Page 220 of Poor Little Rich Girl

I dig my nails into my palm, wincing as the pain bites. It’s nothing compared to the vise around my heart.

Every word out of Daddy’s mouth had been a lie. He said he kept me hidden away so I could learn what I needed to know to survive as his successor. All along it was to hide his shame.

Every night my mother snuck into my room with a mug of hot chocolate and a fairy tale on her lips, it was someone else’s child she tucked in.

Julian always said he stopped the skin trade after he found her love, but it’s not true. It was never true. She wasn’t the end of human trafficking in Emerald Beach – I was.

He only hated the skin trade when he wasn’t the one profiting from it.

Never forget that only those you love can truly betray you.

Julian was talking about himself.

What price did you pay for me, Fake-Daddy? What treasure did you gift to Howard Malloy in exchange for a child?

“Meow.” Queen Boudica jumps onto my stomach. She settles on my chest, tucking her paws neatly beneath her. Cats always know exactly when you need them.

I stroke her soft fur, trying to control the shaking in my hands. Hundreds of glassy doll eyes glare down at me in silent accusation. You don’t belong here.

And yet, I’m exactly where I belong.

“You know, I’ve always hated Russian dolls. They’re so full of themselves.”

I snort. Gabe flops down beside me, his long fingers playing with a set of wooden matryoshka dolls that were sitting on the shelf above my head. I regard them with a new interest. Every treasure in this house could be what purchased me.

“I thought you might be here.” He turns his head toward me and grins. Dark hair flops over his eye, and he’s so beautiful my chest constricts. “When I think creepy doll room, I think of Claudia August.”

“Thanks a lot.” I punch him in the arm. It’s a mistake. Touching him makes heat burn through me. “Did Antony send you to talk to me?”

“Antony left.”

“He left?”

“Yeah. He had a phone call and his face got all twisted and evil-looking, and he stormed off.”

Antony drops that bombshell on me and runs? Bastard. I fucking need him. But then I guess he has no loyalty to me. He’s not even really my cousin. I hug my arms.

Never forget that only those you love can truly betray you.

Preach it, fake-Daddy.

Gabe continues. “Noah’s pounding the hell out of your punching bag. Eli’s in his room having a freak-out. I wanted to check you’re okay.”

I roll over, facing the ceiling. I don’t know if I can bear the depth of his eyes. His words from the castle echo in my mind. I love you. What am I supposed to do with that? How can he love me when I don’t even know who I’m supposed to be?

Gabriel reaches over and knits his fingers in mine. “There are all kinds of families. Dylan and I ran away to build another type of family – a band. That guy was my brother in all the ways that mattered, but we let that fall apart. I let it fall apart. I know you hate Antony right now, but you gotta remember why he did this – because he’s fucked up, but he loves you. Which makes him perfect for your family.”

Despite myself, I feel a smile tugging my lips. “Does this anger ever go away?”

“I made three albums of angry music about how much I hate my dad like the cliche fucking rich boy I am,” Gabriel grins. “So no, it doesn’t. But thousands of kids just like me listened to my music, and for four-and-a-half minutes of a song, they weren’t alone in the world. Our pain connects us. It gives us purpose. And it helps us find our true families – the people who see the same stars.”

I turn to him, running my fingers across those pouty lips of his. “That’s the most profound thing you’ve ever said.”

“Yeah, well.” Gabriel rolls over on his side, his other hand snaking across my hip, playing with the hem of my purple dress. “Maybe I’m just trying to get in your knickers.”

I laugh and swat his hand away. “I don’t belong in this house. I don’t belong as Imperator. I’m an imposter. All along, I’m the one with the stolen life.”

I hug Queen Boudica to my chest. She purrs louder and kneads my shirt, sliding needle-like claws into my skin. It hurts, but the pain is her love, so I accept it willingly.

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