Page 26 of Broken Princess

Certainly nothing good.

The fact that my father is still out there, looking for Milo, is admittedly unnerving. He and I have always had our issues, and I'm sure we always will, but I still love him. He's practically a stranger, but he is my father, and I can't change that.

I'm honestly kind of surprised he came after me at all. I'm even more afraid to wonder whether he would have, if he knew the full truth about his grandchild.

Somehow, I don't think Lorenzo is going to be betraying that secret anytime soon. When I asked him how he managed to end up working side-by-side with my father, he was notably evasive, but he finally acknowledged that he came clean about part of it. About the fact that he was interested in me as more than just a future sister-in-law.

I still don't know much more than that, and I don't know how much more Dad knows. Part of me would be afraid to find out, even if Lorenzo were willing to be more forthcoming.

I'm physically and mentally exhausted, and I can't let myself think about anything other than climbing into bed and sleeping for… the rest of the semester sounds pretty good.

I still have no idea what I'm going to do about everything now that Lorenzo knows.

Surely he has to understand how disastrous this is going to be once our families find out. At least, onceminefinds out. There's no reason for anyone to think he's involved. It's easy for him to say I should just stick around, because he's not the one who is wearing a big scarlet letter he can't hide.

Must be nice to be a guy.

Especially him.

When the plane lands, Lorenzo is extra careful about helping me down the ramp. He's treating me like I'm a hundred, not like I'm pregnant. Although, to be fair, he just learned about all this, so I guess I can understand him being a little overzealous.

It's kind of cute, admittedly.

Honestly, I'm surprised that he didn't completely freak out when I told him. I wouldn't put it past him to have a meltdown when all this is said and done, and the thought has time to marinate, but I couldn't really blame him for that, either.

He helps me into the car waiting for us on the landing strip, and I'm relieved not to have to go through the whole song and dance of going through an airport.

He's quiet for most of the car ride, and when I see the spires of the campus in the distance, I'm filled with relief. I never thought I would say that about coming back to this place.

When I realize the driver went past the entrance to campus and keeps going, I turn to Lorenzo, frowning. "Where are we going?"

He stares at me like it should be obvious. "I'm taking you back to my place."

"Excuse me?" I blurt out.

"You can't just go back to the dorms," he scoffs. "For one thing, Milo knows who you are now, and it would be easy to get to you. For another, it's becoming pretty obvious you're pregnant," he says pointedly, looking down at my stomach.

I frown, pulling my sweater tighter around me. "I'm not sure if I should be insulted."

There's a glint of amusement in his tired eyes. "You look beautiful. Even more now, if that's possible. But I'm just saying, if you left because you didn't want anyone to find out…"

"Yeah, yeah," I murmur, turning to look at the window as the driver takes us back to the neighborhood where his penthouse awaits.

The thought of going back there, knowing the memories it holds, is intimidating, but he's right. There's only so far baggy sweatshirts can go, and eventually, I'm not going to be able to hide the truth.

Once the rumor mill gets going, Kayleigh will find out, and then it's only a matter of time before she tells Dad.

Probably an hour, if I really get lucky.

"Dad is going to bitch if I don't go back to school," I warn him.

"I'll take care of it," he assures me.

When I do a double take, he sighs and adds, "We already talked about it a little, and I'm sure he's going to have plenty more to say when he gets back. You're a target now, and it'll be easy enough to convince him that it's too dangerous for you to be on campus. At least for the time being."

"What about the rest of the semester?" I ask.

"Getting him on board is the important part," he says with a shrug. "All he has to do is snap his fingers and the administration will agree to let you finish out the semester online."

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