I ran through the streets of downtown Washington DC ducking cars and twisting between buildings. My beautiful blue dress trailed out behind me like a flag. Tears streamed down my face and I could barely see.

How in the world had my wonderful night ended up like this?

How was Henry a freaking prince?

He loved me and I had to run from him. I had to protect him from me and what my stepmother was forcing me to do. I would ruin him.

I ducked around into an alley to try and catch my breath. It had been a few minutes since I’d last heard anyone call my name. I didn’t want Henry to chase me. I would only end up hurting him if he did.

I leaned against a brick wall, my chest heaving and hurting. I just wanted to go home and hide. I wished I had never met Henry, because then I wouldn’t have this hurt in my chest. I wouldn’t put him at risk that way. If he had never run into me, I wouldn’t have to worry about him. The last thing I wanted was to hurt him, but I seemed destined to.

My feet hurt. Running in heels was not an easy thing to do, and definitely not good for the bones in my feet. Now that I had stopped, everything hurt. My dress was too tight, my shoes too tall, and my heart too heavy.

I pulled out my phone to call myself a cab, except I found that my phone was dead. The downside to a cheap phone was that the battery was terrible. I had no way to call for help.

I started to laugh, mostly because I didn’t want to cry anymore. The only way for my night to get worse was for it to start raining.

Immediately upon thinking that, I glanced up at the sky not wanting to jinx myself. Luckily, the skies remained full of stars rather than clouds. I wasn’t that unlucky just yet. Still, I didn’t want to risk more bad luck, so I needed to get home soon.

I wiped at my face, trying to pull myself together before moving out of the alley. If I could find a cab, I could get home. I wasn’t sure that going home was the best place for me, but I didn’t have anywhere else to go.

I straightened up and put on my best “big girl” face. I just had to be strong until I got home and had the door locked behind me. I stepped out of the alley and realized that I had run nearly all the way to my office.

I started walking, thinking that if nothing else, I could clean up there and get my act together. Plus, I knew all the buses and trains to get home from there.

I walked along the sidewalk in my beautiful gown, trying to ignore the stares. I knew it wasn’t every day that a woman in a blue ball gown walked the streets of downtown. Someone snapped my picture, but I did my best not to turn and look. I just kept walking like it was normal to wear floor-length satin and tulle in the city.

I will admit I nearly jogged the last little bit to the heavy wooden door. I knew that I would be safe if I could just get in there. I could use the phone and maybe see if Jaqui had left a spare outfit at the office. I knew I at least had a jacket in the building, which would be better than nothing.

The warmth of the building after the cold spring evening was like a comforting hug. I sagged against the inside of the door, taking a deep breath. I was safe here.

“Aria? Is that you?” Gus’s deep voice surprised me from behind the desk. I startled back up to standing.

“Gus? What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Just finishing up my overtime shift,” he explained. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

My lower lip trembled and my “big girl” face cracked. I shook my head, my throat too full of tears to say a word.

Gus was at my side in a heartbeat, pulling me into a bear hug. I cried into his chest, my shoulders shaking. He simply held me, letting me cry it out into him.

“I’m okay now,” I whispered after a few minutes. I didn’t pull my head back from his chest and he didn’t make me move.

“Tell me what happened,” Gus said. “And then I’ll go murder him.”

I shook my head. “No, no murder. He’s a prince.”

“I’m sure he’s a great guy, but I won’t stand for him making you cry like this,” Gus replied, his voice firm. “I promised your father that I would take care of you like one of my own daughters, and nobody hurts my daughters.”

I loved the protective edge to his voice and the fact he considered me one of his own. It was nice to have someone want to protect me from the world, even if it was the world that needed protecting from me.

“No, that’s not it.” I pulled back so I could look at him. “Henry really is a prince. He’s the second in line to the crown of Paradisa. I just found out.”

“Oh.” Gus’s eyes widened and he tipped his head. “That explains why he had clearance to come visit you up in the building. I just thought he knew somebody.” He frowned and focused on me again. “If he’s a prince, why are you crying?”

“I can’t be with him or I’ll ruin him.” I let out a shaky sigh. “You know what my stepmother will do.”

I didn’t have to say more than that. Gus knew the power my stepmother wielded. He knew the kind of person she was. He knew that she would use me every which way if I had any connection to the prince. He didn’t even need to know that she was using me now.

Gus’s eyes narrowed and he let out a string of curses calling my stepmother every name in the book. In all the years I had known him, I had never heard him use any kind of language. He was always a big teddy-bear to me. To hear him call my stepmother words that would get an NC-17 rating was like seeing a children’s TV character pop out of costume.

But, it fit with how I felt. It was a while before he stopped.

“I’m so sorry, Aria,” he said after he had finished, pulling me into a hug. “You don’t deserve this.”

“What am I going to do?” I asked, leaning into his strength once more. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

Gus took a deep breath in. “What do you think you should do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you,” I said into his chest. “You’re supposed to be older and wiser.”

Gus chuckled, but didn’t say anything for a moment.

“I love him, Gus,” I said softly. “That’s why I don’t want to hurt him.”

He sighed. “You’re exhausted and it’s the middle of the night. Let me take you home,” he said. “We’ll come up with something tomorrow when our brains are fresh.”

I nodded weakly. I’d spent the last few weeks trying to come up with “something.” Somehow I doubted one more night was going to help.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” he told me, releasing me from the hug. A fatherly smile filled his face. “Your dad would say the same thing. Absolutely gorgeous.”

I smiled at him. When Gus said it, it felt true. It came from a father, so I trusted that was what my dad would think as well.

“Thank you.”

“You’ve had a long night. My replacement is just clocking in. We can leave as soon as he’s ready.”

I nodded. He went back to the security desk and reached over to his chair to grab his jacket. It was a nice heavy wool coat that he draped over my shoulders. I reached up and tucked it around my chin. I suddenly felt exhausted.

It was only a few moments before the replacement night guard came and took over for Gus. Together, we walked to his car and he made sure I buckled my seat belt before he started the engine. Old jazz songs filled the interior of the car as he drove me home.

Gus made sure to walk me all the way up to my door.

“You go straight to bed, young lady,” he said as I opened my door. I saw him do a security sweep of the place with his eyes. “I’ll call you in the morning and check in on you, but if you need anything, anything at all, you call me. I’m here for you, kiddo.”

My dad used to call me kiddo.

“Thanks, Gus,” I said, wrapping my arms around him. “I really appreciate it.”

“Always,” he whispered. He gave me a squeeze. “We’ll figure this out. Henry’s a good man, and if he loves you, then there’s a way. I promise there’s one.”

I wished I could have as much faith as Gus did.

I hugged him again. He closed the door behind him and waited until he heard the click of the lock to head back down to his car.

I stood in the middle of my apartment, my dress dirty on the edges and my makeup smudged beyond repair. I felt empty. I had love, but I couldn’t keep it. I didn’t know what to do and I was too tired to come up with any plan.

I slid out of the dress, carefully laying it on the couch with the shoes. Someone would be by to pick them up later. I wished I had the mask, but I’d dropped it when I ran. I ached to have something to remember the good part of the night by, but just like in life, I couldn’t keep anything I wanted.

I didn’t want to start crying again, so I put on a comfortable holey old t-shirt and crawled into bed. I was fairly sure I would never fall asleep, but the moment my head hit the pillow, I couldn’t stop the fall into darkness.