I can’t find Tessa anywhere, and panic is starting to ride me hard. I haven’t seen her since we entered the entrance hall more than an hour ago, and she’s not answering my texts or phone calls.

Spotting the head of my security detail near the side exit, I extricate myself from the conversation with the Duchess of Vera as politely as possible and head toward Gio. The moment I reach him, I say, “Have you seen Miss Lulach?”

Gio shakes his head. “No, sir.”

“Check with the rest of the team.”

The guard speaks into his headset. As I wait impatiently for an answer, my gaze bounces around the room.

I see a flash of emerald-green, the same color as Tessa’s gown, and my breath hitches in relief. I’ve already taken a few steps in that direction before I realize it’s not her.

“Sir?” Gio stops beside me. “Miss Lulach wasn’t feeling well, so Dannell called for a car and escorted her back to the dressing room. He thought she’d be more comfortable waiting there.”

Anxiety bubbles though my blood. I was worried the media tour would be too much for her, but she assured me that she felt fine.

Maybe it’s not anything serious. Maybe she’s just tired. Maybe she ate something that upset her stomach. Maybe she has a headache.

Or maybe her body is rejecting my liver. 

Invisible bands squeeze my chest, making it hard to breathe. Please, God, not that.

I take off at a sprint, aware of people’s curious gazes but completely uncaring of what they might think. Bursting through the double doors, I almost collide with Dannell. I swerve around him, and the soles of my dress shoes strike the stone floor as I run down the corridor.

At last, I skid to a stop at the door to the dressing room. I’m panting, not from physical exertion but from fear. I can’t lose Tessa.

Swiping a hand across my damp forehead, I take several deep breaths to calm down. If she’s sick—really sick—she’s going to need me to be strong. 

I open the door as quietly as I can. I don’t want to disturb her if she’s sleeping.

The lights are on, and I spot her immediately. She’s standing in the middle of the room, and the moment I see her face, I know something’s terribly wrong. Her red-rimmed eyes and blotchy skin clue me in to the fact that she’s been crying.

I step inside the room and push the door shut with my foot before making my way to her. “Tesoro.” I run my thumb over her tear-streaked cheek. “What hurts?”

“My heart.”

I think my heart stops beating. “You’re experiencing chest pain? Why didn’t you alert me? Why hasn’t anyone called an ambulance?”

I jerk my phone out of my tuxedo jacket, vaguely aware that my hands are shaking. Suddenly, she slaps it out of my palm, sending it flying to the floor.

My gaze snaps up to hers. “Tessa. What the hell?”

“Just stop!”

Confused, I ask, “Stop what?”

“Stop pretending that you actually care about me,” she shouts. 

I’m so stunned by her outburst it takes me several seconds to formulate a reply. “What’s happening here?”

I look around the room, searching for an answer. My gaze lands on the vanity where I fucked Tessa before the speech. I wish I could rewind to that moment and prevent this from happening, whatever this is. I’m still not sure. 

“I talked with your father during the reception, and he admitted that he was the one who leaked my identity to the media.”

Silently, I curse myself for not telling her as soon I found out what my father did. I shouldn’t have kept it from her, not even for one second.

“You knew,” she says, her voice full of accusation. “I can see it on your face.”

When I give a curt nod, she makes a pained sound in her throat. “This whole time, I thought you cared about me, but you’ve just been using me.”

“Using you?” I repeat, my head jerking back involuntarily.

“You’ve been using me to improve your image ... to increase your approval ratings so you could take the throne.”

“I haven’t been using you.” Defensive anger heats my veins. “I didn’t force you to participate in the media tour. You offered, remember?”

She huffs out a bitter laugh. “I offered after your father leaked my identity ... with your full support, apparently.”

“My full support? What are you talking about?”

“You knew he planned to leak my name to the media.”

“That’s what you think?” I stare at her in disbelief. “I never would’ve gone along with that. I didn’t want you to participate in the tour in the first place. I knew it would tear your life apart, and I didn’t want you to be hurt like that.”

I can see her turning my words over in her head like stones, checking to see if anything dangerous is hiding underneath. I think she wants to believe me, but she’s afraid.

“When I found out what my father did, I was so furious I told him I was going to cancel the rest of the media tour.”

“Guess you changed your mind about that,” she says.

Her snarky tone pisses me off. “Yes, I changed my mind ... after he threatened to leak photos of us. He said a picture was worth a thousand interviews.”

Her mouth falls open. “What photos?”

“Photos of you and me kissing in the elevator in the Alsanian News Network building. I don’t know where he got them.”

Her eyes widen, and I know what she’s thinking—that kiss wasn’t exactly G-rated. My tongue was in her mouth, and my hands were all over her ass.

“Is that why you agreed to extend the tour?” she asks.

