“I’m just asking,” I say, forcing myself to sound casual. “What if we could bring our families together?”
“You can’t,” he says firmly. “If you had a baby, the Darlings would take it. They’ve done it before. Hell, Mabel’s dad took her from her mom. Why do you think she lives with her dad? Because he’s a Darling, and her mom wasn’t—at least not by birth. And they were fucking married at the time. She wasn’t some irresponsible teenage mom. The Darling still got custody. They always will.”
“Devlin wouldn’t fight me for custody. He’d stand by me.”
King shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. Grampa Darling would lawyer up and start digging into our family history, trying to get the kid from both of you. They’d find out what kind of people we are, and you’d never see that baby again.”
“But… I mean, Uncle Vinny could take our side,” I say, grasping at straws.
“Uncle Vinny’s not that kind of lawyer,” King reminds me. “And yeah, he got us out of a few scrapes. But these custody lawyers, they dig a hell of a lot deeper than someone picking up Duke for getting drunk and loud. Our family might have some sway in New York, but there’s a reason Dad didn’t want the FBI sniffing around when Royal disappeared. People go digging, they find things.”
“Devlin wouldn’t let them,” I insist, holding desperately to my last hope.
King snorts. “Crystal, Devlin would be dead long before that baby came. The day our dad found out, to be exact. And I’m not being dramatic here, baby sis. He’ll order a hit on him.”
My fingers are shaking as I stare at my brother, so calmly telling me that our father would kill the boy I love to keep us apart. “He’d do that, even knowing it would kill me, too?”
King sighs. “Listen to me, baby sis. If you really do love that boy, or even if you just like him, you need to leave him alone. You’re not going to change Dad’s mind, and you’re not going to change Mr. Darling’s. You got two options. Let him go live his life, or keep fucking around with him, and he doesn’t make it to see twenty. I’m sorry it has to be this way, but that’s the way it is for us. Think about that next time you want to do something crazy like fall in love.”
But I don’t have to think about that because I know that day will never come. I already know I’ll never fall in love again. Devlin is my one shot, my one love. I’ll never love anyone else. Even if I could, I’ve learned my lesson, and I won’t let it happen. Like King said, love is a liability. I’d never take that risk again.
That doesn’t change the fact that I’ve already fallen, and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s too late for me. I love Devlin, and there’s no going back from that. But if loving him means making sure he stays far away from me so he can live a long and happy life with someone else, then that’s what I’ll do.
twenty
Crystal
I remember Christmas break last year. Three weeks of freedom—from stares, whispers, girls cattily speculating on what it would take to knock me and Veronica from the throne. A break meant I could stay home with my family and just be myself. Was that only a year ago? A year and another life, another world, another girl. Now, those three weeks fill me with dread. Three exhausting weeks of faking it, of pretending to be the girl they want, the Dolce daughter. Knowing that no matter how hard I try, I’ll only disappoint them because the harder I fake it, the further away she gets.
The next day is Friday, the last day before holiday break. I’m glad I won’t have to face the Darlings for the next few weeks. Distance from Devlin will help. I’ve done it before. I can do it again.
I walk in with my brothers, ignoring the way people are looking at me, like I’m some kind of mysterious rarity they’d like to put under a microscope. I guess the Darlings have put me there. I open my locker, already knowing the emptiness will knock a hole in my heart. Even though I’m expecting it, the missing coffee still hurts more than I want to admit. It’s been there every single day since Devlin got out of jail, even when we weren’t speaking to each other. Today, it’s gone. I guess it’s really over.
I feel numb and sick as I let my brothers escort me to class. Once they’re gone, I pivot and head to the nurse’s office to beg out of first period. I can’t face a whole class of Devlin Darling.
I wait until the next class has been going for five minutes before I head to my locker, relieved for the empty hallway. No stares or whispers from girls about the Darling Doll spectacle the day before. I can’t believe that for one moment, I let myself believe I’d be Devlin’s queen.
“Hey, Juliet,” comes a slow, southern drawl from behind me.
Damn it.
“Skipping class?” I ask, twisting my locker combination without looking up.
“I got bored,” Colt says, stopping to lean on the lockers beside mine. “My favorite source of entertainment wasn’t there today.”
“Well, I hope you’re happy,” I say, gritting my teeth. “You got what you wanted. Devlin and I are done.”
“What makes you think I wanted that?”
“You gave me the necklace,” I say. “So did Preston. What else could you be doing but trying to cause drama?”
“Alright,” Colt says with a grin. “So, how about it, Juliet? Your balcony, eleven o’clock. Wear next to nothing. I know I will be.”
I turn to him, a lump in my throat. “I mean it.”
“So do I,” he says, the smile dropping away. “I always thought I’d be your Romeo.”
“Colt…”