Twisted Kingdom (Royal Elite #3) by Rina Kent

“It’s okay.” He stands. “Let’s talk in my office.”

He walks ahead of me. I throw one last glance at the other three. Agnus encourages me to follow Dad with a nod.

Knox sighs. “I hate this whole shit.”

“You…” Teal clears her throat, peeking up at me. “You have to think about it.”

Okay. That makes the situation even more ambiguous than when I walked in. Better follow Dad and find out what’s going on.

Dread tightens my muscles as I take the steps two at a time. When I’m at the top, I check my phone.

My stomach falls when I find no texts from Aiden. For some reason, I want to talk to him right now.

I’ve been barely keeping myself sane this entire week. With him gone, RES is empty and fucking depressive. I see him in every corner and every hall. Hell, I even went to the football practice, imagining him scoring a goal in that perfect posture.

I didn’t know how much I needed Aiden in my life until he was gone.

With the time difference, we could only text at odd times of the night. It’s not nearly enough.

The thought that we’ll be permanently separated at the end of this year brings a taste of nausea to my throat.

It steals my breaths, that thought.

To distract myself, I’ve spent nights at Aunt and Uncle’s, doing yoga. I went out with the horsemen, Knox, Teal, and Kim, but nothing and no one can take up Aiden’s place.

He’s been a constant in my life since the beginning of the year, and now that he’s gone, it’s pure torture.

Tucking my phone back in my pocket, I hug my backpack to my chest and follow Dad into his office. We sit side by side on the black leather sofa in the centre of the room.

“How was your day?” he asks.

“Good.”

Dad always asks about my day and if I need anything. While that makes me happy on most days, I’m not the least bit joyful right now.

Bricks of anxiety pile at the bottom of my stomach with every second he remains silent.

“What’s going on, Dad?”

“You know that your opinion matters to me more than anything else, right?”

I nod once, unsure where he’s going with this.

“As you know, the Rhodes have a voting committee in place. Their members will decide whether Jonathan or I get the partnership.”

“I do.”

While I’ve been butting out of Dad and Jonathan’s war, Agnus has been keeping us in the know. Each company has been recruiting members of that committee to vote in their favour.

Sebastian Queens, Silver’s father, is a member, and Jonathan is pissed off at Aiden for breaking off the engagement at a time like this.

Still, I’m sure Sebastian will vote in Jonathan’s favour considering they’ve been long-time allies.

I heard Agnus talk about how Dad has been recruiting some of the aristocratic members. If they manage to convince one of them, all the other ones would follow. Those noble folks are loyal to each other.

“I found a possible strong ally within the voting committee,” Dad says.

“Really?” My face lights up. “Who is he?”

“Earl Edric Astor.”

“Oh. Ronan’s father. I’m happy for you, Dad.”

His expression isn’t the least bit joyful, though. “There’s a catch.”

“A catch?”

“Earl Astor only agreed to form an alliance if we become in-laws. My daughter to his son.”

The information hits me like a hurricane with all the lightning and thunder.

“Do you mean… I have to marry Ronan?”

The idea doesn’t even sit straight before my brain completely revolts against it. Ronan is my friend and I really like his goofiness, but that’s it.

That’s all.

He’s not the one I dream about. He’s not the one I’ve been yearning for, feeling all empty and miserable.

“Ronan wouldn’t agree to that,” I whisper. He’s a player and loves his freedom more than anything in the world.

Dad remains cool and calm. I don’t know how he does it. “Earl Astor said Ronan will agree to anything he asks of him.”

Oh, God.

I’m going to be sick.

“And…” I meet Dad’s gaze. “What did you tell him?”

“I said I’ll talk to you.” Dad takes my hand in his, strong, warm, and safe. “I’ll never force you to do anything, you know that, right, princess?”

Oh. Thank God.

I want to help Dad, but I’ll never agree to an arranged marriage. I want to marry someone I love. Someone who flips my world upside down by just being there.

Someone like Aiden.

Wait… no. Where did that idea come from? I don’t want to marry Aiden… right? It’s too early to even think about marrying Aiden.

Stay the fuck down, heart. Don’t even think about celebrating that thought.

“Think about it,” Dad says. “I’ll go with whatever you decide.”

I’m tempted to tell him ‘no’ straight away, but the look in his eyes stops me. It’s not pleading, but it’s close to… desperation.

Dad needs this alliance.

It hurts me to think about killing all his hopes at once. I need a lot more courage than I have right now.

After agreeing to think about it, I retreat to my room.