Vicious Prince (Royal Elite, #5)

by Rina Kent

The bunny outfit goes to shreds around my body, and for a second too long, I’m so stunned I can’t react. I can’t react when the bunny ears break in two. I can’t react when the cloth is ripped, revealing my breasts and my stomach and pooling around my waist. The only thing I can look at is Ronan’s face, the way it’s blackening and nearly spiralling out of control. It’s too similar to my phases. It’s like one of those times where everything feels like too much — the world, the people, even the fucking air. It’s too strong, too potent, and you can’t escape it no matter how much you try. I run, but it follows. I sleep, but it perches over me like a constant weight. People say it’s just a phase and that it’ll eventually go away. It doesn’t. You breathe it in the air, drink it with water, and taste it with food. It doesn’t only become a part of you — it is you. If you somehow managed to remove it, you wouldn’t recognise yourself anymore. It’s not a fucking phase. It’s a state of being. And sometimes, it acts out. Sometimes, you can’t control it even with carefully developed coping mechanisms. I never let anyone see me when it’s about to come out. I run and hide. I purge. The moment I feel it coming close, I just leave. The only people who’ve seen me at my lowest are Knox and Ronan. And now, I’m seeing him at his lowest, too. The fact that I could be the cause of this creates a black hole in my chest. What have I done?