Broken Trust(Devastation Duet #2) - Winter Paige Page 0,25

didn’t know what else to do. I wanted to watch her, but again, other shit got in the way.

“What is there to care about, Princess? You don’t think you should care about yourself? What about us? Once this is all over, then we can have a real shot. I love you, Princess. Always have.” I lean in to kiss her.

“No!” She jumps up. “No. No. No! You can’t love me, Costin. I can’t.” She shakes her head vehemently, tears pouring down her cheeks. “I can’t betray Joshua like that. Don’t you get it? We can’t. Ever.”

“Princess, he knew-“

“I know he knew!” she shouts. “Trust me, I know. It haunted him. The night he died, he even told me that he knew a part of my heart was yours.” She sobs, dropping back to her knees but pushing away when I reach for her.

“Princess, let me help you.” Fuck, what did he say that caused her to feel so much guilt? She never cheated on him. Not my girl.

“No, Costin. You just don’t get it. You can’t help me. Not you. Not like that.” She grabs at her chest, digging into the delicate skin with her nails. “I can’t handle the guilt. It hurts too much. I have loved you nearly all of my life. I’ll never be able to stop. Never. I had to turn off half of my heart, ripping it in two, so that I could give myself to him. The beats of my heart may have been his, but the silences between… you filled those. I fell in love with you both, but I promised myself to him. I can’t just go back on that without spitting on everything I had with him. Because it doesn’t work like that. Now, I have Jaxx to consider, too. I won’t make him look like a fool. Not after everything.”

“So you think you deserve to be miserable and live the rest of your life without love? You aren’t in love with Jaxx, are you?” I ask, inching towards her on my knees.

“No, but that’s the point, isn’t it? I can’t betray Joshua if I’m not giving away the love I promised him. He is dead because of me.” She lifts the bottle from the ground, chugging the remainder of its contents before I can take it from her. “I don’t deserve to be happy, Cos. And I certainly don’t deserve to be loved.”

“And me?” I beg, devastated now knowing the true depth of her torment.

“I ruin everything and everyone I touch, brave knight.” She leans back against the wall, closing her eyes. “Haven’t you heard? I’m poison.”

She goes silent, seconds later succumbing to the alcohol. I lift her from the cold concrete, carrying her unconscious body to the bed, sitting and cradling her to my chest, and sob into her hair. My strong, brave Princess is far more broken than any of us realized, and we have failed to see it again.

I make the call to Jaxx, explaining a little of what I found here and refusing to bring her home like this. The media might have disbursed, but one photo of her unconscious, and new stories will circulate. She has been through enough. We both have. So, I am taking a night to hold the girl that I love and can’t have in my arms. She might be out cold, but I hope she can feel the love and safety I am blanketing her in and find a little peace tonight. I will free her from this hurt even if it kills me.

Eliana

I wake warm, held tightly in someone’s arms. Turning, I expect to see Jaxx and gasp when I am met with a set of deep brown eyes.

“Morning, Princess. How do you feel?”

I sit up quickly, “Holy shit, we didn’t…?” I lift the covers, sighing when I notice I am semi-dressed.

“No, I’ll try not to take offence to your relief. Am I so disgusting?” He chuckles when I smack him in the face with a pillow.

“Um, no. I suppose not, but I do prefer to remember the people I sleep with.” I laugh. Grabbing my head to stop the spinning, I ask, “When did you get here?”

“Yeah, you were pretty trashed last night, Princess-” he pulls me back to his chest and hands me a bottle of water and aspirin. “-near the bottom of the bottle. Care to explain?”

“Nope, I was just bored. Nothing to explain.” I stand, heading to the shower, and grab the open bottle from