Page 75 of Vengeful Princess

“Get me one,” I called. Hair of the Dog might help.

He reappeared and handed me a bottle of craft beer with a fancy label.

“She’s pretty, I get it, but so are lots of other girls.” OK, so she was a lot more than pretty. I wasn’t blind. I understood Thea’s appeal. But what I didn’t understand was why all three of my friends were obsessed with her.

Kyril barely gave any female a second glance unless he felt like fucking. And Milo had…issues. He didn’t like anyone touching him, which was why, so far as I knew, he had no experience with girls.

Landon swallowed some beer and stretched out on the sofa. He said nothing for a while, but just as I was about to give up and go catch some sleep, he spoke.

“She’s beautiful, and don’t deny it, Cass. I’ve seen you watching her too. But it isn’t just her looks or banging body. It’s more than that.” My jaw dropped. This was more serious than I thought. Milo wasn’t the only one who was obsessed.

“So what, you’ve caught feelings for this girl?”

“No, of course not!” he scoffed, but the way he refused to meet my eyes told me he was half-way there, even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself or me.

“And what about Kyril? Is he crushing on her, too?”

“What about me?” Kyril growled. I turned to see him standing in the doorway, gleaming with sweat and a gym towel slung around his neck.

“Are you in love with the psycho as well?”

He smirked. “Myzlobnayagadyuka? Maybe I am.” Then he strode off into his bedroom and shut the door.

“You better get with the program, dude, or you’ll end up left out in the cold.” Landon dropped his empty bottle on the coffee table and left, leaving me sitting alone to nurse my hangover.

40

Thea

There were very few people in the cafeteria, thank goodness. Nobody looked at me as I slunk in with my head down and a pair of dark glasses hiding my bruised eyes. I needed a decent coffee and some actual food. While Florrie’s chicken soup was indeed amazing - and I did feel a lot better, bruised ribs not withstanding - it wasn’t enough.

I wanted carbs. Greasy pizza, macaroni cheese with extra cheese, and something so full of sugar for dessert, I’d be pre-diabetic in no time.

Praise the Lord. The food gods had listened to my prayers. The menu today featured all of my favorite things.

The lady behind the counter gasped when she spotted the fading bruises on my face, but I ignored her. It was none of her business. I grabbed two slices of pizza, a bowl of pasta, and a dish of fruit crumble with custard. Once I’d scarfed this down, I’d fill up my coffee cup and shuffle back to my room for some more rest and Netflix.

With a bit of luck, nobody would see me. I wasn’t ready to face Eden, even though she’d been blowing up my phone for the lastfour days. The fact she cared enough to check up on me gave me the warm and fuzzies, but the nosy bitch needed to know when to leave it alone.

I didn’t need another babysitter. Landon texting me every five minutes was bad enough. Kyril had also been a frequent visitor. Not that I was complaining about his visits. The pain pills he’d sourced were top-tier. They were the reason I’d been able to sleep since Torrance punished me for my sins.

Speaking of… Both he and my father had been worryingly quiet since I failed in my mission. I hadn’t been able to get hold of Verity, either. I’d only agreed to come here if my father and Torrance left Verity alone. If they weren’t sticking to our agreement, then there was nothing to keep me in this country.

A small, very unwelcome stab of pain bit hard when I thought about leaving the guys behind, but I shoved it down. Forming attachments was bad news. Had I not learned my lesson with Dar?

Allowing my stupid heart to become attached to him had ended in heartbreak.

I wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.

Eden dropped into a chair across from me. “Where have you been, bitch?" Her eyes widened when she saw my bruises. “Jesus, what happened? Who do I need to ask my cousins to murder?”

A snort of laughter escaped, and I winced with pain when it jarred my ribs. “Nobody. I’m fine.”

She leaned closer and tried to lift my glasses, but I shoved her hand away.

“It’s OK, you can tell me. Is Landon Rothmore a raging cunt who likes to beat up women? He has to be. Nobody’s that perfect.”

“It wasn’t Landon.” Dammit, I should have stayed in my room for a few more days. It was obvious Eden did not want to let thisgo. Realizing my carb-loading was coming to a premature end, I shoved one last fork-full of pasta into my mouth and stood with my bowl of fruit crumble, doing my best not to groan with pain. The dessert and I were in a relationship now. No way was I leaving this baby behind.

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