Page 92 of Façade

It’s for the best, I desperately tried to remind myself. A princess had a duty to lead with her head, not the whims of her heart, no matter the sacrifice required. I had a responsibility to protect my kingdom, even if it was from the man I loved.

The difficult decision concluded, my sadness overcame me…but it wasn’t my only emotion. I also felt a sense of triumph at having faced a heart-wrenching choice I hadn’t thought I possessed enough strength to make and emerged victorious. Despite my lifetime of doubts that I could live up to the sacred role I’d been born to, in the end I’d traversed the strenuous path and put my kingdom first. As devastated as I was at having let Ryland go, that sadness couldn’t change the fact that I’d faced my duty and conquered.

No matter how often I doubted myself, I was a true princess.

These thoughts strengthened my resolve, making the next step on my personal journey clear: it was time to stop hiding and return home to face whatever awaited me—to return to my former life, my responsibilities, and most of all my parents, everything that remained despite all I’d just lost. No matter the potential dangers, I could no longer allow the decoy or anyone else take my place. Though the thought of facing whatever might come without Ryland was painful, I knew I could do it.

For I was Crown Princess Evelyn, and not only did I know it, but for the first time I finallybelievedit.

CHAPTER30

The hours following the annulment ceremony were measured by an all-encompassing emptiness. I lay on my bed in a daze, my mind whirling with what had just transpired. Despite knowing it’d been the correct decision, I felt adrift as I mechanically went through the motions of packing in preparation to depart at first light.

My mind frantically went over the events that had led me to this point, lingering on the stolen kiss we’d shared. Despite all we’d built together, in the end Ryland had chosen another path. Though I knew he’d been motivated by his desire to help his kingdom, I still regretted all we’d lost.

Without Ryland, I was left entirely directionless save for my duties towards my own kingdom, which left me no option but to return to Estoria. I hadn’t fully considered the implications of this plan, especially when the impending dangers meant I was running away from one problem directly into another. But I needed to act; if I lingered too long, I feared my wayward heart would seize any chance to remain with Ryland, even going so far as to expose my true identity in order to keep him, regardless of the cost of the magic he needed.

A knock sounded. Ryland stood on the other side of the door, as if he’d arrived to tempt me away from my chosen course. “Do you have a moment, Evelyn?”

Evelyn…once again, his reverting to my formal name acted as a foreboding precursor to the conversation to come, though I had no idea what more he could do now that the worst had already happened: our marriage had been annulled, leaving Ryland’s only purpose to go to Estoria and woo who he thought was the real princess.

He lifted the gaze that had been staring steadily at the floor and noticed the half-packed satchel on my bed. I tensed. Him learning of my impending departure would only invite questions I couldn’t afford, not when the answers would only put me and my kingdom in further danger.

Too late I tried to block the sight with my body, but by his widening eyes, he’d already seen it. “Going somewhere?”

My heart pounded relentlessly, my fear of his discovering my plot thick in my veins. “Nowhere in particular.” But unfortunately, the man had been married to me too long for me to even hope I’d get away with such a weak lie. He eyed my nervous fidgeting with a dubious expression.

“Oh really? You have no intention of traveling to Estoria?”

He lifted his brows in amused challenge, one that like all the past ones he’d given me I couldn’t resist accepting. I tried to come up with a specific destination to deceive him but couldn’t think of anything convincing enough. Lies were futile considering with his intentions to woo the real princess; we’d inevitably cross paths in Estoria sooner rather than later, but I could at least delay that inevitable by preventing him from following me now.

My shoulders sank. “Drat.” But I wouldn’t be defeated; I straightened with a determined lift of my chin. “Even if we share our destination, I’d be a fool in allowing my kingdom’s enemy to escort me.”

He flinched and lowered his eyes. “We may no longer be husband and wife, but that doesn’t make usenemies.” His mouth twisted on the word, as if he didn’t quite know where we stood.

“On the contrary,” I said. “You annulled our marriage with full intention of marrying the real princess and using her for her magic.”

“Is that your motive for returning to your kingdom? To protect the princess from my evil designs? No matter what you hope to achieve, there are too many dangers in Estoria…too many dangers toyou.”

Panic flared at the prodding statement, one I couldn’t immediately dismiss. I searched his face for any evidence to support my growing suspicion. There was no way he knew who I truly was, for the very reason that if he did, he most certainly wouldn’t have annulled our marriage, not when my being the true princess would have finally given him everything he wanted.

But if Silas is correct in his assumption…then Ryland already claimed what he needed, leaving him no further use for you.

It was an effort to push through my confusion in order to speak. “I see no reason why you would care about what happens to me.”

In one move he’d bridged the distance between us to cradle my face, effectively silencing the arguments burning my tongue. “Evie.” The sound of his voice enfolding my nickname nearly undid me completely. “I have and always will care about you. The thought of anything happening to you…Ican’t. Please.”

My breath caught at the sincerity filling his eyes, which quenched the cynical thought that he was disguising his ill intentions beneath a gallant act of chivalry. No, he couldn’t care for me in the tender way I felt for him; it’d only make our impending separation all the more difficult, especially with how fiercely my heart still yearned for him.

“You care for me?”

He seemed to wrestle with the words he wanted to say but felt he shouldn’t before he released a sigh and rested his forehead against mine, as if savoring my presence for as long as we had remaining.

My heart pattered wildly, each beat almost painful with the hope and fear weighing upon it. The softness filling his gaze, his comforting nearness…all left me terribly confused. How could he experience such affection and yet have let me go?

“You annulled our marriage.” My confusion couldn’t mask the lingering bitterness.

He sighed. “I know. I…had to.” He sounded so defeated, such a contrast to what I’d expect of someone after they’d finally achieved their goal. “You’re not making it any easier for me to tell you what I came here to say.”

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