Page 122 of Shameless Royalty

My patience snaps under the quiet tension. “What do you want from me?” I ask, heart thumping hard, fingertips trembling against the fabric of my blanket.

He holds my gaze for another long beat, eyes assessing, before giving a slight, satisfied nod—like I’ve finally asked the right question. “I’m givin’ you a choice. You can return to your old life, or you can have a safer one. One where your father can’t touch you.”

My stomach twists, and I can’t stop my sharp intake of breath. I quickly school my features back into something neutral, even as panic and hope tangle messily inside me.

“And where exactly would that be?” I ask, my voice steady despite the storm in my chest. “Because if you think my father won’t find me—”

“He won’t,” Declan cuts in smoothly. “Not if you go to Willow Bridge.”

I frown, my pulse pounding in my ears. “What?”

Declan tilts his head slightly, watching my reaction. “I’ll make sure you’re enrolled when the new semester starts in March. You’ll study, you’ll have a future, and most importantly, you won’t have to look over your shoulder every second of the day.”

I hesitate. I don’t know much about Willow Bridge except that it’s elite as fuck. It’s where the best of the best go, the future rulers of the world, the sons and daughters of the kinds of people you don’t ever want to owe a favor to. It’s expensive and out of reach for someone like me, even if I did have my old life back.

“How would I even get there?” I ask, my voice quieter now. “I don’t have anything. No money. No—”

“Don’t be worryin’ about that,” Declan says smoothly, cutting me off.

Something twists tighter in my chest—a strange blend of suspicion and relief I can’t quite untangle. This man kidnapped me, took me away from everything I knew. I shouldn’t trust him. I shouldn’t even entertain his fucking offer.

But I also know how dangerous my father is. If I go back, he’ll find me. I know it deep in my bones. And Declan—he’s offering me safety. A protection I’d never have on my own.

I swallow again, a decision already forming despite my hesitance. “And if I say yes?”

Declan inclines his head almost respectfully. “Then you’ll have everything you need.”

I let out a careful, shuddering breath, nodding slowly as I resign myself. I already know I don’t really have a choice here—not if I want to survive. Not if I want a life beyond constantly looking over my shoulder.

“I’ll go,” I finally say.

He watches me carefully, and then nods once, definitive. “Good.”

Declan moves to stand, already turning away, but suddenly I find myself speaking, desperate to understand. “Why are you doin’ this?”

He stops with his hand already gripping the doorknob, pausing for a long moment. When he turns back toward me, hiseyes are serious, guarded—but something in them softens just a fraction, barely visible beneath layers of cold authority.

“Because Connor chose you.”

Then he’s gone, and I don’t know how the fuck to deal with what that means.

Three months.

It’s been three fucking months since I last saw Connor Cunningham.

Three months since I watched him walk out of my room in all his black tactical gear, since I turned my head when he tried to kiss me, since I let my pride take control and refused to say goodbye.

It was the right choice.

It was.

I remind myself of that every day, just like I remind myself that this—this new life at Willow Bridge—is better than the alternative. I remind myself that I made the smart decision, the safe decision.

And yet, as I sit on the small balcony attached to my dorm, staring out at the dark expanse of the lake, I can’t help but feel like I’ve just traded one cage for another.

Declan Cunningham kept his word. I have everything I could ever need here. My tuition is covered. My dorm is nicer than any place I’ve ever lived in before. I’ve got state-of-the-artequipment, more books than I know what to do with, and my meds are always refilled on time. I even have fucking contacts now—actual prescription ones.

I should be grateful. But gratitude has always been a foreign fucking concept to me.

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