CARMEN
I kicked a small stone in front of me, watching it skid across the dirt before disappearing into the underbrush.
My steps slowed and then stopped.
I looked around, realizing just how far I’d gone.
The clubhouse was gone from view.
There was absolutely no light or sound. Just trees and shadows and the quiet hum of the surrounding forest.
And him.
He was still there.
Still watching.
I couldn’t see him, but I knew.
And strangely? I liked it.
I liked knowing that I could fall apart out here and not actually be alone. That if I pushed too far—if I broke—he’d be there to catch me.
My thoughts raced as I tried to make sense of what I'd just been told.
Was my dad really a king? Was my mom part of that world?
Arthur, the man who pursued me and merged his business with my father
