Page 117 of Tall, Royal and Grumpy

I couldn’t hear what Kai said next, nor what Kareem said in reply and in turn Shehryar. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the back of Kareem’s laptop, one thought ripping my heart, piece by piece.

This was exactly what I had wanted to avoid.

Someone I cared about getting hurt because of me. Because of my secret.

Now someone was trying to use it against Kai, but it wouldn’t just hurt him. It would hurt his family, it would hurt Kareem, it would ruin the Jahandar legacy. It was over for me.

And it was all my fault.

I was the problem.

Chapter Thirty-Three

KAI

“Esmeralda, wait,” I called out, chasing her down the corridor away from her brother’s room.

She didn’t stop. She didn’t slow down. She didn’t look back. Still.

She still wouldn’t look at me. She didn’t even wait for me before leaving King Kareem’s room. She just got up and excused herself with barely a whispered word while Shehryar, her brother, and I were still in conversation.

I was falling apart in every way known to man as I pursued her. My heart, my lungs, my mind, my everything being torn every which way with more agonising emotions than I’d ever felt in one go.

Shocked by what had been unleashed. Panicked by the storm I found myself lost in. Scared out of my fucking wits at what I was supposed to do. Livid at whoever had bugged my room and recorded Esmeralda in more than one vulnerable moment. How long had that camera been there? What if they had more recordings? Those thoughts had me ready to kill whoever had done it.

But strongest of all was the fear of losing Esmeralda with every step she took away from me.

I pushed into a jog as she dashed around the corner. “Esmeralda, stop! Esmeralda, please.”

Skidding into the corridor, I lurched into a full run, nearly crashing into her back when I reached her. I latched onto her upper arm and dragged her around, caging her up against the wall so she couldn’t slip away. That was when she finally looked at me. And my heart splintered.

Her eyes were wide and bloodshot, glazed over with a distressed sort of fear that nearly tore a sob from me. Yet somehow, she looked determined too. Determined to do what though, I had no idea.

With shaking hands, she tried to push at my chest. “Kai—”

I ignored her and searched for somewhere to talk privately, quickly finding a door behind me labelled “Utility 1.” Without a second thought, I took Esmeralda by the hand and spun for the cleaning room, pulling her inside and slamming the door shut behind us.

A woman yelped out and it wasn’t Esmeralda.

There was a young member of general staff at the opposite end of the brightly lit room, holding the handle of a spider mop to her chest. “Prince Kai…”

“Morning, Sylvie,” I said and stepped slightly to my right, making sure I hid Esmeralda out of sight. If Sylvie noticed, she didn’t give it away. “I apologise for scaring you.”

“It—it’s all right, Your Highness.”

“Would it be okay for me to use this room for a moment?”

“Oh, of course.” She fumbled forward. “I just needed the mop, so I’ll be out of your way now.”

I offered her as much of a smile as I could manage as I moved out of the young woman’s way. Sylvie’s eyes darted past me, but she kept her head down and left, closing the door behind her.

In the moment of tension that followed, Esmeralda tried to twist her hand out of mine, but without glancing back, I tightened my hold on her and pulled her further into the small room.

White cupboards lined the right wall, with bigger cleaning supplies sitting in cubies along the back, but to the left there was a countertop with a silver sink on one side. I trapped her there against the worktop with my hands pressed to the surface on either side of her. But Esmeralda turned her face away as I bent into her, her lashes lowered to some spot on the tiled floor.

“Look at me,” I said, my voice hoarse with anguished frustration. Her lashes squeezed together, and my desperation doubled in intensity. “Esmeralda, look at me now.”

“Please move,” she whispered and wearily pushed at my chest.

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