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CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

Ellery

I closed and locked the door behind Ryker. Resting my forehead against the curtain covering the window, I held back tears as loneliness swamped me.

When the king and duke imprisoned my mother, this place stopped feeling like home. The smells had changed as warmth seeped out of it, but at least there’d been the hope she’d return.

That hope didn’t exist anymore. I was an orphan now.

My parents were gone. I was alone, and the manor was mine, but so many sought to tear it away from me. I wasn’t sure I had the energy to fight for it anymore.

A step behind me brought my head up. I couldn’t see his reflection in the glass, but I knew Callan stood in the doorway to the hall.

“What’s going on, Ellery?” he inquired. “I’ve heard rumors about you and him, but I thought there was no way they could be true. How did you get involved with Ryker Locke? What were you thinking?”

I frowned at his words before turning to face him. I wasn’t in the mood for this; I wasn’t in the mood for anything other than burying myself under my covers and hiding forever. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that option.

“Sometimes things just happen,” I said.

His eyebrows shot up. “Things just happen ? With him ? How ?”

“There’s a whole lot you don’t know. I’m sure you will by the time this is all over.”

“His father will lose his shit over this.”

I released a harsh, bitter laugh. “Nobody knows that better than me.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“Hopefully, making a difference.”

“How?”

“I don’t have the energy for this, Callan.”

“What’s going on between you isn’t good.”

“We’ve barely talked in years; what makes you think you know what’s good for my life?”

“I’ve always considered you a friend and no noble is good for us.”

“You’re wrong about that.”

“He won’t give up his money and wealth for you.”

“I don’t expect him to, but he would choose me if it came between me and all that money. I have no doubt about that.”

It had only been hours since we established our relationship, but I knew that was true. He would choose me every time, and I would do the same for him.

“Ellery—”

“I love him, and he loves me. That’s all I need to know.” Done with this conversation, I changed the topic. “After the sun rises, I’ll return to the earl’s to claim my mother’s remains, and then we’ll find Luna. I don’t have any clothes for you, but there’s food, and you can shower.”

Callan still looked troubled, but he responded, “Thank you.”

“I have to shower and change. I can’t stand wearing this anymore.”

I pushed myself away from the door, and he stepped out of the way as I trudged toward him. I felt like the weight of the world rested on my shoulders as I walked.

When I reached the doorway, he gently clasped my arm to stop me from passing him. “I’m sorry about your mother. She was one of the best women I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. This realm is far worse without her.”

I blinked away the tears filling my eyes. I feared that only a wail would come out if I opened my mouth to talk.

He squeezed my arm before letting go. “I’ll keep an eye out to make sure no one comes while you’re in the shower, then I’ll take one after you.”

I nodded before brushing past him and into the hall. In the hallway, I gathered the tattered remains of my skirt before climbing the stairs.

Once in my room, I removed the remnants of my clothing and shoved them into my trash can. I turned toward my bathroom but only made it three feet before I sank to the floor, lowered my head into my hands, and wept.