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She was still living in the palace. It was just that it was so big it was easy to not see Javier at all. And he had allowed that to be the case. He hadn’t come to her.
She wouldn’t go to him. But she was there.
Because part of her was convinced, absolutely, that she needed to stay. That he needed to know she was choosing not to run. That he needed to know that she was choosing this life. That it was not a kidnapping, not anymore. It was just a marriage.
And she wasn’t the one not participating in it. That was him. He was the one who was going to have to figure out exactly what he wanted and exactly how to proceed. She couldn’t do it for him. And that, she supposed, was the most difficult lesson of all. That no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t force a transformation if he didn’t want it.
He had to accept her love.
And right now he didn’t seem to be able to do that.
She looked around the small office space, up in the top of the small, cobbled building. Above the ice-cream shop. It was so very different from all that modern glass she had left behind in San Diego. But she wasn’t sure she even remembered that woman. The one who wanted things sleek and bright. The one who had been so confident and set in her achievements.
She still felt accomplished. It wasn’t that she didn’t know that she had done impressive and difficult things. It was only that she had found something she cared about even more. She had been so focused for so long. And it hadn’t allowed for her to want much else. That had been a protection. She could see now. Because caring this much about something else, about someone else, was extremely painful. But it had also pushed her to find a strength inside of herself that she hadn’t known was there. And so for that she was somewhat grateful.
Grateful, if heartbroken.
Because no man would ever be Javier.
She knew that she would never find another man she wanted in the same way. That she would never feel this way for another man. Because she hadn’t. Not for twenty-six years. She had had chance after chance to find another man, and she had never even been tempted. And she wouldn’t be. Not like this. Not again. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t thrive. It was just that she would never fall in love again.
Tears pricked her eyes. She didn’t want to fall in love again anyway. She just wanted to love him. And she wanted him to love her back. Even facing the fact that it was impossible now didn’t make it seem real. Because she hoped... She just hoped.
She wanted to believe in the fairy tale. But she was afraid that the real world loomed far too large. That the damage inflicted on him by his father would be the ultimate winner.
And she didn’t want to believe in a world like that. But she had to face the fact that it might be all she got.
She went downstairs, stopping in the ice-cream parlor and getting herself an ice-cream cone, trying not to cry when the flavor reminded her of Javier. The owners of the shop hadn’t asked her any questions about why they hadn’t seen Javier. Why it seemed that she was always alone, the Prince nowhere to be found after the two of them had been so inseparable at first.
Plus, she had a feeling she just looked heartbroken. She was trying her best to get on with things, but it was not easy at all. She was strong. But strength didn’t mean not shedding tears. Strength didn’t mean you didn’t mourn lost love. Or in her case... Love that could have been if it weren’t for a maniacal dictator who had taken the love of a young boy and used it so badly. Made him think that he was the monster, rather than his father.
When she went back out onto the street, she stopped. Because there, down one of the roads, she saw a silhouette that looked familiar. And she flashed back to that moment she had been standing in her office. But she had imagined then that he was dangerous. And now... Now the sight of him made her heart leap into her throat.
“Livia told me I might find you here,” he said.
“Livia is a turncoat,” Violet said.
“She works for my brother. Her loyalty is always going to lie there.”
“Well. Well.”
“I need to speak to you.”
“Why?”
“I need to know... I looked for answers. I looked for answers that didn’t have an enchantment or a spell. I don’t know how to change.”
“You don’t know?”
“No,” he said. His voice rough.
Her heart went tight, and she looked at his sculpted, haunted face. “Javier, it was never about the right spell. In all the stories, in all the lands, in all the world. It was never magic that changed the beast. It was love.”
He shuddered beneath her touch. “I know. But I looked and looked at that book. At this story.” He held the book up. “The beast isn’t the strong one. It’s the beauty. It’s her love. And still I’m not... I’m not fixed.”
“Yes,” she said, moving toward him, her heart pounding hard. “But don’t you know what changes him? It’s not just her loving him. It’s him loving her back. Love is the magic, Javier. We might not have sorceresses and spells, but we have love. And that’s... That’s what makes people change.”
Hope washed through her as she saw a change come over his face, his body. As he moved into action, swept her into his arms and pulled her up against his body. “Is that all I have to do? Just love you? Because I do. Because I have.”
