Page 113 of Savage Prince

How did I become this?

How did I fall so fast? From heir to the Gemini throne with women throwing themselves at my feet to this shell of a man with gruesome scars across half my body, barely able to walk, to fuck, to do anything by myself…

The door whips open, slams against the wall, and I mutter a curse for forgetting to lock it when I staggered in. Serena stumbles backwards, Antonio glued to her mouth, his hand palming her ass.

Oh, hell, no, this is the last thing I need.

“Don’t you guys have your own room to do that in?” I hiss.

Antonio releases Serena and she whirls around, eyes glassy from champagne and lust as they meet mine. “What the hell are you doing hiding out in here?”

“I needed a minute.”

Her eyes widen, the happiness from a moment ago, vanishing. “Are you okay? Are you in pain?” She rushes over to the bed, concern etched into her face.

“I’m fine, Sere, relax.” Since the moment I was released from the hospital in Milano and returned to Manhattan, she’s been hovering over me like a mother hen. She’s always been like that with all the cousins, but never to this extent. I know she feels guilty as hell for what happened in Milano. She thinks it’s her fault, that she owes me somehow, but her guilt only makes me feel worse.

And the pity…

That is the absolute worst of all.

It’s not only from her, but from all my family, which is why I’ve been avoiding everyone as much as possible. Seeing the pity in their eyes when they look at me is worse than the pain of the skin grafts, the wound care, the endless physical therapy, all of it.

“Maybe we should give Alessandro some time alone,” Antonio offers, curling an arm around her waist.

Smart man. As much as I despised the guy when they first got together, I can’t deny he’s perfect for her. And oddly enough, I don’t blame him for what happened. It was my father who’d been abducted all those years ago and the reason why he and my uncles killed Santiago’s mother. I don’t hold them responsible either, it’s the fucked-up world we were born into.

No, I should have been faster, should have been more aware of my surroundings. If anyone is to blame for me getting burned in that explosion, it’s me.

“Fuck that,” Serena shoots back at Antonio. “That’s not how we do things in the cousin crew.” She rushes out the door and shouts down the hallway.

“Oh, fucking hell,” I grit out as I hear her call for each of our cousins, one by one.

“I tried,” Antonio mutters, lifting his shoulders.

“How do you put up with all of us?” The question pops out unbidden as I force myself to sit up, gritting through the pain. In the past few weeks, I’ve found it easier to talk to Sere’s fiancé than my own family. Maybe it’s because he too survived being burned alive, or maybe it’s because he wasn’t close to his own father or siblings. Lately, they’re just suffocating.

A silly grin flashes across his face and instantly, I regret asking. “Because I know how much Serena adores all of you, and I love her.”

“Love certainly is a fickle beast,” I murmur.

“You’ll see one day.”

A cold, hollow laugh escapes. “I don’t think love is in my future, Toni.” Then I motion to my scarred neck and cheek, not to mention all the layers of bandages hidden beneath my loose-fitting clothes. “I look like a fucking monster.”

He shakes his head, that familiar flash of pity surging to the surface. But he masks it quickly, and it only takes me a second to remember why. He, too, bears the scars of the fire he survived. They’re nothing compared to mine, but still, I almost take back the callous remark. Luckily, he’s already speaking before I can figure out what to say.

“We’re all monsters one way or another, Ale. It only takes the right woman to look past our darkness, our flaws, physical or otherwise.” He offers a smile, and it’s a genuine one, not like the ones I receive from random strangers on the street when they stare at my bandages. “You’d be surprised how love can find you when you least expect it.”

“Right,” I grumble. Maybe I’ll find a hot, blind girl at their wedding next year.

Speaking of the bride-to-be, Serena bounds in with Bella, Raf, Matty, and Alessia trailing her. Antonio’s hand lands on Serena’s lower back the moment she’s in the room, the kind of casual, effortless touch I’ll never have again. With each of my cousins finding love, our cousin crew is growing exponentially. I should be happy for everyone, but my raging bitterness only swallows it up.

“What are you doing moping around in here?” Bella asks, a glass of champagne in her fist.

It isn’t only her gaze pinned to mine now. They’re all staring at me, watching, waiting, walking on eggshells. The worst part of all of this isn’t the scars, the pain, or the fact that I can’t even walk right. It’s the way they look at me. Like I’m already half-dead.

“I’m just not in the mood to dance,” I finally manage, flashing her a sneer before ticking my head at the bandages poking out from beneath the navy hospital scrubs I live in.

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