Page 114 of My Dark Prince
Seb didn’t glance up when I waltzed straight into his gym. I knew I’d find him there. Glued to the rowing machine – always rowing – in only a pair of black gym shorts. His body glistened with sweat, every inch covered in hard-earned muscles.
I refused to believe he was off the market because of his face. As if faces mattered to women. If they did, Pete Davidson would still be a virgin.
“If it isn’t brother dearest.” Sebastian pulled the handle and stretched all the way back before sliding in, his movements smooth and controlled. “To what do I owe this visit?”
Normally, I texted him before I came. He needed ample preparation time to face me. The only human he ever agreed to see face-to-face.
We shared exactly one set appointment a week, where we binge-watched seven days’ worth ofDays of Our Livesepisodes in complete silence and parted ways like it had never happened.
About every other week, I managed to convince Seb to spend an extra evening with me. We’d work out outside, in the remote woods beyond the property, but only late at night. Or share a meal I brought from Mom’s.
But I never,everspontaneously checked on him.
I didn’t even know what possessed my feet to bring me here.
Maybe I wanted to gush about Briar, but it would only rub life in his face. Or maybe I hoped he’d finally free me of the promise he’d torn out of me after I’d ruined his life. Either way, neither would happen.
I knew it. And still …
I propped a shoulder on his doorframe, tucking my hands into my front pockets. “There’s a dinner party outside tonight. I just wanted to let you know.”
His back trembled with a dry chuckle. “Making sure the monster doesn’t wander out of its cage to scare your guests?”
I fucking loathed that he thought of himself as a monster. That when he glared into a mirror, he saw the same face I saw and couldn’t see someone worth loving.
“You know damn well there is nothing I want more than to see you there, having dinner with us, socializing again.” I was so quiet, I doubted he could hear me.
“Aw. Well, aren’t you a darling.”
A muscle jumped in my jaw. I swallowed a growl of frustration. “I just want you to be happy.”
“Should’ve thought about that before you fucked up my face, I’m afraid.”
He snapped the handle back in its place and shot up, grabbing a small towel from the railing and wiping his face and hair. He slam-dunked it into a laundry basket, picked up the shaker bottle with his amino acids, and ambled over to me.
Sebastian’s face never healed. Not really.
It wasn’t easy to admit, but it was the truth. I’d rendered it completely changed, with missing parts and chunks of stitched-together skin.
“As I said, thanks for the heads up.” Sebastian met my gaze head-on, his eyes – blue like the ocean – staring back at me. “Anything else?”
“Come to the plastic surgeon with me.” The desperate plea in my voice pissed me off. I shouldn’t beg him for this. “Let’s explore our opti—”
“I am entirely disinterested in putting lipstick on a pig.” His metallic laughter echoed down the corridor. “Nothing will make me look like I once did. I want my old face back. I want my oldlifeback. If it’s scraps or nothing, I choose nothing at all.”
“Why are you so stubborn?” I ground out, frustrated.
“Why areyouso stupid?”
I shook my head. “Mom should’ve let you drip down her leg.”
That made him snort. “You’re a hopeless romantic to assume Dad is open to anything other than missionary-style for the purpose of reproduction.”
His shoulder bumped into mine as he pushed out the door, storming over to his room.
I followed him. “Nobody wants to be lonely.”
“No?” He charged into his en-suite bathroom, where he flicked on the faucet to his bathtub. Water gushed inside. “Then, how come you’re still alone?”
