_A_fter all of this is over,

_B_efore I leave to start my own life,

_C_an I confess something?

_D_efinitely not something I'd say right now,

_E_ven not to my sister.

_F_or I'm falling for you when I know I shouldn't.

_G_oodness knows I try not to love you.

_H_elp is what I need, whenever you look at me with those intense eyes and that devastating smile.

_I_n the end though, you will probably be w...

To Yellow Socks,

You know who you are.

I might not have the courage to send this to you,

But writing this will save me at least one regret.

To the boy with brown hair and brown eyes,

Some know who you are,

But I knew you the best,

Even after I made the worst mistake.

To my ‘twin’,

I wish you had listened,

I wish I had listened,

But most of all I wish I had said yes.

To E.A.,

I didn't...

1,

2,

3,

4,

Keep counting the time till he comes.

5,

6,

7,

8,

Call him repeatedly even though it only goes to voicemail every time.

9,

10,

11,

12,

Lie in bed crying until you can't anymore.

13,

14,

15,

16,

Check his Instagram page and get jealous over who’s been commenting recently.

17,

18,

19,

20,

Count the ways you love him.

21,

22,

23,

24,

Count the ways he doesn't.

25,

26,

27,

28,

Just ...

All I can think is that I’m in his arms. Maybe it’s because of my father-and he’s the one to blame, or perhaps it was Alderic himself. The whole room watches us, probably gossiping. My father, by some miracle, has not announced our engagement. I wonder whether this is his or Alderic’s way of helping everyone think we’re hopelessly in love. Which _I_ am. Not that it helps in this situation I’m in. ...

My eyes widen. “Alderic?! What are you doing here?”

Alderic stands in the council room with my father. He isn’t too shocked by my entry, as I hoped, so I assume that they were talking about me, as everyone has had been recently. I walked up to him until I was a few feet away from him and awaited his response.

“Lenore, you seem surprised to see me.”

He flashes me his trademark smirk and I must b...

He did love me.

I know that.

But I had to go.

And now I see that, even though we would’ve been perfect together, we wouldn’t have been perfect for each other.

I don’t see you as anything but a friend now but I still don’t want _her _to love you, let alone you loving _her_.

But I know you don’t.

I honestly don’t think that there will be anyone but me.

And I hate that. Because I could never be...

_How long do you think you can keep it going?_

__

_That mask is slipping,_

__

_Slowly but surely._

__

_Those lies hidden by darkness are going to be revealed._

__

_Those insecurities that you think no one else has?_

__

_That mask is slipping,_

__

_And you’ll see the lies you’ve been feeding yourself,_

__

_The ones eating you alive._

__

_How many more sleepless nights?_

__

_Thinking of how your lif...

_I prayed this was one of my smaller mistakes,_

_Leaving you behind. _

_You were my f.a.v.,_

_But not anymore._

__

__

_I don’t just miss Fitz, _

_But I miss the version of me that loved him,_

_Just like he loves me,_

_And just like Keefe loves me. _

The words he had said over the years echoed in my head repeatedly.

_ I want it to be you. _

_ I’ll always be here when you need me. _

_ You know ...

All this time I thought he was the villain,

but as I watched the blood drip from my fingertips,

I realized it was all a matter of perspective.

Broken leg and lying in a pool of blood,

You asked me for mercy,

Something I didn't have.

Dragging you to my car,

Cleaning the blood and leaving no traces,

I'm not fazed, not one bit.

The cops don’t know,

I bet they’ll never know

That it was little o...

The air smelled faintly of cinnamon and myrrh, obviously emanating from Theseus. The scent was intoxicating, a sweet and warm smell that was nostalgic. The fragrance evoked something in me, something that I fought to push down.

“We’re in this together, but I’m not sure I can trust you,” he confessed under his breath.

I finished tying the knot I was working on, my hands shaking slightly, unnotic...