Page 29 of Owned By Royal

Eventually, I break the silence. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you. I never meant to use you.”

“I believe you.”

Fresh tears fill my eyes. “I love you, Royal.”

“I love you.” His answer surprises me. “I knew before everything fell apart.” He finally looks at me. “I was just too hurt to admit it.”

I step closer cautiously.

“I owe you an apology, too.”

I frown. “What?”

“I haven’t exactly been honest.”

Confusion replaces my sadness. “What do you mean?”

He lets out a long breath.

“The tattoo shop… It’s more than a tattoo shop. The men you met.” He pauses. “We’re not just friends. We’re the people responsible for taking down men the justice system can’t.”

My stomach tightens. “What are you saying?”

“We investigate criminals. We gather evidence. And when the law fails, we take over.” He can’t quite meet my eyes.

The room spins. “You’re a vigilante.”

“Yes.”

Every emotion I’ve been holding back collides at once. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

“I thought I knew you.”

He gives me a sad smile. “I suppose we’ve both been living double lives.”

Silence settles between us once more. Finally, I whisper the only truth I can manage.

“I love you.”

His eyes soften. “I love you too.”

“Then why does this feel like goodbye?”

“Because...” He exhales slowly. “...I don’t know if you’ll ever be able to accept this part of me.”

I wish I could tell him I already did. Instead, I remain silent. And somehow that silence says everything. He gives my hand one final squeeze before letting go. Neither of us walks away because we stopped loving each other.

We part because, for the first time since we met, love alone doesn’t feel like enough.

Chapter Eight

Royal

A week has passed since everything fell apart, yet my apartment still feels strangely unfamiliar. The city continues to move outside my windows with complete indifference while my own life has been rewritten in the span of a few days.

My father is dead. Officially, the police believe Marco Madera took his own life after realizing the authorities were closing in on him. The overwhelming evidence of bribery, racketeering, fraud, murder, and countless other crimes that surrounded his body leaves little room for public sympathy.