I return to her dormitory in under an hour, a full plastic bag hanging from one arm. When Justine answers my knock and sees me, she starts to shut the door in my face, but I block it with my foot.

“I have some things to show you,” I tell her, lifting the bag.

“I thought we were done here.”

“We’re not. And I think we both know that.” I level my gaze at her. “You have every right to be angry with me, but I would appreciate it if you let me in.”

Her eyebrow arches. “And if I refuse?”

I shrug and grin. “Then I’ll just sit outside your door all night. Maybe your neighbors will take pity on me and bring me a pillow to sleep on later.”

She shakes her head, but I swear I see the hint of a smile on her lips. “You never give up, do you?”

“Where you are concerned? Never.” I sober a little. “Please, Justine?”

The hesitation is still plain on her face, but as she’s considering, I hear footsteps behind me. I glance over my shoulder to see a couple of young people coming down the hall, laughing and chatting with each other. They don’t pay much attention to me at first, but as they pass, one of them glances in my direction—then does a double take.

I quickly turn back around, but I’m not sure if the young woman recognized me or not. Either way, Justine seems to realize the risk, because she opens the door, grabs my sleeve, and yanks me into the room.

Once we’re safely inside, she releases me. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

“Don’t worry—I have no intention of making a public scene.” I raise my bag again. “Can I at least show you what I’ve brought?”

“Fine,” she says, though she doesn’t look too pleased by it. Still, I might be imagining things, but I see something in her eyes that gives me hope. I think, deep down, she wants to reconnect as much as I do—she’s just frightened, and with good reason.

Was there any friend she could turn to during these last few weeks? I find myself wondering. Even though I was experiencing turmoil, I had the loving support of my family around me. Somehow, I doubt Justine has had the same. Even after everything that’s happened, I’ve never doubted that my family wants the best for me—even if I disagree with what that best might be—and I’ll never forget what I’ve learned from watching my older brothers find true love. The image of Leo and Elle looking at their new child will stay with me forever.

I want Justine to know that, too. I never want her to feel alone ever again. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make her trust me again.

I reach into the bag and pull out a stack of magazines. “This is every tabloid I could find. We’re going to flip through all of them, and if you have any questions about anything they’ve said about me, I’ll answer every single one honestly.”

She stares down at the magazines. “This really isn’t necessary.”

“But it is.” I take her hand. “There’s only one way to restore trust, and that’s to offer full honesty, no strings attached. Ask me anything, and I swear on my life—on the lives of my entire family—that you’ll have the truth.”

Her eyes drop to the pile of magazines on the floor. She gives the stack a small kick, spreading the tabloids across the grungy carpet, revealing one with a picture of me and a lingerie model on a beach.

“So you didn’t sleep with her?” she asks quietly. From the way she blinks after the words have left her mouth, I suspect she didn’t mean to ask that out loud.

But I don’t hesitate to answer. “That picture is three years old. I suspect they only dug it up now to fuel the rumors surrounding the breakup of our marriage. I did sleep with her—but only back then. I haven’t seen her in over two years. And I haven’t slept with anyone since our marriage was annulled.”

She’s silent for a long moment. “No one?”

“Do you think I’m some kind of animal? That I’d run off the moment the papers were signed and find someone else? I love you, Justine. I don’t want anyone else.”

She closes her eyes, and then opens them again. “Why now? Why did it take you six weeks to show up here?”

“For exactly the reason I told you earlier—I kept trying to tell myself that I’d made the right decision, that I was doing the right thing by letting you go. But then the baby came…” I can’t help but grin, even though I still feel grim on the inside. “Leo and Elle had their baby. The news hasn’t broken yet, though I’m sure it will within the next day or so. They had their baby, and when I was standing there in the room with them, they were just so happy, and…and I don’t know exactly how to explain it. I knew I needed to find you. I couldn’t stay away from you another day.”

I squeeze Justine’s fingers, but when I look into her eyes again, I realize her face has gone very white.

I’m losing her. Nothing I’m saying is helping. Good God, how do I get her to trust me again? To understand that I belong here by her side?

And then I realize what I’ve said. And I remember how uncomfortable she got back in Rosvalia whenever anyone brought up the four male heirs she’d need to have before she could inherit, and how upset and defensive she got whenever I suggested we get started on our family. I didn’t want to listen to her back then, but I’ve had a lot of time to think during our weeks apart. I won’t make that mistake now.

“That isn’t to say I would want us to dive right into having children,” I say quickly. “Not at all. In fact, I think it would be best if we took some time to ourselves, got to know each other a little better first. I shouldn’t have pressured you before about the heirs. In fact, it’s probably better to keep any children out of this until we know what your father’s up to. Our lives are too complicated to even think about kids right now. In the meantime, I just want to be by your side again. To start over and build something between us.”

Her face is still ghostly pale, and she yanks her hand out of mine.

“I…” She glances around as if looking for an escape. “I need to run to the bathroom.”

My stomach sinks even further—looks like I managed to scare her after all.

“Of course,” I say, stepping out of her way. While she dashes into the small washroom, I look down at the stack of tabloids I brought.

So much for that strategy. Crouching down, I gather them up and walk over to the bin next to the room’s kitchenette. I’m about to drop the magazines inside when I catch a glimpse at what’s on top of the rest of the rubbish.

Pamphlets. But not just any pamphlets.

I drop the magazines and grab the papers from the trash. One of them is titled, “So you’re having a baby.” Another is about the adoption process. Still another details what to expect during the first trimester of pregnancy.

My hands are shaking. Why would these be in Justine’s bin? Why, unless…?

The sound of the washroom door opening makes me spin around, the pamphlets still in my hands. And when Justine’s eyes fall on them, the look on her face tells me everything. My entire body tenses.

I can’t keep the anger out of my voice as the words spill out of my mouth. “How long were you planning to hide this from me?”