I blinked. “For what? Walking into your trap?”
“No,” she hummed, “for finally understanding your place. For realizing that not every fairytale ends with the cold, mouthy girl getting the prince. Sometimes she just ends up… alone.”
She leaned against the opposite wall, folding her arms with a hum.
“He was never yours, you know,” she added, almost sweetly. “He just liked the idea of you, something wild and rebellious he could tame. But me?” She touched her chest lightly. “I’m the future. I’m the one who fits.”
“You’re the one who waited,” I snapped. “Waited until the work was done to show up and claim it. That’s not love, that’s strategy.”
She tilted her head. “And you, what, expected applause for being his charity case? You knew the rules, knew what Callum was dealing with, and still
