents without being seen, but when they finally reached the private hallway leading to the operating room, the prince knew that bloodshed was inevitable.
Grant Bennett saw him first, and the younger man stiffened, his face turning white in shock.
Seeing it, his parents and Fawn’s mother followed his gaze, and so did the two lone police officers stationed outside the doors of the operating room.
Everyone tensed.
A second later, and the prince and his men were up against the police officers in a fast draw battle—-
The prince had his gun out first, followed by his men while the middle-aged but inexperienced officers were still fumbling for their weapons.
The prince slowly moved forward.
Noah stayed back, guarding the doors to the hallway.
Igor followed behind the prince, his gun trained on the officers.
The prince turned to Fawn’s mother. “I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances, but I have no choice.”
“Haven’t you hurt my daughter enough?” Dana’s voice shook with suppressed emotions.
“I’m sorry,” the prince said doggedly, but even so his grip on his gun remained steady, and the cold-blooded look in his green eyes didn’t ease, his gaze remaining on the police officers as he continued to make his way to the operating room.
When he reached the doors, he forced the police officers to move away.
“Igor?”
“I’ll kill the first one who moves,” his right-hand man said calmly.
It was enough for the prince.
The sight of the prince entering the operating room had the medical staff inside screaming, and the prince said in a hard voice, “Out.”
They ran past him, screaming.
An alarm sounded, and the prince knew he only had minutes left, even with Slade Wyndham making sure that his own security would be slow to respond.
Fawn was in the middle of the operating room, white-faced, back straight. She had sat up the moment he entered, brown eyes wide with terror. When their gazes met, a cry tore out of her.
It was as if having his eyes on her hurt, and the prince stilled for one moment—-
But then she raised her hands to cover her face, and an agonizing realization of the truth dawned on him.
Ah God.
She was ashamed of how she looked.
Pain crippled him, and his own shame almost made him feel he didn’t deserve to get an inch closer. But even so, he forced himself to move, telling himself that he owed this to her.
When his fingers circled her wrists, she asked brokenly, “Why are you here?”
“Because I can’t let you have this surgery.”
A muffled, teary laugh. “S-seriously? Are you insane ?”
The sweet, innocent sound of her laughter made him suck in his breath, but even so he managed to say, “Yes.”
He felt her hands press closer to her face, almost as if she wanted another layer of flesh to keep everyone from really seeing her. “Why?”
“Because I’m selfish.”
“S-selfish?”
He nodded, knowing that she could see him through the slits of space between her fingers. “Because I’m selfish...and a coward.”
Silence.
And then she whispered, “Why?”
“Because...” His chest heaved as he inhaled. “It’s the only way to let you know that I can love you.”
When she stiffened, he knew she knew what he was planning—-
“N-no.” Her voice was an anguished stammer. “I’m n-not ready—-”
“I’m sorry,” he said rawly.
Her voice became hysterical. “NO! I said no—-”
His fingers tightened around her wrists.
“ Please. ”
And then he was slowly but firmly pulling her hands away, and she started to cry when she realized there was nothing she could do.
“ PLEASE —-”
Inch by inch, he saw her carved-up face—-
“How many times will you make me beg—-” Her voice cracked.
And it was the most painfully beautiful thing he had ever seen.
His eyes burned with hers.
His heart bled with her.
And his soul wept with her.
“Fawn.” His own voice broke, and the prince’s voice turned into a strained whisper. “Fawn. Fawn. Fawn – I love you.”
Her tears fell faster, making her scars glisten with vicious vividness.
“I have loved you from the very start.”
She shook her head at him, silent in her despair, and his voice became desperate. “Meredith Grayson was wrong. I was wrong. ”
But still she cried, and still her eyes told him hope no longer existed in her.
His fingers tightened around her wrists. It was almost as if he could feel her slipping away from him, and the thought made him say in a low, driven tone, “I was lying to myself the whole time. The entire time I kept pushing you away, I kept telling myself that it was for your sake, when all along...it was for my sake. I was pushing you away because you reached the part of me that not even the people who died for me—-” He sucked his breath. “My parents. Georgie. I owed my life to them, Fawn. My life. But Dio, angel, what I feel for them is nothing compared to how I feel for you.”
He brought her hands to his chest, letting her feel the frantic beat of his heart.
“I love you. I have always loved you. And I will always love you.”
The prince’s words made Fawn shudder.
“I love you, Fawn.”
“I love you, angel.”
And she could no longer stop weeping.
Her head fell.
“How?” she asked brokenly. “H-how can I believe you when I—-”
The prince started to tip her chin up.
“No!” Panic seized her, and Fawn tried to pull away, but the prince was too strong, and soon he had forced her to look at him again, her face completely exposed.
A sob escaped her. “Stop looking at me!”
“I can’t.” The prince’s voice was harsh. “Because I’ve never seen anything more beautiful—-”
“L-liar.”
The prince started to lower his head.
Oh God.
She cried out, trying to lean back, to shove him away, to keep him from reaching her—-
His lips touched the scar on her forehead.
She screamed.
His lips moved to the scar below her right eye.
“Nooooo—-”
And still he kissed her, every damn scar, and she screamed until she had no voice left.
When his lips finally left hers, she could only look at him, her eyes filled with self-revulsion, and his heart splintered at the sight of it.
“Oh God, Fawn—-”
“I’m ugly .” Her hands crept up to her face, and the tears started to spill again as she felt the mass of flesh under her fingers. “I’m ugly!” She wanted to tear the flesh from her own face, wanted everything to be new again. “I can’t stand this—-”
“I love you.” The prince caught her hands before her nails could dig into her own skin, forcing them down. “I love you.” His voice was fierce, his words a promise that the prince’s emerald green eyes willed her to believe. “I love you.”
Releasing her hands, he cupped her face.
“I love you.”
And then he was kissing her.
“Always, angel,” he whispered against her trembling lips. “Always.”
Their tears mingled.
Her pain was his pain.
And slowly, her arms went around his neck.
Dio.
He kissed her harder, his arms nearly crushing her in his embrace.
She never said the words back, but it was enough.
All he had wanted was a chance to love her again.