Forbidden Fate (Crowne Point 3)

There’s only one way to stop a story from printing.

Give them something juicier.

STORY

* * *

I don’t sleep anymore.

I stay up, writing letters to Atlas, thinking about Grayson even though I keep trying to hate him.

When there was a knock on my door early in the morning, I wondered if I was dreaming.

Then West opened the door, leaning against the frame. “Go on a date with me, Angel.”

“I thought you worked during the day?”

“Today I was supposed to settle some final things with Crowne Industries over the marriage, but…” He laughed. “They’re busy.”

I furrowed my brow, confused, and West pulled up his phone, coming to me.

GRAYSON CROWNE, PLAYBOY PRINCE: VIRGIN.

I must have stared at the headline for over a minute. A full-page print about how Grayson Crowne was a virgin before he married Lottie.

“Never saw that coming,” West said.

I swallowed. “Right…”

“Anyway, today is a shitshow, so I can take you on a date.”

“How, um…” How was Grayson handling it? The comments were horrible. Some were nice. But so many of them were cruel. Every mean thing I know he’d called himself secretly. “How are the Crownes reacting?”

He stared down at me, eyes narrow, as if he saw the real words in my head. Then he smiled.

“The entire house is in lockdown,” he said softly. Again, I felt like he was saying something else. “Beryl has come back. I heard him yell a few choice words…I think Tansy has locked herself in her room.”

I swallowed, my heart cracking for him.

His lip lifted higher. “I don’t know about Grayson. I think I saw him downstairs. Maybe you want to go check?”

I scoffed, looking away. “Why would I want to do that?”

I swear I heard him laugh. “So a date then?”

“I guess…” I didn’t want to go out with West, not because I didn’t want to, but because for the first time, I didn’t actually hate the idea of it. “I just need a minute to get dressed.”

“Sure thing.”

He left me alone, and it only took five minutes to get dressed in a dark, high-collared lace blouse and knee-length skirt.

Downstairs.

Fuck.

I picked at my nail.

I really wanted to see if Grayson was okay. I don’t think I could go the entire day without knowing how bruised his eyes were.