Epilogue Pt. 2

All I could do was stand there and gape at him. Honesty shone in his eyes like newborn stars, but all it did was leave me confused. I replayed the last twenty-four hours in my head, searching for the moment where I’d won the game between us.

When I came up empty handed, I stammered, “I did?”

Dain nodded, staring down at me with hooded eyes. “You did.”

“How? When?”

“As for how, that’s the part where I cheated, I’m afraid. I didn’t admit out loud what I felt for you, but I felt it nonetheless.” He admitted, a sheepish tilt to his lips. “I realized I loved you the moment those doors opened, and you appeared at the top of the steps. I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the way you looked in that gown, which I’ll have to thank Adley for when she returns. You could’ve been an assassin here to put a dagger in my heart and I would’ve gladly let you.”

There was an explosion of butterflies in my chest, their wings beating so frantically that the sound of my heartbeat was drowned out.

Leaning into Dain