Page 93 of Shameless Royalty

I open my mouth, then close it, because fuck if I know where to even start.

For disappointing him?

For falling in love with the enemy’s son?

For not regretting it?

I swallow hard, raking a hand through my hair, my pulse hammering. “I don’t know. I just—” I inhale sharply, forcing myself to look at him, to face him. “I hate that you’re disappointed in me.”

Da studies me for a long moment, then shakes his head, muttering something under his breath and I stiffen. “What?” I snap.

He exhales through his nose, leaning back against the bar, arms crossing over his chest. “I’m not disappointed in you, Connor.”

I blink. “But you sighed.”

He chuckles dryly, shaking his head. “Christ, lad, if I sighed every time you did somethin’ reckless, I’d have dropped dead of exhaustion years ago.”

I stare at him, my mind scrambling to catch up. “So you’re not disappointed?”

Da lifts a brow.

Fuck.

I groan, dragging both hands down my face, my pulse still fucking racing. “I don’t know what the fuck to do, Da.”

He hums, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “You already made your choice, lad.”

I look at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

His green eyes fixate on me, sharp as ever. “You chose him.”

It’s not a question or a guess. It’s a fucking fact, and we both know it.

I don’t say anything. I just nod once, my jaw locked tight. He watches me for a moment longer, then exhales again, shaking his head. “It’s never easy, fallin’ for the wrong person.”

I huff a humorless laugh. “Understatement of the fuckin’ year.”

He smirks slightly, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. Then, after a moment, he tilts his head slightly, studying me like he’sabout to drop something big. “You ever wonder how I met your mother?”

I frown, thrown off by the sudden shift. “You met her at a ballet.”

He laughs. Actually laughs, the bastard, like I just said the funniest shit he’s heard all fucking year.

I glare. “What?”

He shakes his head, rubbing his hand over his jaw, still chuckling. “That’s what she told you?”

I shift on my feet, confused as all hell. “Aye.”

His smirk widens, but there’s something in his eyes now, something deeper. “She leave out the part where I was sent to kill her?”

I stare at him, my stomach turning to fucking stone.“What?”I exclaim, as disbelief courses through me.

He exhales, shaking his head like he’s lost in some long-buried memory. “I was sent to kill her,” he repeats.

I gape at him. “Da—”

“She was married at the time,” he continues, his voice softer now, “to the head of a rival family.”

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