Page 116 of I Was Always Yours (RCA: Royal Crown Academy)

Even though I hadn’t expected Phoenix to buy the ring given his objection to our upcoming wedding, my heart still deflates when I see my dad’s handwriting.

Prior to our engagement, I’d never been someone who thought extensively about the day they got married, except maybe for a couple of daydreams here and there.

But I certainly never imagined that the groom would be unwilling and the ring would be chosen by my father.I don’t think that reality would feature in anyone’s dreams.

Thankfully, my dad has great taste and apparently knows me better than I know myself, because I love the ring.

Placing the ring back in the box, I close it with a sigh and head to the bathroom to get changed.

***

Half an hour later, I’m freshly showered, dressed, made up, and ready to face the day, although I don’t actually have anything planned yet.

We tend to take the day after Christmas easy since my parents are usually both nursing hangovers and like to spend the morning talking about how “they don’t bounce back like they used to”.

I’d have joined in on the moaning with them this morning if not for Walter’s timely intervention last night.

I have to remember to thank him,I think to myself as I start down the stairs.

Him and Phoenix, really, because the time I spent on the phone with him allowed me to sober up. It was…nice. It wasnormal. It reminded me of how we used to be before he erected hundred-foot walls between us, keeping me at a safe distance, far away from him.

He’d revealed little pieces of himself that he wouldn’t have weeks ago. Getting access to the human side of him, even if briefly and in limited quantities, brings a happiness to my soul that’s intoxicating.

I’d replayed our conversation over and over again in my head before falling asleep, wanting to savor it in case I never saw this version of him again.

Selfishly, I was greedy for more.

More conversations, more vulnerability, morehim.

It makes the thought of officially ending this in a week more painful than I’d like to admit.

I skip down the steps, waving at a couple of the dayshift guards on my way down. I’m intent on finding my mum and seeing if she’s recuperated enough to hang out. Maybe if I put a spa day on the table, I can drag her and her hangover out of the house?

Humming to myself, I round the bend of the princess staircase and come to an abrupt stop.Because standing so unexpectedly in my foyer that I think he’s a figment of my imagination, is Phoenix.

I suck in a harsh breath at the sight of him. He’s so close that I could reach him in less than ten steps if I wanted.

He stares at me unflinchingly, his gaze boring into mine. There’s a shadow lining his jaw indicating that he’s in need of a good shave, but otherwise he’s as impeccably put together as always.

His expression is guarded, stiff, like he’s braced for my reaction. Like he’s ready to turn heel and walk out if I give him any sign I don’t want him there.

He just told me twelve hours ago that he doesn’t ever come back home, so what is he doing here?

The intensity of the emotions I feel terrifies me. They run the gamut, from disbelief and excitement at seeing him, to hope that he’s here to spend time with me, to fear that he’s come to break off our engagement, to about a hundred more, topped off with lust and sexual attraction.

“What are you doing here?” I finally ask, my voice trembling slightly. I walk down the last few steps until I’m standing a couple feet away from him.

There’s an intensity in his gaze that matches the burning in my veins.

He takes a step towards me and I still can’t believe he’s real. I want to put my hand on his cheek, to feel that rough stubble and confirm that I’m not still dreaming.

What a cruel dream that would turn out to be.

But when he speaks, he dispels all notion that this is a fantasy.

“I brought you a Christmas present.”

His voice dances up my arms and down my back, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

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