Page 159 of The Encore’s Crown

Natalia kisses me hard, her fingers curling into my shoulders until Kasia knocks a third time.

“Go hide,” she whispers against my lips.

I steal one final kiss and retreat toward the bedroom. At the doorway, I look back.

Natalia stands in the middle of the suite wearing leggings and a hoodie that are somehow just as hot as the dress from the party. Every visible mark is covered. Her hair is fixed. Her mouth is composed.

Only her eyes give her away.

She draws in a breath and puts on the polished smile she wears for cameras, brands, strangers—anyone who hasn’t earned the truth.

I hate watching it replace what she showed me.

“I’ll call,” I whisper again.

“You better.”

“Unblock me,” I say with a wink.

"Oh, shit. I will."

I close the door. A moment later, I hear her cross the suite and let Kasia in. Their voices reach me only in muffled pieces. Kasia asking whether she has everything and if she’s ready to meet with the lawyer. Natalia complaining about being rushed. A suitcase rolling across the floor. I sit on the edge of the bed and stare at my phone. The suite door opens as their voices drift farther away. Then it closes.

One minute.

Two.

Five.

My phone finally lights.

We’re in the Uber. You can stop hiding like someone’s married lover now.

I smile despite the ache spreading through my chest.

txt me when you get home Kroppy

The message goes to read.

I pull on the rest of my clothes, collect everything I nearly left scattered across two bedrooms, and take one last look around the suite. The destroyed beds. The abandoned robes. The remains of our picnic still spread across the livingroom floor. It looks less like a penthouse now and more like proof.

This happened.

We were here.

I’ve always scoffed at the shit people carve into bathroom stalls and scratch across lockers, but now I understand it. It’s the need to mark something physical with a feeling too big to contain. To plant a flag in reality and say this moment existed. Part of me wants the penthouse to stay like this forever.

Ours.

I leave before I can talk myself into staying. Before I pay several thousand dollars just to wallow around in discarded snack wrappers and sheets that smell like her.

The hallway is quiet when the door closes behind me as I turn toward the elevators.

Rithy is leaning against the opposite wall with his arms folded. He looks at the suite number, then at me. His gaze travels over my wrinkled clothes, messy hair, and the mark Natalia left near my collar. A slow smile spreads across his face as he raises an incredulous eyebrow.

“Good morning, brother.”

Chapter 55