was accepted to The Juilliard School in New York. To study singing.” His eyes gleam, and my heart stops dead. If Tristan notices, he doesn’t let on. “I always knew she had a gift.”
“N-New York?” I repeat.
Tristan shifts his gaze to me, nodding. “I was shocked, too. I think people like you and me—who have the soul of Argyle deep in our bones—don’t understand wanting to leave this place. It’s paradise.”
My throat is tight. I nod.
“But Cara’s different.” Tristan smiles again, sipping his tea. “She’s always wanted to see the world. To be independent. I didn’t understand it until she got that letter in the mail. Now, I know. She wasn’t meant to be held down. She’s like a bird. She needs her freedom.”
Another Doctor Doolittle. Great.
I rack my brain to try to think of something to say, but all I can think of is Cara leaving.
She doesn’t feel what I feel. She doesn’t want to stay. She doesn’t want to see if things could work between us.
Her father’s words hit me like a sledgehammer to the gut, because I know there’s truth to what he’s saying. Cara does need her freedom. She deserves to explore the way she’s always dreamed. She should go to the best voice school in the world to pursue her dreams.
Who am I to hold her back?
Keeping her in Argyle, no matter how much she thinks she cares about me, would be wrong.
As the realization settles in, my heart sinks deeper and deeper, until I’m not sure it’s even part of my body at all. Then, Cara appears in the living room doorway. I stand up, staring at her makeup-free face and her red-tipped nose. Her eyes are clear, and she stares at me with a million questions in her eyes.
Pain shatters through my chest.
I need to let her go. As soon as I see her face, I know Cara deserves to be set free. If she stayed, I’d be condemning her to a life of duty. Of service. Of living in the public eye.
A life without singing, unless it was in the privacy of our own home.
She’d never be able to share her gift. She’d never be able to study music. She’d never be able to explore the world the way she wants to.
Cara sinks down into a curtsy, and the movement makes a lump appear in my throat. It’s too formal for how I feel about her. She shouldn’t be curtsying for me. She should be running to me and throwing her arms around my neck. She should be planting a kiss on my lips and smiling at me, pressing her body into mine.
But the distance between us grows. She stands up straight, moving to sit beside her father.
“I wasn’t expecting you tonight, Th— Your Highness.”
I wince at the formal title. Twenty-four hours ago, before we flew back to the main island, I had my face buried between her legs. Now she’s talking to me like she doesn’t even know me.
“I was hoping to speak to you alone.” I glance at her father, whose eyes narrow ever so slightly.
There’s a slight pause, and then he heaves himself off the sofa. “I’ll leave you to it.”
We watch him walk away. I stand up, moving to sit next to her. “I heard about your acceptance to Juilliard,” I start.
Cara’s eyebrows jump up. She glances at the door where her father disappeared, then lets out a sigh. Her hand moves to her stomach as she shifts her gaze back to me.
“I only heard about it yesterday when I got back.”
“Congratulations.” My voice is flat.
“Thank you.” Her eyes are dim.
Silence settles between us, and I try to find the right words. If I tell her I’m falling for her, will she feel obligated to stay? To give up her dreams? To sacrifice everything she wants just for me? Will I only be making her decision to leave that much harder?
Maybe I shouldn’t tell her anything. Let her leave without looking back, just like she wanted.
I take a deep breath. “I spoke to Dante.”
“Oh? Did he find anything?”
I nod. “Apparently having a spouse is only convention, not law. He thinks that with public opinion of me being so high, I can probably take the throne without getting married.”
Cara swallows. She forces a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s good news.”
“Is it?”
She doesn’t answer.
“I haven’t spoken to my father yet,” I continue. “But if you agree, I’ll tell him that the engagement is off. That I’m not