THE EXPLANATION

Caroline's POV:

If I'm honest with myself, I'll admit that I didn't sleep that night. In fact, I neither slept nor fed after the doctors released me from the hospital wing of the palace. There was a torment consuming me inside and I was terrified that Liam wouldn't even want to listen to me after what he'd discovered. And all I could think about was all the chances that I'd had to tell him the truth. Every time we were alone. It had taken me too long to be honest with him, and now maybe it was too late.

As soon as the first rays of sunlight hit my window, however, I got up and dressed simply, not like a maid, but like a princess. I had to be the princess again, but I didn't want to overwhelm the difficult conversation I would have by showing opulence. Anything that showed the gap between Liam and me would only further aggravate the situation, and I was seeking compromise to solve the matter and get his forgiveness.

I headed straight back to the hospital wing. Th