Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6) by Rina Kent

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.