Inside the bathroom, Levis was still drowning in a sea of guilt. He looked down at the Stuar ring on his finger, the tiger signet shining ring catching the dim light. Memories of ten years ago flooded back—the day he first saw Robert, the crush that had turned into an obsession, and finally, a deep, complicated love. He couldn't justify his own heart. Was Robert a cold-blooded killer who would sacrifice Stella for an empire, or was he the man Levis had always believed him to be? The conflict was tearing him apart.
In the bedroom, Robert lay on the tangled sheets, staring at the ceiling. "You can lie all you want, Levis," he murmured to the empty air. "You know me better than anyone. You know my soul. You claim you don't love me, but your eyes tell a different story every time you look at me."
A sharp, rhythmic knocking at the door broke his reverie. "Come in," Robert called out, his voice snapping back to its cold, princely authority.
