I can almost imagine the deer-in-the-headlights expression she had while reading all of this stuff.
My gaze slides to her sleeping form. “You need to stop forcing labels on yourself.”
I skim through the articles written by some hotshot psychologists who try not to be judgy but sometimes let their true colors show.
Cecily must’ve been in a position where she had to see her preferences through a professional lens and wondered if something was wrong with her.
She’s shackled in some way.
And something tells me it’s not only due to her rigid codes of honor, stiff personality, or altruistic little heart.
Something deeper lurks beneath the surface, and I’ll find it if it’s the last thing I do.
My plans to only watch from afar just to catch Landon through her lie are forgotten as I dig, probe, and search.
Words and websites start to blur together, but I don’t stop.
People like Cecily carry their wounds so deep that even those in their closest circle have no clue about them.
I’m positive she’s kept it a secret from her parents and grandparents, with whom she’s close to, so as not to burden them. Ava, too.
But no matter how much she hides it, I’ll figure out her secret and drag it out of her kicking and screaming.
The commotion starts to die down outside her door, and that’s my cue to leave.
I quietly close her laptop and make a mental note to hack into it again later to dig deeper into her search history.
Then I take a few pictures of the books and mangas she reads. I’m about to leave from the balcony when her phone vibrates on the bedside table.
I stalk to her side and pause when I see the name on the text.
The motherfucking non-prince.
I unlock it using her passcode. She uses the same one for everything—her parents’ marriage date.
Landon:Hi, stranger.
My fingers tighten on the phone, but I type back.
Cecily:Hi :)
I tut at the smiley face. But if I want to make him believe it’s her, I have to mimic her style.
Landon:Everything okay? Is Jeremy still bothering you?
Bothering.
That’s what she told him? That I wasbotheringher?
Granted, stalking could be called bothering in certain circumstances.
But I wouldn’t have resorted to that method if I’d known what this motherfucker told her to do.
Cecily:Everything’s great. He’s not following me anymore.
Or that’s what she believes, anyway.
Landon:For how long?