He's right in front of me, but he’s just as remote as my dreams of getting away from my stepbrothers. I keep playing his twisted games, and I want to stay just as distant as he is.

But I can’t.

I never could. I’ve fallen for him. Hopelessly. Irrevocably. But Winston isn’t a lover, he’s a business venture; a way for me to pay for college. A ticket out. He’s never pretended to be anything other than that. I can’t blame him for making me fall in love.

There can be no happily ever after between a maid and a prince, no matter what the stories say.