The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 366

It wasn’t until I was back in my room with the door shut behind me and Mia sitting up in bed, asking how it went with a big smile on her face and all the innocence in the world, that the tears fell.

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Callum’s POV

Liora set the tray of breakfast food down on my desk and left.

I stared at it for a long time. The smell of syrup and coffee wafted through the air, and for a moment, it seemed like she had done something sweet because she genuinely cared, and I felt a pang of guilt shoot through my chest.

I rubbed one hand over my face, wracking my brain to recall last night. The last thing I remembered was Bianca crawling on top of me, kissing me all over… then everything went dark.

I’d had too much to drink, clearly. But it didn’t matter. I had done something that I regretted. Deeply.

Even if Liora broke my heart, the last thing I wanted was to sleep with Bianca, of all people. I’d never wanted that, not really, not even when I wore that ring on my finger. And I especially didn’t want it now.

My eyes drifted down to the list, which I was still holding. I thought about Liora’s look of anguish when I held it up. That could have been guilt I saw on her face, as she realized that she’d been caught red-handed and had no real way of getting out of it this time.

Or, it could have been something else.

And whatever quiet, tentative thing that we had been building between us… I wasn’t going to survive it a second time if it went wrong. I had already given more of my heart to Liora over the past two dates than I had given to anyone ever.

The idea of doing that again, opening myself back up, only to find out that I had been nothing more than a convenient stepping stone to something better for her—

No. I had made my decision. It was cleaner this way. Easier.

I was still trying to convince myself of that when I looked up and noticed the hallway through the open door. A few students were still lingering there, muttering amongst themselves, looking at me with intrigue. I wasn’t even sure how they had found out about last night; I had simply woken up, and the door had been open, and they had been there, gossiping already.

“Show’s over,” I snarled, storming over to the door. I slammed it so hard in their faces that the frame around it rattled, and I heard a few squeaks of surprise and retreating footsteps through the wood.