Page 276 of Bad Prince
I huff a quiet laugh.
That feels… right.
I look out the window.
Then back at him.
“My mom worked her ass off,” I say. “Double shifts. Cleaning. Making sure we never felt how tight things really were.”
He listens. Doesn’t interrupt. Doesn’t redirect. Just… takes it in.
“I didn’t want anyone handing me anything,” I continue. “Not scholarships. Not opportunities. Definitely not?—”
I gesture vaguely between us.
“This.”
His gaze sharpens.
“You think I would hand you something you didn’t earn?”
I meet his eyes.
“Wouldn’t you?”
A beat.
Then—
“No.”
Firm.
Certain.
“I would give you access.”
That word lands differently.
Not charity.
Not control.
Access.
“To what?” I ask.
“To everything you’re already capable of becoming.”
Silence settles between us.
Heavy.
Not uncomfortable.
Just…
real.
