Chapter 291: Sutton

“Sutton, please, just come home,” Max pleaded. “I swear, Lucas can explain everything.”“I don’t want his explanation,” I replied as I sat by the window, still in my night clothes with no intention of changing.Max huffed. “He deserves a chance to explain.”“Does he?” I asked. “Even if I give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn’t actually here to sneak around with Sera, then the question still stands—why else would he be here? The only other reason I could imagine is something to do with this… vendetta he has against my uncle. Meaning he not only went behind my back after I asked him to drop it. Either way, he’s been keeping something from me.”“Which is why you should come home,” Max argued. “He’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”“No,” I said sadly. “I’m not so sure he will.”“Sutton…”“I just need some space,” I snapped. “Please, just go.”Helene came over and sat in the chair across from me. “Sutton, are you sure about this?” she asked. “It may be easier to hear him out.

Last Updated : 2026-01-09

Chapter 292: Lucas

I still hadn’t slept. I paced my office, unable to go back to our apartment. Sutton’s scent was everywhere. It permeated the walls. I thought it would be a comfort but it only fueled my anxiety. So did Max’s failure to answer my calls. And Helene. Sutton’s phone was still off and I hadn’t heard anything about when they would get home. So, I wasn’t prepared for Max to walk through the door.I rushed to leave, knowing she would be in our apartment. I could fix this. This would all be over soon and I could hold her.But Max stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Jaden had come in behind him and was also blocking the doorway.“Move,” I barked. “I need to see Sutton.”Max’s expression shifted. Pain and even fear filled his eyes as his jaw muscles clenched and released anxiously. I looked to Jaden. The look on his face just as grave.“Where is she?” I demanded, my voice eerily calm. He didn’t answer. “Max, where the hell is Sutton?”“She… she wouldn’t come home,” Max told me.Numbness fl

Last Updated : 2026-01-09

Chapter 293: Sutton

I hadn’t left the suite in days. This whole figuring out how I really felt was harder than I expected. I tried to leave a few times the first couple of days, but was quickly met with a panic attack when I did. I had been forcing myself to eat too, but that just got less and less important. All the back and forth in my head, and even with Nova, was overwhelming, making me second-guess myself even more.And I wasn’t going to deny—I missed Lucas. I missed him so much it hurt sometimes. Especially at night, when I tried to sleep and nightmares came flooding back. It had been so long since I had them this regularly. If I ever had. Nova wasn’t shy about reminding me that it was Lucas who helped keep all of those demons at bay. But I was always quick to remind her that that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. That it was just another example of how the bond clouds my judgment.Eventually, I lost the motivation to keep trying. Giving in to the hurt and sadness that I couldn’t keep at bay anymore

Last Updated : 2026-01-10

Chapter 294: Sutton

My talk with Soloman had been exactly what I needed. It didn’t fix everything but it helped me accept that no single conversation would. That was a start. I hadn’t faced the aftermath of what Mason had put me through. Not really. Whenever something went wrong, it was easy to remember how broken I still was. But as soon as things got better—as soon as Lucas made things better—I would forget about it. It was too easy to pretend I was fine.But I wasn’t. Not really.Don’t get me wrong, being with Lucas had made me stronger. He gave me everything in his power to give me and I needed that. But Soloman was right, I wasn’t able to give Lucas what he deserved. And I couldn’t change that by being with him either. Not yet at least. Our bond was too strong. Too influential. The false sense of security was too tempting to give in to.I took another day to work through some things. Soloman helped me find some resources to help me understand what I was thinking and going through. It all gave me a c

Last Updated : 2026-01-10

Chapter 295: Sutton

I finally slept through the night after I talked to Lucas. It was still a struggle to fall asleep without him, but at least there weren’t any more nightmares. I woke up feeling rested which helped give me a more optimistic outlook for the day.One of the books Soloman had brought me said it was important to identify and understand my triggers. That felt like an easy enough place to start. It wasn’t hard to figure out the biggest triggers for me was anything to do with the Dawn Stalkers and the conspiracy surrounding my royal family.I didn’t think it was hard to figure out why Anders and his pack would be the cause of so much of my anxiety. I’m sure there were some deeper issues that could lead back to them as well, but that was for down the road. Knowing there was a lot to unpack with that one and not much I could do about facing those issues, I decided to start with my family. Particularly, my mother.After a lot of thinking, I admitted that I stopped looking into my mother’s past t

Last Updated : 2026-01-11

Chapter 296: Sutton

‘You and Lucas are not them,’ Nova popped into my head defensively.‘But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a point,’ I replied.Not that it mattered. That wasn’t what I was supposed to be focused on today. Regardless of our bond or how long we had known each other, I couldn’t be a good partner to anyone until I worked through my issues.‘There is no “anyone,”’ Nova growled.‘You know what I mean,’ I told her, rolling my eyes as I headed back toward my intended destination.The royal wing was quiet. The staff would have finished any cleaning early in the morning and there weren’t many occupants these days. From what I could tell, my grandfather was often the only one in this part of the palace throughout the day. I was grateful that seemed to be the case now.I stopped at my parent’s apartment first. Taking a few moments to kind of sit with their lingering presence. Like I was reaching out to them for comfort and guidance. I had done this a few times during my visits the past few mont