a year after the accident, but Luca refused to see me.
The second year, I was in a daze. I don’t remember much, except sleeping a lot and not eating much. The past three years have been the loneliest of my life.
It’s only in the past six months that I’ve started coming around again. Slowly, I’m starting to feel like myself again. I’m making plans for the future. Plans for myself.
But Theo’s standing here in front of me as if nothing at all has changed.
It has changed, though. Being pushed away by Luca is what finally made me decide to leave this Kingdom. I have to. It’s the only way I can move on from all this.
Next week, I’m flying to the United States to pursue my dream of becoming a singer. I’ve applied to two dozen colleges for voice programs and haven’t heard back from any of them, but that won’t stop me. I’m done with letting people push me away and beat me down. I’m stronger than that. I’ve stared into the abyss, and now, I’m walking away.
I’ll go to Los Angeles and work in a restaurant while I try to make it as a singer. I’ll plead with record executives. I’ll sing in dirty dive bars. I’ll do whatever it takes, even if my parents think singing is beneath our family name.
I need to go. Do something for myself. Pursue a dream I’ve had since I was a little girl—a dream that predates Luca, and Theo, and all the heartache that the royal family brought me.
Knowing that I’m leaving is the only thing that has kept me going.
Up until two minutes ago, I thought I’d never see the Princes of Argyle again. I thought all four brothers had turned their backs on me after Luca’s accident.
Apparently, I was wrong.
I clear my throat, combing my fingers through the ends of my long, brown hair. “Your Highness—”
“Cara,” Theo huffs, shaking his head. “Come on. Stop standing there like we didn’t spend every moment of our childhood together. Get your bathing suit on and get in my car. We’re sailing around the islands.”
Argyle is a Caribbean kingdom, complete with white, sandy beaches and waving palm trees. The Kingdom consists of about seventy islands, ranging from land masses the size of Cuba to small atolls with nothing but a single palm tree on them.
Nearly every year since I was seven years old, I’ve sailed around the Kingdom with the four Princes of Argyle. It takes just over two days to do it, and it’s been a highlight of my year, every year, since I was a little girl.
Three years ago, our tradition abruptly stopped. Luca had just had his accident, and we didn’t know whether he would recover. Sailing around the islands didn’t seem right.
Our yearly sailing trip was yet another thing I mourned.
Prince Theo, the eldest of the Princes of Argyle, stares at me, eyebrows raised. “Well?”
“I thought…” I clear my throat. “I didn’t think we were doing that anymore.”
“Look, Luca might be refusing to talk to you, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t friends. We’ve done this every year since we were kids. It’s tradition.”
“Dante and Beckett?” I raise my eyebrows, wondering if his two other brothers will come.
Theo shakes his head. “You know how Dante is. Won’t even come out of his office to see the sun. He’s developing a new security plan for the palace, and he says he’s too busy researching. Beckett is away for the month on a trip across Europe.”
“You want to do it without them and Luca?”
“It’s the solstice,” Theo says, as if that explains anything. “I’m sick of tiptoeing around the castle. Ever since Luca’s accident, all of Argyle has been in mourning.” He snorts, shaking his head. “No one died! Luca is fine. His physical therapy is going well, even if he refuses to talk to us. The doctors think he’ll walk again.”
I arch my eyebrows. Luca walking again? That would be nothing short of a miracle. If he recovered, would he want to pick up where we left off?
Would I want that?
The churning in my gut tells me no, I wouldn’t. I’m leaving Argyle next week. I’m doing something for me. I’m pursuing my dreams, not falling back into the arms of a man who didn’t want me. Maybe he never wanted me.
It’s over between Luca and me. Has been for a long, long time. His recovery won’t change that.
“Come on, Cara,” Theo continues, taking a step toward me. “I’m sick