Page 23 of The Revenge

Royal stops, gently nodding as he turns. “I know. But it’s important that you hear this.”

Of course, he’s going to tell me anyway…

“I’m sorry. Sincerely, I’m sorry. For everything. Syn is my best friend and practically my brother, like JP was—”

“Trying to justify your actions negates your apology, Royal.”

“Tori, please.”

I roll my eyes. “Whatever. Say what you’re going to say.”

Royal hesitates, his lower lip caught between his teeth. But then he continues. “I was devastated when JP was killed, but that was only a fraction of what Syn felt—still feels. This darkness seemed to take over him, and he’s not been the same since. I did what I did because of him, but it doesn’t mean what either of us did was right. I’m sorry I didn’t see that at the time to stop this, and I’m even more sorry that when I did see it, I didn’t speak up sooner.”

IX

Tori

The sun is starting to fight its way through the hazy cloud cover, and the grounds start to look like a picturesque Christmas card scene. There’s something about this moment that feels unreal, but I’m sure I can see the sincerity in Royal’s eyes.

“That’s—”

It’s Royal’s turn to cut me off. “I’m not finished. Please, just hear me out.”

I close my mouth and gently suck on the orange flavored lozenge.

“To start with, most of what you went through really was no different than what other initiates go through, and I guess I used that as an excuse. And even then, I helped you whenever I could. But I want you to know that I did call him out on what he was doing, but he thought I’d been brainwashed by your pussy, which isn’t true.” Royal frowns. “Not that it isn’t an incredible pussy, because it is,” he hurriedly adds. “But it was because ofallof you.”

Was this before or after I accused him of being nice to me, just so he could fuck me?

“Everything we did together…” he continues like he’s reading my mind. “I did because I thought you wanted it—not because you were feeling coerced because of that fucking contract. God, Tori, if I made you do anything against your will, I am truly sorry—”

“It was consensual,” I tell him. “The sex we had was consensualandwanted.”

As he draws in a deep breath, Royal closes his eyes.

Even with the guilt and worry in his eyes as he apologizes, I owe him nothing.

There’s a lot of things he did and didn’t do that he owes me an apology for, but sex isn’t one of them.

“I know you’re struggling to believe it, but Syn really didn’t know about that video being released. I’m not saying at one point he believed his own words and thought he would, but the truth—selfish as it is—is that he’s in that video, too. All it takes is for you to say our names, and we’re associated with it. AndifI’d known he wanted to go through with releasing it, I still would have stopped him. So, I’m sorry that it’s out there, but not because I’m in it.”

“Not as much as I am,” I mutter.

Unlike Royal, I’m not convinced that wasn’t Syn’s intent, but I also didn’t really believe it would be released for the same reason.

“It is out there now, so there’s nothing that can be done about it.”

“I’ll do everything I can to make this right, Tori.”

The sentiment is nice, but it’s not like the olden days when there was a single copy of a video tape that could be destroyed. The internet is forever.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I warn him before I start walking again.

Royal quickly matches my pace, but he remains quiet as we walk to the building that Penny’s exam is taking place in.People are already filtering out through the doors. Noisy chatter about what they answered questions with destroys the silence.

After almost a whole semester of people staring at me like I’m something nasty they’ve trodden in, I’m used to the stares I’m now receiving as I wait for Penny. None of them say anything or approach me, which is probably due to Royal standing a few feet away with a murderous look on his face. Not that I care. This is a small class at a small college, and aside from the pink-haired goddess who’s just walking out of the door, I don’t care about a single one of them.

Spotting me, Penny darts over. She eyes Royal suspiciously. “You’re okay?”

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