“I’m sorry,” Sebastian utters.

“Okay,” I say slowly.

“I’m so fucking sorry. I love you, I love you more than anything, but this was wrong, it was all so fucking wrong and I’m just. I’m sorry.”

“Is this some kind of joke? Because honestly, it’s not funny.”

“Jesus,” he hisses. “Look, you’re free to go, the doors and gates will all open, I won’t stop you from leaving and no one will follow you, at least not like before. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go without knowing you’re at least safe, but I promise they won’t ever tell me where you are or what you’re doing and they’ll never intervene unless you’re in danger. You’ll never have to see me again; I’ll stay away from any event where we would both be expected to attend. I’ll even tell Cassidy the truth, if that’s what you want.”

“I don’t understand,” I whisper.

“I shouldn’t have brought you here, I shouldn’t have said or done the things I’ve done since I got you back. I’m sorry about your mom, I never thought things would go this far, I thought you’d come back, I thought you’d fall out for a couple of weeks and then you’d make up. I know you won’t believe me, but I never wanted to destroy your relationship with her, I just wanted to punish you for leaving me.”

A dry, brittle laugh bursts from me. “So you’re telling me that last night, when you told me what I wanted didn’t matter and I should just do as I’m told from the cage you created for me, has suddenly changed to, go be free? I’m sorry,” I scoff. “You’ll have to excuse me if I call bullshit.”

“We don’t want you to leave,” Evan says. “But we understand if you want to. There’s an open plane ticket on your bed that can be exchanged for a ticket to anywhere in the world. If you choose to go, none of us will stop you.”

“If I choose to leave?”

“You could stay,” Sebastian says hopefully.

“With you?”

“No.” His voice is sad, but resigned. “But Kingsacre is one of the best private universities in the country. Your tuition is covered, as is your room here and your meal plan.”

“What’s the catch? There’s always a catch with you. Let me guess, I can stay, but in your bed, or to be at your beck and call whenever you want your dick sucked? Or maybe you want to marry me, so you don’t have to allow your parents to arrange a political marriage for you?”

“No catch, no loopholes.”

“I don’t believe you. Why go to all the trouble of arranging to get me here and then less than a week after you capture me, let me go?”

“Because contrary to what you believe, I’m not a monster, or at least I don’t want to be.” He swallows thickly. “I don’t want you to think of me as nothing more than a monster.”