Chapter 22
Comfort
When the sunlight reached her the next morning, Evelyn wasn’t sure she had actually slept. Her thoughts were impossible to separate from her dreams, and her mind played the past week on a loop. She was ready to throw every memory into a fire and be done with it.
Leo is Prince Alexander. He made me fall for him while lying to my face.
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 the heir to the kingdom, we probably shouldn’t do that.”
“Do you remember when you asked me why I followed Leo’s orders even though I outrank him?”
“Oh!” Evelyn gasped. “Yes! You laughed at me. That makes a lot more sense now, actually.”
Damien grinned. “You didn’t make it easy to keep Leo’s secrets.”
“You kept bringing up the prince and asking about Hannah. That’s why Leo always looked so mad during those conversations.”
Evelyn’s memories were rewriting themselves. She could practically hear a pen in her head crossing things out and scribbling new notes.
“I was trying to guilt Leo into confessing sooner,” Damien admitted. “And hoping something would click in your mind.”
“I missed all of it.” Evelyn sighed. “Is there anything else I need to know? Was Leo hiding more things from me?”
“No, not as far as I’m aware. I will cut off his pinky fingers with my dagger if I find out he lied to you about something else.”
Evelyn smiled. “I appreciate that.”
“Can I do anything for you?”
“No. I just need to think about things today.”
“Eat breakfast first. And tell one of the guards if you need me.” Damien kissed her forehead. “Stay out of trouble, Princess.”
Once he left, Evelyn turned to retrieve the breakfast tray. Then she heard his voice again from the hallway.
“Good morning, Princess.”
She whipped around, but her door clicked shut and Damien was gone.
He must be talking to Hannah, which means she saw Damien leave my bedroom. Gods, this is going to be a long day.
Evelyn opened her door, but she didn’t see Damien or Hannah. Two familiar male voices carried down the hall. Evelyn approached them as quietly as she could. Leo and Damien were on the stairs and couldn’t see her.
“Why were you in her room?” Leo asked.
“I was trying to comfort her,” Damien said irritably. “Didn’t you hear? Someone broke her heart last night.”
“Comfort her how?”
Damien was quiet for a few heartbeats. “I really hope that question came out wrong and you aren’t implying what it sounded like.”
“You barely left her side last night.”
“Because you were never at her side!”
“You kept touching her. You were practically on top of her!”
“I kept everyone else away. Or did you want every nobleman in the kingdom pawing at her? You left her to fend for herself because you wouldn’t let go of your godsdamned lies.”
“And you swept in to save her?”
“You think I have any interest in fucking your precious princess?” Damien yelled. “Two days ago, I was peeling Angelina’s melted skin off the floor of the bar, Leo! And you think stealing Evelyn away from you is what’s on my mind right now? You think that little of me? And of her?”
Leo’s tone softened. “No, Damien, I—”
“Fuck you, Leo. I’m done cleaning up your bullshit.”
Evelyn could hear Damien stomp down the stairs, leaving only Leo’s sharp breathing. Conflicting feelings raged through her body.
I want to be in Leo’s arms as much as I want to push him down the stairs. I could slap him for talking about me and Damien like that, but I would beg to hear him say my name again. I hope he’ll come around the corner and find me, and I’m terrified that he will.
Ultimately, Leo walked downstairs without knowing Evelyn had been only feet away.