Page 70 of The Loathing

My father has made sure of that.

The wicked man.

So cruelly wicked.

My heart thumps, my stomach churns.

He is leaving.

I’ll never see him again.

The one man that made me feel something, anything, is leaving.

And what did I do?

I ran.

Because I am a coward.

I hear a click of my bedroom door and my head snaps round quickly praying it’s him, but I only see my mother standing there.

“Amora, are you okay?” She asks as she glides towards me, head high, straight backed… the perfect posture. I suppose being a royal like she was, it was beaten into her how to act.

She was perfection.

“I’m fine,” I nod, giving her a smile.

“Your father wants an early dinner tonight, to give Titus a send-off.”

“But he doesn’t leave for another two days…” I stammer over my words, my smile slipping and my eyes widen.

“He is being sent home tomorrow,” my mother’s voice is quiet and she can’t even look me in the eyes.

“Tomorrow?” I whisper, my stomach flipping, my fingers clutching the material of my dress once more.

“Did you not know?” my mother steps towards me, her head tilting to the side.

I shake my head from side to side as she pulls me in close, holding me in a motherly embrace.

“Oh, Amora…” she whispers, her arms tightening round me.

“I…” I stutter, swallowing the large lump that has suddenly formed.

“I know sweetheart… I know,” she reassures me and I know she understands what I want to say.

“Come, let’s go make a cup of tea.” She lets me go, stepping towards the door when I remember that Titus asked me my age.

“Mum…” my eyes pin to the back of her head, and when she spins, she has her beautiful smile proudly displayed, her blue eyes glistening.

“Yes darling?”

“Why did dad tell Titus I was twenty-one?”

Her smile falls, slipping almost instantly.

“What?” she whispers.

“He told Titus I was twenty-one… do you know why?”

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