Enticing Liam (Big Sky Royal 2)

“Your Highness.”

The nighttime guard is standing nearby, frowning at me.

“Where did he go? Where is Liam?”

“He went to the front entrance of the palace, miss.”

I don’t stop to ask more questions, I just take off at a run, my bare feet slapping, my long ball gown flowing around me as I hurry through the palace, down steps and hallways, to the front entrance.

Please. Please let him still be here. This can’t be the end of things. We need to discuss this, yell and scream at each other, and then figure it out. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to work?

But when I fling open the door, I see that it’s no use. I’m too late. Red taillights gleaming in the darkness move away from me and disappear through the front gates before the vehicle turns on the main road and continues out of my sight.

He’s gone.

Liam didn’t just leave me at the gala alone, he left me.

* * *

I haven’t left my flat in three days. Food has been delivered but has remained uneaten.

I’m not hungry. I don’t want to see anyone.

I’ve barely slept, and when I do, I dream of Liam, of being in his arms, and the ridiculously sexy things he did to my body. And then I wake up crying because I remember that he’s gone.

I’m a bloody mess.

I had no idea that having a broken heart hurt this badly. That it feels like your flesh is literally being ripped from your body. That every breath is torture I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.

Or Gretchen.

I miss him. And I’m angry with him.

Not to mention, I’m so confused! How could he go from being so loving and attentive to just…gone?

I was so embarrassed after he left the fundraiser. I felt abandoned, and I was the target of pitying looks. There were whispers behind hands and sympathetic smiles. But then, when I returned to the flat and found he’d already packed his bloody bag, clearly planning to leave no matter what I had to say, it felt like a slap to the face.

Who needs him, anyway?

I bite my lip and silently curse the tears that want to form. Damn it, I need him.

I brush the tears away and cringe when I push my fingers through my hair. It’s filthy. I just haven’t had the energy to wash it. Besides, no one is here to watch me wallow in self-pity.

I can stay as dirty as I like.

Suddenly, there’s a knock on my door.

I frown and walk over, peep through the hole, and feel my eyebrows rise in surprise.

My mother, Anne, and Nina are here.

“Oh, darling,” Mum says when I open the door and step back to let them in. “You look ghastly.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“We haven’t seen you in days,” Nina says, also looking me over from head to toe, frowning at what she sees.

Perhaps I look worse than I thought.

“Nick told me that Liam left,” Nina adds.

“Do you and your security gossip about the goings-on in the palace often?” I ask.

“Oh, yes, we talk about everyone.” Nina’s voice is calm but full of sarcasm. “And when I went to your mother and Anne to spread the rumors further, we decided to come and see how you’re doing.”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper and close my eyes. “Beau was right. I’m an ungrateful hag.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Anne says. “I think you’re a woman who’s recently had her heart hurt.”

“Yes.” I swallow hard, not wanting the tears to come back. After I watched Liam’s car fade away, I started to cry, and I’ve barely stopped since. It’s bloody irritating. “He went back to Montana.”

“Did he tell you why?” Mum asks.

“Of course, he did.” The tears disappear now, making room for the anger. “He said he doesn’t fit in here, and that I have multiple personalities.”

I glare at the window across the room.

“Can you believe that?” I continue, storming about the room. “He said that Princess Eleanor and Ellie are two completely different people, and he’s not sure how he feels about the former. I’ve never been so insulted. Perhaps it’s best that he left. I don’t want that kind of negativity in my life. I want a man who loves me. All of me. The good and the bad. Which, let’s be honest, the bad isn’t all that bad, really. I’m a delightful person.”

I’m on a roll, but I look at the others and see them exchanging glances.

“What?”

“Before we give you any advice or our opinions, let me ask you some questions,” Mum says as she settles on the sofa. “Did he say that he hates that you’re a princess?”

I frown, thinking back on the other night. Some of it is foggy because I was so chuffed at him, I could barely think straight. I wanted to throw something at his stubborn head.