Page 14 of Broken Princess
4
Willow
I didn’t sleepat all that night.
Regret and shame threatened to swallow me up as I lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened to me, and what was going to happen to me in a few days. What the rest of my life could’ve been like if I’d trusted Logan and stayed behind with him.
Memories flashed constantly in my mind, deepening my misery. Him, stroking my hair to comfort me in the middle of the night when the tears wouldn’t stop falling. His voice, the possessive tone of a king laying claim to his empire. His deep blue eyes, and the way they gleamed as they roamed my body along with his hands, stripping back every layer until I was laid bare for him. Me, warm and secure in his embrace, knowing no one could touch me or hurt me as long as I was with him.
That was all gone now.
My fault, my fault, my fault.
“Please, Logan,” I whispered into the cold darkness, wishing he could actually hear me. “Find me. Help me. I promise I’ll never leave you again.”
The only reply to that was the sound of the rain outside; a soft, steady patter against the roof.
I rolled over, closed my eyes, and sank back into my memories, torturing myself with images of my old life. My friends. College. White House balls and formal dinners. Ice cream and bowling in the underground alley with my brother.
That was all gone too, and it was never coming back.
When the sun finally rose outside, filling my room with blended tones of pink and gold, my door opened with a creak.
“Rise and shine, princess,” Jamie said, stepping inside.
I felt as if he’d wedged a cold sliver of glass between my ribs. “Don’t call me that,” I muttered, sitting up straight.
He smirked. “Why not? It suits you.”
I didn’t want to tell him it was Logan’s old nickname for me. If he knew that, he’d probably keep saying it just to torment me. “Fine. Call me whatever you want,” I muttered instead.
“You need to get out of bed. It’s time for breakfast.”
I stared at his empty hands, brows furrowing. “Where is it?”
“Downstairs,” he replied. “I don’t have the time or inclination to bring you every single meal like a servant, so you’ll be eating with the others from now on.”
I stood on shaky legs, weak and foggy from the lack of sleep. “What others?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.
“The people you saw yesterday. The ones in white.”
“You’re going to leave me with them?”
“They won’t bite.”
I shook my head. “No, I mean… aren’t you afraid of what I might say to them?”
He laughed. “You can say whatever the hell you want to them. It won’t change your situation. Or theirs.”
He snapped his fingers, signaling for me to hurry up. With a deep sigh, I followed him out of the room.
When we reached the ground floor, he led me into a large dining hall. A stainless steel serving station with plates, cutlery, and a vast selection of breakfast foods stood at one end. The rest of the space was taken up by rows of long hardwood tables with matching chairs spaced evenly along the sides.
Most of the seats were occupied by young men and women, all dressed in white. They were munching on hearty breakfasts and chattering excitedly amongst themselves. There were children of varying ages scattered throughout the room as well, and I even spotted a few babies in the arms of the older teens.
When Jamie and I stepped inside, everyone fell silent and turned to look at us. Their expressions were a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity.
Jamie put a hand on the small of my back and pushed me forward. “Get some food and find a seat somewhere,” he muttered. “I have some calls to make, but I’ll be back to get you in half an hour or so.”
