Page 66 of Wicked Prince

She hasn't, and it didn't.

Yeah, going public with my relationship with Kayleigh probably didn't help matters, but I was pissed off and bitter.

No one has ever rejected me before. Certainly not anyone who has managed to hold my interest as long as Amelia has. I wanted to hurt her, and when I saw the look in her eyes the first time me and Kayleigh went out as a couple, I knew that mission had been accomplished.

I had expected to feel triumph, even for a moment, but I didn't. Instead, I just felt like shit.

Guilt is not something that's ever been a problem for me. Hell, I killed a man before I even got my driver's license, and I'm not ashamed to admit I've yet to lose a minute's sleep over it.

And yet, hurting her stirred something within me. Something I didn't even know I was capable of.

That's all the more reason I should run away. Amelia is dangerous. More dangerous than any of the rivals who want to bring me down, more than any of the other crime families who would leap at the first chance to tear into my throat if I showed even a moment's weakness.

Them, I've never feared, but her…

Sheis the one thing capable of undoing me. I know that, and I know the cost of pretending otherwise, but the truth is, I still want her. The truth is, if she looked up at me under those long lashes with those big, bright green eyes, I would take her back in a heartbeat.

Not that I ever really had her to begin with.

Why can't she just understand where I'm coming from? That these are just the rules of the game we're all expected to play, and the two of us are no exception?

I know the answer is the same as the reason I'm so hung up on her in the first place.

She's different.

She wasn't raised in this world, even if she is a product of it. Of course she doesn't understand the fact that, in most cases, the person who wears your engagement ring isn't the person who actually holds your heart.

Until her, I didn't even know I had one.

I've done enough research on the Carillo family over the years to know the fact that her mother being her father's mistress probably has something to do with her hangups. And yeah, I guess I can see how she would be hesitant to get into the same situation herself, since that obviously didn't pan out well.

I'm not her father, though. I've spent enough of my life fighting the fact that people act like I'm my own.

In some ways, it feels like I hit the nuclear button by going public with Kayleigh, and now I'm left to deal with the consequences. My parents are thrilled, for one thing—which would usually be a relief, since it means they're finally off my back.

On the other hand, it just means things are locked in even more, and it will make it harder to move as freely as I want.

Not that I have many options at the moment. Not when the only girl I actually want acts like she can't even stand the idea of being on the same planet as me.

I'm tempted to try getting information out of Anthony, since the two of them are obviously close, but the last time I made eye contact with him at the frat house, he looked at me like he was fantasizing about giving me a vasectomy with a rusty spoon.

Probably not the best idea to go to him now.

And I'm sure he's filled Amelia's head with all kinds of stories about my exploits at various frat parties over the years.

Not that they would be lies, but still. There's a lot of shit about my past—and my present, for that matter—that I don't want Amelia to find out, if only because I don't want her dragged into it.

"Lorenzo?" Kayleigh calls in a tone of irritation, snapping her manicured fingers in front of my face. "Earth to Lorenzo, are you even listening?"

"Not really," I mutter.

She stares at me blankly, like she heard me wrong. "Excuse me?"

I just sigh. "What is it?" I ask, straining to sound patient, which I definitely am not under the best of circumstances, let alone today. I can never tell what she's prattling on about, really.

"I was telling you about the party Deirdre is throwing next week," she says pointedly. "Are we going or not?"

I frown. "Who is Deirdre again?"

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