I glance up as Cam enters my bedroom, his hand skimming the castle wall as he meets my eyes.

“Hey, Nina,” he murmurs, a slight catch in his voice. “Could we talk?”

Nodding, I move to sit on the edge of my bed and he takes a seat beside me. There’s a silence between us, one I can’t explain even if I try. Cam’s completely avoiding eye contact, his gaze locked on the royal rug on the floor. A part of me wants to speak, to spill out everything. Instead, I sit there with red cheeks and wait for him to talk.

After an eternity, Cam speaks. “Nina,” he says, facing his body towards me, the look in his eyes making my breath catch. “I think I still love you.”

A part of me isn’t surprised, I’ve known Cam my whole life. We’ve dated a few times, kissed and done many other things throughout our teenage years. But here I am, at 20 years old, engaged to another man. And Cam chooses now to tell me.

“Oh,” is all that can come out my mouth as I look away from him, my heart pounding.

It’s not like I want to marry the man I’m engaged to, but I’m heir to the throne and he’s a prince. It fits. Cam’s just, well, he’s Cam - it doesn’t fit, and my father will never allow it.

“You can’t do this,” I say, my voice hoarse now. “Please leave me, Cam.”

Cam places a hand on my arm, his body only inches from mine. I can feel the heat radiating off him as he slips just that tiny bit closer. Instinctively, I curl slightly into his touch, my palms sweating and trembling.

“If that is what you want,” he whispers, his breath warm against my ear. “Then I shall leave you princess.”

He stands up, and I allow myself to look over to him again. There’s a pain in his eyes, one I share. As he steps out of my room, all I want is to call Cam back, but I can’t. With a glance at my engagement ring, I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding and force my body to reclaim control of my racing heart. The problem is, I think I still love him too.