I nod. “I knew he wasn’t bluffing. He showed me the photo he planned to leak. It wasn’t explicit—he didn’t want to damage my reputation or yours—but that didn’t matter to me. I don’t want the whole world to see us together like that.”

“Why not?”

“What we have ... it’s ours. No one else’s.”

She tilts her head. “What do we have, Leo? I need you to tell me because I’m not sure.”

“We have something...” I falter, struggling to find the right words. “We have something...”

“What?” she asks, impatience seeping through her voice.

“Something special.”

She closes her eyes for a long blink. “I’m done, Leo. I want to go home.”

Although I’m surprised by her abrupt demand, I say, “I’ll let Roche know we’re ready to return to Helios.”

“No. I want to go to my home. My apartment in Albee.”

My stomach cramps with apprehension and anxiety. I’m losing her. I’m losing her, and I don’t know what to say to keep her with me.

“Let’s go back to Helios,” I suggest, trying to sound persuasive. “It’s late, and we’re both tired. We can talk about this tomorrow, after we’ve had time to think.”

“What is there to think about? The media tour is over. Ninety percent of Alsanians have a favorable opinion of you. You don’t need me anymore.”

“That’s not true.” I tuck a stray curl behind her ear. “I do need you. I need you to remind me who I really am.”

She shakes her head, visibly confused. “What does that mean?”

“When I’m with you, I’m not the future king of Alsania. I’m just Leo—your Leo.” I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. “I love you, Tessa.”

Tears fill her eyes. “You love me?”

“Yes.” I catch a tear on my fingertip. “I think I fell in love with you that day in the hospital when you compared yourself to summer squash.”

She laughs through her tears. “Oh, Leo. I love you too.” 

I thought hearing Tessa say I love you would stop the anxiety speeding through me, but those three little words actually supercharge it. Because I want more than her love—I want a future with her. And she might not be ready for that right now. She might never be ready.

“I know you miss your old life, Tessa. I know you miss being a nobody. But I’m hoping you’ll consider being a somebody—my somebody.”

“Your somebody?” Confusion clouds her expression. “Does that mean you want me to be your girlfriend?”

“No.”

It crosses my mind that men drop to one knee to propose because they’re too nervous to remain standing. My legs are so shaky there’s a good chance I might tip over like a bowling pin. 

“I don’t want you to be my girlfriend.” I gulp in a mouthful of air. “I want you to be my queen.”

Her eyes widen. “Are you proposing?”

“Yes.” Taking her left hand, I kiss her fourth finger, just above the knuckle. “I want to put a ring right here.”

She swallows so hard I can hear it. “Are you serious?”

“You’ll have to give up a lot if you marry me. You won’t have any privacy. Everything you do will be scrutinized.” Somehow, I muster a smile. “But you get me in exchange. I’m hoping you’ll think I’m worth it.”

She doesn’t respond. She just stares at me. And the longer she stares at me without saying anything, the harder it is for me to breathe. I have to focus on pulling in a lungful of air just so I can talk.

“You don’t have to answer right now.” I let go of her hand. “Take some time to think about it.”

“I don’t need time to think about it.”

Her smile is so remorseful and beseeching, my stomach flips over. My worst fear is coming true—she may love me, but she doesn’t want forever with me ... doesn’t want to be my queen.

Words spill from my mouth, sharp with all the hurt and disappointment and frustration inside me. “I can’t change who I am. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. I love Alsania, and I love the Alsanian people, even if they hate me. It’s both my duty and my privilege to sit on the throne.”

Tessa shakes her head emphatically. “I don’t want you to change who you are. I’d never ask you to give up the throne.” She places her palm on my chest, right over my heart. “You’re going to be a wonderful king, Leo. And I’ll do my best to be a wonderful queen.”

It takes a while for her words to sink in, but when they do, I cup my hands around her face and kiss her until we’re both panting.   

Regaining my breath, I say, “As soon as you have a ring, we can announce our engagement. I think the one my great-grandfather gave my great-grandmother on their thirtieth wedding anniversary would be perfect. I can show it to you tonight. If you don’t like it, we can meet with a few jewelers tomorrow. And if you don’t like anything they have, we can always—”

Her laughter interrupts my babbling. “People are going to say we’re moving too fast.”

“Some of them will,” I agree. “But I think most of them will be happy for us. We’ve experienced something only a few people have experienced. I want to make the most of every day we have together, but we can have a long engagement if you want one.”

“I don’t want a long engagement.” She shakes her head. “I love you. My heart is yours.”

Her smile makes my heart squeeze in my chest. I didn’t think it was possible to love someone as much as I love her.

“Seems like a fair trade—I gave you a piece of my liver, and you gave me a piece of your heart.”

She laughs. “You have my whole heart, Leo, not just a piece.”

“That’s even better.”