Page 311 of Bad Prince

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I let out a quiet, almost humorless breath.

“No.”

The word settles between us. It’s the first time I’ve admitted it.

“I buried it,” I say. “I focused. I trained. I did everything right.”

I look down at my hands.

Still slightly shaking from the game.

“I thought if I built enough… if I became enough… it would just go away.”

My father is quiet.

Listening.

Not interrupting.

“It didn’t,” I finish.

Silence stretches.

Then—he steps closer.

“Then you have a choice,” he says.

I look up.

“Run from it,” he continues. “Or face it.”

A beat.

“Pero no puedes ignorarlo.”

But you cannot ignore it.

My chest tightens.

Because I know he’s right.

I’ve been ignoring it.

Controlling it.

Locking it down.

And tonight—it broke through anyway.

“I don’t want to lose myself,” I say quietly.

His expression softens.

“You will not,” he says.

Certain.

“Not if you remember who you are.”

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