Page 95 of Wicked Prince

Who am I kidding?

I've definitely lost my mind.

I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I'm not surprised Lorenzo managed to sneak out without my noticing. I'm relieved, if anything. I would really rather not have that conversation.

I immediately hop into the shower, like somehow, Kayleigh is going to smell him on me. For all I know, she can.

For once, she would have every reason to want to kill me. It was one thing when I didn't know she and Lorenzo were dating, but now…

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the tentative peace that has come over the family with Stefan's arrival would come to a crashing halt.

Once I’ve sufficiently scrubbed every last trace of Lorenzo's cologne off my body, I find myself wishing the memories were that easy to be rid of. Maybe then I wouldn't be continuously tortured with what I can't have.

I seriously hate myself right now. I hate myself for making this all so much more difficult than it needs to be.

It's not like I can blame Lorenzo. You don't blame a wolf for hunting sheep—you blame the shepherd for leaving the pen open. In this case, I'm the shepherdandthe sheep.

Now it's going to be even harder to do what I need to do.

Leave.

I'm still going to, obviously. If anything, this might have pushed my hand and forced me to leave even sooner.

I'm not sticking around to wait until the shit hits the fan. I know Lorenzo isn't going to be coming clean anytime soon, considering I'm pretty sure the guy doesn't have a conscience to his name, but it's only a matter of time before the house of cards falls.

And I don't trust myself not to make the same mistake all over again. Apparently, I'm not thinking with my brain where Lorenzo is concerned.

I can already hear what Anthony is going to say. And he's going to be a thousand percent correct.

I get dressed and gather my things, hoping that by some miracle, I might be able to make it out of here without running into anyone. Dad usually gets his day started pretty early, so I would be shocked if he’s even still around. I'm sure Natalie has some party to start planning for, too.

When I make it downstairs and hear the sound of Kayleigh chattering away while her victim listens in silence, I realize I'm not lucky enough to be the first one up after all.

I'm about to sneak past the kitchen when I hear my name called.

"Amelia!"

It's Stefan's eager voice. Eager and desperate. When I peek into the dining room and see that he and Kayleigh are alone at the table, I understand why.

Poor guy.

"Hey," I say, not having the heart to abandon him. I walk into the dining room, glancing at the spread of breakfast foods on the table. While the idea of sitting down for another meal with Kayleigh—especially after what happened last night—is not my idea of a good time, I am kind of starving.

And craving donuts dipped in milk, which is one of the few things that's not on the table, but beggars can't be choosers.

"Kayleigh was just talking to me about the party," Stefan says with a strained smile.

I purse my lips because I'm in danger of snickering at just how bad he is at pretending to be interested. Not that it seems to have phased her any. She only needs a captive audience, not a captivated one.

"Oh. Cool," I say, taking a seat next to him and putting a danish on my plate.

Kayleigh gives it a judgmental grimace, but there's a hint of longing there, too. "You know, those things are loaded with sugar."

"Yep," I answer without missing a beat, taking a bite. I roll my eyes back a little just to torture her. "So much sugar."

She sets her bright pink lips into a disapproving line and scowls.

Stefan's eyes are glowing with amusement as he looks over at me. "What do you say we get back to campus once you're done?" he offers. "The roads are mostly clear."

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