Ruthless Empire: Part 2 – Chapter 15

When I go to school the following day, I’m not focused.

Everything seems to be out of control. Everything.

One, Mum got drunk at the end of the reception and she kept asking what Papa sees in Helen anyway. Is she prettier than her? Better accomplished? She said even her books seem like they’re written by a psychopath.

I told her that all crime thriller books need to be frightening in some way. Helen’s books always give me a chill and that’s why they’re so successful.

I had to ask Derek to help me drive her home. We’d barely gotten her in the car and she had a fight with Papa — again. Thankfully, it was away from the reporters or their other party members.

They screamed at each other and it was like a flashback from the divorce time.

After I tucked Mum safely in her bed, she hugged me, kissed me, and told me she was sad and that she didn’t want to be sad. So I stayed with her until she drifted off to sleep.

By the time I returned home, the reception was over. Papa and Helen had already retreated to their room. They decided against a honeymoon because of how busy they both are.

I was all alone with the catering staff, and Ronan and Xander, who didn’t leave my side. I was thankful to them in a way words can’t express, so I let them have all the food and alcohol they liked.

Cole just sat there, reading from his book as if nothing had happened. As if he hadn’t broken my world to pieces and made me walk unevenly all night. I had to feign spraining my ankle — to which he smirked at, the bastard.

This morning, Papa’s party friends and political life has returned at full force. Helen prepared them tea and told me to go ahead to school and not worry about anything.

Then there’s the damn text I received yesterday from the unknown number.

A rose deflowered.

He watched me. He saw me do it with Cole.

What if he tells Papa, or worse, the media? That would screw up everything.

Everything.

Since I received the text, I’ve been watching my surroundings as if he’ll come up from the shadows and attack me.

When I was younger, his texts were non-harmful ones, just compliments, like any comment on my social media posts, but a year or so ago, I finally started to see them as disturbing.

No one should know so much about me. My morning routines, from my favourite Chanel perfume down to the type of shampoo I use.

But the last text pushed every boundary I could’ve had. The fact that he was there, in Papa’s wedding, and possibly saw me coming out of his office is more than disturbing.

The reason why I feel like I’m suffocating is because I can’t show this to Papa anymore, or even to Mum. She’ll kill me if she knows I slept with my stepbrother.

And Papa will give me that disappointed look he saves for his party members who act like brats and cause a media ruckus.

Even Frederic is out. He’ll immediately tell Papa about it.

It’s all because of him. Cole. The bastard.

Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to make us fall into a hole of no return?

If I tell him about it, maybe he’ll —

No.

This stalker — or whatever — won’t get to me. Papa once taught me a trick that should exist up every politician’s sleeve — doubt.

If someone makes you doubt yourself and your core principles, they can easily destroy you. They’re using you to ruin you. It’s like when the body self-destructs.

That’s what the stalker is doing. He’s trying to make me panic, and as a result, I’ll make a mistake that he’ll use to his advantage.

You’ve got the wrong person for that, arsehole.

I’m the daughter of Sebastian Queens and Cynthia Davis. It takes more than stupid texts to scare me.

Lifting my head, I walk through Royal Elite School’s hallway. RES goes way back to medieval times. Its ten towers show the majestic power of this place, and to what levels it can take you.

Papa, Mum, and even Helen walked the halls of this school. It’s where they met the first time. After that, Papa and Mum studied at the same university and got engaged. Unlike what the media said about them, it wasn’t an arranged marriage between two powerful families. For one, apparently Mum’s family, which has a long chain of secretaries of state, wasn’t good enough for Papa’s parents.

They already had power, so they wanted nobility. Papa chose her over some noble family’s daughter, and although Mum smiles when she retells that part of their story, she follows it with a scowl and says they chose that misery willingly.

That’s what she calls their marriage, by the way. Misery.

Now, it’s my turn to make the right decisions and take the most advantage of the school. It’s the beginning of our last year and I know exactly where I’ll be at the end of it.

In Oxford, studying politics and international relations. For that, I’ll be at the top of the class. Screw Cole if he thinks he can take that away from me.

Near the seventh tower, I spot Aiden cornering Elsa, better known as Frozen. I glare at them.

Since the start of the year, Aiden has been obsessed with her. Okay, maybe his obsession started two years ago when she first came into RES. However, he never acted on it. He just watched from afar like a psycho.

But something happened this year, and he’s been gravitating towards her like a magnet to steel.

I can’t let that happen.

Aiden is one of my cards against Cole. Scratch that. He’s my only card against Cole.

I need the engagement to push my bastard of a stepbrother away, and that girl is ruining my plan.

She’s always shoving Aiden away anyhow, so I’ve been doing her a favour by keeping his psychotic claws off her.

She’ll thank me for it later.

Okay, maybe she won’t, but hey, the sentiment is there.

I’m about to go and break them off when a sinister presence appears by my side. Cole smirks down at me as he clutches his books. He’s been in an awfully good mood since yesterday.

“I could’ve driven you to school, Butterfly. You know, with how you sprained your ankle and all.”

“Screw. You,” I hiss under my breath.

He laughs, the sound echoing around us like a halo.

I can only stop and stare when he laughs. He doesn’t do it so often, and when he does, I want to catch it and tuck it away for safekeeping.

Snap out of it, Silver.

“Your compliments are music to my ears, even better than your piano playing.” His lips brush against the shell of my ear. “And I love your piano playing.”

My heart beats so loud, it’s about to burst free of its confinements. It’s the first time he’s said that.

“Then why do you always make me lose in competitions?” I whisper.

“Because you act like a bitch.”

