Page 79 of Broken Prince

She glared at him but started down the stairs.

“You’re not coming?” Savio asked as he and Dom reached the top of the stairs.

“I’ll meet you there. I need to speak with Cassandra for a minute.”

“But—”

“He’ll meet us there,” Dom barked, cutting him off. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

I waited for them to disappear down the stairs before closing the door and turning toward Cassie.

She was standing straight, on the other side of the bed, her arms crossed on her chest, clearly defensive and I had no idea why. Was it because of Francesca? Was she jealous?

“You know she means nothing—Francesca and I—”

“I wanted to discuss the deal we made.”

I took a step back with surprise and rested my back against the door.What deal?“Okay?”

“You said if I stayed until the summer you would help me leave and get my brother back.”

I nodded. “I did…” I trailed off warily.

“I need to know if it's the beginning or end of summer… The beginning would be best.”

I was completely thrown off guard, the beginning of the summer was only a month from now. Just the thought of her leaving caused a grieving pain. “No.”

“No?”

I shook my head. “What happened, Cassie, tell me.”

She shook her head. “When is it?”

I sighed. “I thought—” I stopped. You thought what, Luca? That she’d stay with you forever, knowing who you are and what you did? She was raised by monsters who neglected her her whole life and she went through all that, made all the sacrifices to save her brother just to bind her life with a beast?

It made sense and the realization hurt more than it should have. She wanted me, she liked me but nowhere near what I felt for her.

“Do you really want to leave?” I asked her, not able to conceal the tinge of despair in my voice.

“I—” She stopped and shook her head.

Something had happened; that much was sure, but it was not relevant now. We were reaching the end of the road for what it was. Dom, Matteo, and now Francesca knew how deeply this girl appealed to me. It seemed that the only person who didn’t know it was her. It was only a matter of time before anyone else found out what she meant to me and if I really wanted to offer her a choice, it was now or never.

Soon she’d be bonded to me whether she wanted it or not.

I sighed. “Fine, you can go.” It was the right thing to do, so why was it hurting so bad?

“What?” She arched her eyebrows in surprise. “We made a deal, I—”

“And I’m honoring that deal.” I nodded. “My lawyer in town has been working on this deal. You can leave today. If you decide to leave, I would rather you did so today. Take the car. I’ll give the lawyer a call and text you the number. You call him and pick your options; he will also help you apply for your brother's custody. He is already working on it, to be honest.”

“Why make me leave today?”

I shrugged. “Why not? It won’t hurt me less tomorrow to see you leave.”

She frowned. “Hurt you?”

I stayed silent; how could this woman be so blind?

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