Page 107 of The Billionaire's Royal Challenge

Her gaze fell on Nate’s door, and she stood frozen. An image of his face formed in her mind, and her heart pinched. She wanted to speak with him, at least to say goodbye, or maybe to apologize, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Instead, she hurried down the hall, racing back to her room and shutting herself inside of it. She let the emotions of the goodbyes spill over once in the privacy of her space.

“Oh, darling,” Caroline said, hurrying to her to embrace her.

“The goodbyes were harder than I expected,” Elena choked out.

“Of course, they were.” Caroline led her to her bed and eased her onto it. “Did you speak with Mr. Kingsley?”

“No, I couldn’t bring myself to see him.”

Caroline stroked her hair as she allowed tears to stream down her cheeks. She cried until no more tears came.

Caroline patted a tissue against Elena’s cheeks, drying what remained of the salty tears. “Well, I think you’ve cried yourself dry.”

She accepted the tissue from Caroline, blowing her nose. “I have. But I feel no better.”

Caroline brushed a lock of hair over Elena’s shoulder. “Do you know what I think would make you feel better?”

Elena sucked in a breath. “Chocolate?”

Caroline chuckled before shaking her head. “No. I believe you need a bit of closure. Why not find Mr. Kingsley and speak with him?”

Elena’s forehead creased. “Caroline…”

“Darling, I’m serious. You need to do this.”

“I can’t face him. Not now. I may fall apart again.”

“Then fall apart. Tell him everything you want to say. And at the end, you’ll know you’ve done everything.”

Elena sniffled, chewing her lower lip. “It will not change anything.”

“But you’ve done it. You’ll have no regrets. And you never know. It just may change everything.”

Elena’s stomach twisted as she considered it. What if she did speak with him? What if she told him how heartbroken she was to lose them all? To lose him?

Even if he didn’t stay, at least she would have said her piece. She licked her lips before she slowly nodded. “Yes, Caroline, I think you are correct.”

A grin spread across Caroline’s lips. “Let’s get you cleaned up a bit first, shall we?”

“Do I look that bad?” Elena climbed from the bed and approached her vanity, her eyes going wide. “Oh, dear, I do look a bit worse for wear, don’t I?”

“Not to worry, Your Highness, I’ll have you fixed in no time at all.”

Caroline brushed her hair as Elena wipedat her puffy eyes before she fixed her makeup. Elena studied herself in the mirror. “Not bad at all, Caroline. What do you think?”

“I think you’ll do. Now, go find Mr. Kingsley and say all the things. And no matter what happens, remember you’ve made your effort.”

A sense of urgency gripped Elena as she dashed from her room to Nate’s, a nagging feeling stirring within her that this encounter held great significance.

Her stomach clenched, but she rose her shaky hand in the air and banged on the door.

A minute later, a maid opened it. “Your Highness!”

The woman curtsied quickly.

“Hello, Dora. Where is Mr. Kingsley?” Elena searched the space, finding it empty.

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