I wish I could punch him right now, but since countless students are buzzing around us, I can’t.

Cole must realise that, too, because his lips lift in an infuriating smirk. No, he didn’t only realise it, but he planned it all along. He loves taunting me in public, knowing that I can’t react to it. I swear he lives to torment my existence.

I can’t believe he was inside me yesterday. He pushed me to the table and touched me and fucked me and –

No.

I swallow the desire that bursts to the surface every time I recall what happened. Stop thinking about it. Just stop.

Huffing, I stride in Aiden and Elsa’s direction to continue my mission, but he places a hand on my arm, stopping me in my tracks.

“This is one of the bitch moments that make me retaliate, Silver.” His voice is still calm, but the fact he’s calling me by my name means he’s either pissed off or annoyed. Or both.

“Well, I don’t care what ticks you off, Cole.” I wiggle away from him because his touch makes me feel things I shouldn’t — even through my jacket and shirt. I clutch my hip and glare him down. “Besides, Aiden is my fiancé.”

He narrows his eyes but soon schools his expression. “So what? It’s not like you’ll marry him.”

“What makes you think I won’t?”

“Are you blind?” He steps slightly behind me so both of us are watching the scene ahead. His voice drops in volume as his breaths warm my ear. “Can’t you see the way he looks at her? He’ll never give you that, Silver. No one will.”

I tighten my grip on my hip, but it’s not because of Aiden and Elsa — I couldn’t give too shits about them.

It’s the last part of what he said.

No one will.

Why? Am I going to end up alone and sad like Mum? Will I have a daughter and make her worry about me twenty-four seven?

“Break it off.” Cole’s voice brings me out of my stupor.

“What?” I stare back at him.

“The fake engagement. End it.”

“It’s not fake.”

“Sometimes, I think you know me the best, and other times, it’s like you don’t know me at all.” He’s not touching me, but his close proximity is enough to make me aware of every word leaving his mouth, of his scent oozing with cinnamon and lime. Of his body warmth that mixes with mine.

For someone so cold, he’s so warm. I felt it. Hell, I still feel it with every step I take.

No baths or self-care home remedies will be able to remove the feel of him inside me.

“Did you really think I didn’t figure out you and Aiden were doing this whole thing to spite me?”

“W-what?” He knew all along?

“If I’d had the slightest doubt, it was eliminated when I knew you’d saved your virginity for me.”

“I…didn’t.”

“Why are you such a liar, Silver?”

“Why are you?” I elbow him discretely so no one else sees it.

He barely winces before his grin returns to the surface. “If you don’t end it amicably, I’ll step up. Believe me, you don’t want me to step up, Butterfly.”

“You don’t scare me, Cole.”

“But I can do other things to you.”

“In your dreams,” I hiss low enough so no one hears.

“We’ll see about that.” He motions at Aiden. “I was thinking about telling Aiden about our first time — your first time.”

“He wouldn’t mind. We’re open like that.”

“With Elsa in the picture, I wouldn’t be so sure.” He tugs on my hair. “End. It.”

And then he disappears from my back, leaving me empty.

No. Screw him. I’m not empty.

I focus back on Aiden and Elsa. She’s telling him something, or rather, yelling something at him, but he only smirks like the bastard he is.

Cole is right. It won’t be long before Aiden dumps me for her.

I hate it when Cole is right.

A new plan forms in my head. Elsa is jealous of me and she doesn’t even know about the engagement. Aiden wants her to be jealous because that would mean she cares about him, and his ego needs that confirmation more than anything.

I’ll make a deal with him; we stay engaged and I won’t mention a word about it to his precious ice princess.

In return, Cole will stay away.

Perfect.

“Hey, Sil.” Veronica and Summer join me as we go to class.

They’re both blondes — not naturally so — and their lives are all about the latest fashion and makeup trends and the best way to spend their daddies’ money.

Shallow doesn’t even begin to describe them, but they’re the camouflage I need for my image at school. Besides, it doesn’t matter if they get too close. They’ll never be able to read me.

“Hey, girls.” We air-kiss before they start talking about the latest stupid reality TV show that I don’t watch but pretend I do. It’s easy to do that. All I have to do is pick up on what they say and build on it.

Papa is the next prime minister, thank you very much. If I don’t have a way with words, who will?

“So, are we going to Ronan’s party, or what?” Veronica asks with a dramatic tone.

“Oh, I have, like, the perfect dress.” Summer jumps up and down like a giddy kid. “The one we bought from Chanel the other day. Remember that, Silver?”

I nod. “You’ll look so hot in it.”

“I know!”

“Hey, maybe we should all wear Chanel?” Veronica says. She has chubby cheeks, even after the plastic surgery she made her father pay for as her eighteenth birthday present over the summer.

She went to South Korea for it. No kidding.

“Sure…” I trail off when the clouds above us part, revealing a hint of the sun. That’s when I notice it.

A shadow.

It’s a larger shadow — a shadow that’s too close. It’s like they’ve been copying my steps.

Veronica and Summer are talking about Chanel’s latest collection while my heart is about to jump out of my throat.

Still, I don’t turn around. I don’t alert the person that I’ve seen their shadow because nature decided to give me a warning.

“Let’s go to the restroom, girls,” I say.

“Oh, right. I have to check my makeup too,” Veronica agrees.

I make them walk at a slightly faster pace. It’s not fast enough to alert the shadow, but it’s fast enough to get away.

As we round the corner, I pretend to look for something in my bag and I catch a glimpse of him.

He stands at the entrance of the tower.

The shadow is Adam Herran. The captain of the rugby team. His father is one of Papa’s party friends.

And he was at the wedding.