Page 56 of Marrying a Prince

He hesitated and then grabbed the newspaper in front of him. "Have you seen this?" He stood and brought the paper over to her.

Marianna took it from him and studied the article. Her heart sank. She's spent all this time avoiding the news, avoiding any place that would report on Leo, just to come face to face with an article about him. All of her effort had been for naught.

Caro Prince Wins Majority Vote to Overrule Marriage Stipulation

She skimmed the article. Apparently, as soon as she left, Leo had started to campaign among the people in the hopes that he could overturn the stipulation that he needed to be married by the time he was thirty. He said it was outdated and archaic. He also exposed the Marasco's family’s intentions for the crown, stating how stipulations like this were exactly what the country didn't need. Caro would be under the influence of dictators if they didn't speak up now.

And he had won. He was to be crowned yesterday.

A tear slipped down Marianna's cheek as she set down the newspaper and pushed it away from her. Good for him. He got what he wanted. "That's nice," she said. She hoped her voice would come out confident, but it didn't. Instead it came out small and broken.

Suddenly, she was wrapped up in a hug. Her mom pulled her close. "I know it hurts, honey," she said.

Marianna sobbed, the dam she'd built up finally breaking. Why was she acting this way? They'd both decided that parting ways was the right thing to do. It was what they had both wanted. Except it wasn't.

The last month without him had been miserable. Everywhere she turned, memories of Leo pushed their way into her mind. She hadn't been able to free herself of him.

After reading the article, it seemed as if he was doing so much better than she was. And it hurt. A lot.

"Can we talk about something else?" she asked.

Her parents were both studying her as if they wanted to continue, but weren't sure how. She shot them aplease leave it alonelook. They glanced at each other but then thankfully changed the subject.

Marianna engaged in small chat for a few more minutes before excusing herself and heading upstairs. She flopped onto her childhood bed and stared up at the popcorn ceiling. She let out her breath slowly. Was she being stupid? How could she possibly think that she could pull this off? She wasn't strong. She wasn't courageous.

Look at Leo. Even after a mind-blowing kiss, he'd still been able to move on and enact change for his country. What was she doing? Quitting her job and moving to Georgia. Yeah, she was so brave.

Grabbing a nearby pillow, she pulled it over her face. She was going to hide out here until she felt better. Though, she wasn't sure when that would be.

She must have fallen asleep because she was awoken by a soft knock on the door. She glanced toward the window to see the pale light of the setting sun illuminating her room. Yawning, she sat up, hugging the pillow to her chest.

"Yeah," she said. At least she felt better. Maybe now, she could have a somewhat coherent conversation with her parents.

The door opened and a figure stepped in. Marianna fiddled with the fringe on the edge of the pillow. "I think I fell asleep," she said as she turned her attention over to the door.

Her heart stopped.

Leo was standing in the doorway, looking as if he wasn't sure what to do. His hands were shoved into his front pockets, and his shoulders were rounded. When her gaze met his, he smiled.

"Hey," he said.

Just the sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine. She reveled in the familiarity of his smile and the way his eyes crinkled at the sides. Her gaze slipped down to his lips and heat rose up in her body.

And then she scolded herself. What was the matter with her? Was she crazy? This was the guy who'd told her that it would be best to part ways. The one who let her walk out of the castle and never tried to contact her.

She hugged the pillow closer to her chest. Sure, she'd told him that she should go, but she didn't mean that they should cut all ties. He'd been the one who hadn't even said goodbye. The worst part was, she didn't realize how much that had hurt her until she was sitting here, staring at him.

"Hey," she said, not sure how else she should respond.

He glanced around. Occasionally, he would linger on one of her boy band posters, and she could see the hint of a smile. All she wanted to do at the moment was push him away. Get him out of her room. She felt vulnerable and exposed.

"Did you need something?" she asked, hoping her voice came across as confident and not as broken as she felt.

His gaze made its way back to her. "I, um…" He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it and smoothed it against his leg. "I have this for you."

He stepped forward and held it out for her. Curious, Marianna took it from him and studied it. It was one of the coloring pictures she'd sent to Clara. Two unicorns in a field of flowers. She'd colored it all and above the unicorns she'd writtenClaraandMarianna. Her heart swelled at the picture. She missed that little girl.

And when she glanced back up at Leo, she realized she missed him too. But she wasn't ready to be vulnerable again. Not if he was just going to let her walk away without saying goodbye, again.

---