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I slip out the door as quietly as possible, pulling it shut behind me with the softest click. The hallway is empty, silent except for the hum of air conditioning. I feel like I’m walking through a dream as I make my way to the elevator, like I’m leaving some alternate reality where I’m brave enough to take what I want.

The elevator ride down feels endless. When the doors finally open in the lobby, there’s the usual morning bustle of a busy hotel with business travelers checking out and families heading to breakfast. The quiet efficiency of staff preparing for another day.

I order a rideshare from the app, grateful when it shows a three-minute wait time. I can’t stand the thought of lingering here, of risking Reign waking up and finding me gone. Better to rip the bandage off quickly.

The car ride to Violet and Iris’s apartment passes in a blur of San Diego morning traffic. I stare out the window at the palm trees and perfect blue sky, trying not to think about mountain views and pine trees and wraparound porches.

Trying not to think about the way Reign looked at me like I was the answer to a question he had been asking his whole life.

By the time I’m standing outside my friends’ door, my hands are shaking. I use my key to let myself in, hoping they’re somehow asleep so I can collect myself before facing their questions.

No such luck.

“There she is!” Iris calls from the kitchen, where she’s making coffee in an oversized t-shirt and pajama shorts. “The walk of shame queen herself.”

Violet looks up from her laptop at the kitchen table, taking in my appearance with one sweeping glance. Her expression immediately shifts from amusement to concern.

“Honey, what’s wrong?”

That’s all it takes. The careful composure I’ve been holding onto since I woke up crumbles like a house of cards. I sink onto their couch and burst into tears.

“Oh, shit,” Iris mutters, abandoning her coffee to rush over. “What happened? Did that asshole hurt you? Because I will literally hunt him down and cut off his?—”

“No,” I manage between sobs. “He was perfect. He was so fucking perfect, and that’s the problem.”

Violet settles beside me, rubbing my back in slow circles. “Tell us what happened.”

So I do. Through tears and hiccups and probably way too much detail, I tell them everything. About Reign’s intensity, his gentleness, the way he made me feel like the only woman in the world. About waking up in his arms and wanting to stay there forever. About sneaking out like a coward because I couldn’t face saying goodbye.

“Wow,” Iris breathes when I finally finish. “You really fell for him.”

“I can’t have fallen for him,” I protest, even as more tears spill down my cheeks. “I knew him for six hours.”

“Honey,” Violet says gently, “sometimes that’s all it takes.”

I think about her parents, who met at a coffee shop and were engaged three months later. They’ve been married for thirty years and still look at each other like teenagers in love.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I say, wiping my nose with the tissue Iris hands me. “I’m getting on a plane in two hours. By tonight, I’ll be back home and officially engaged to Gio.”

The words sicken me as they come out of my mouth.

“You don’t have to be,” Violet says quietly. “You could stay. Fight for what you want.”

“And destroy my father’s business? Ruin everything he’s worked for?” I shake my head. “I can’t be that selfish.”

“It’s not selfish to want to be happy,” Iris argues. “Your dad wouldn’t want you to sacrifice your entire life for his company.”

But they don’t understand the pressure I’m under. The weight of being Arthur Worthington’s only child, his heir, his legacy.

“I need to pack,” I say, standing up on unsteady legs. “My flight?—”

“Is in two hours,” Violet finishes. “You have time. Sit. Drink coffee. Process what happened.”

“There’s nothing to process. It was a one-night stand. That’s all.”

Even as I say it, I know it’s a lie. What happened with Reign was so much more than just sex. It was connection, understanding, the feeling of being truly seen for the first time in my life.

It was everything I’ve been looking for and everything I can never have.