Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6) by Rina Kent

Anyway, Mum’s friends aren’t cool. They’re snobs and frequently make me feel like I need to walk the line around them.

Papa’s friends are way better.

But this weekend, I have to go to Mum’s. I asked Papa if I could stay with him, but he says she’s my parent too.

If I don’t go, Mum will come and pick a fight with Papa all over again. Mum doesn’t shut up — at all. She made the divorce and the custody process so messy, I still have nightmares about it.

But she’s my mum, and I don’t like seeing her alone. For three years, I tried bringing her and Papa together again by suggesting we have holidays together, but they always, without fail, ended them with a fight. It’s like they look for opportunities to argue.

I guess I can survive the weekend.

But first, I need to get ready. That’s why I’m sitting in the park alone. I wore my navy blue dress with matching flats and I have my hair loose, falling down my back.

One hour until I have to meet Mum’s friends for lunch.

I can do this.

I sit cross-legged on the bench and place my hands on my knees. I’m meditating. It’s a trick Helen taught me to use when my thoughts are all over the place.

Helen is way better than my mum in being quiet. She listens to me and does my hair and gives me gifts. She taught me tricks to make better tea and she lets me be with her when she’s baking.

If her son, Cole, wasn’t a pain in the arse, maybe I would’ve spent this hour with her instead of being alone.

I don’t like boys in general. They act like pigs, are annoying, and don’t let others be at peace.

All they care about is pulling pranks. Especially Aiden and Cole. I still want to punch the tosser Aiden for tripping me the other day.

But who I hate the most is Cole. He offered me his hand to help me up and then he pulled on my ponytail and said, “Go cry in the park.”

I hate that he knows how important this place is to me. He’s been using it to taunt me every chance he gets. Sometimes, he follows me here just to make fun of me. He doesn’t do it in front of the others because everyone believes Cole is a good boy.

They think Aiden is slightly mischievous and Xander is the bad boy, but they don’t know that Cole is a first-class wanker.

I tried finding another special place other than this park, but I couldn’t. This is where I had my first picnic with my parents. Or maybe it wasn’t the first, but it’s my first happy memory, so it became my sanctuary. My escape from the world.

The wanker Cole won’t take that away from me.

Happy thoughts. Don’t think about Cole. Happy thoughts.

As soon as I return from Mum’s, Papa will hear me play the piano piece I’m practicing for an upcoming competition. Helen will teach me how to make cakes. For some reason, I never get it right. I’m better with preparing tea.

Someone pulls on a strand of my hair and I groan, my eyes snapping open.

Cole sits beside me, smiling. He does that a lot — staying silent and having that infuriating smile all over his face.

He’s not saying anything, but his expression feels like a taunt all on its own.

“What do you want?” I snap.

“This park is for everyone, Butterfly.”

Ugh. I hate it when he calls me that. It’s a reminder of that day I showed him my weakness when I shouldn’t have.

Though his advice worked. When I told the judge that I wanted to stay with Papa, he didn’t hesitate to give my father custody. Mum didn’t talk to me or Papa for a week and I had to go apologise to her about it before she would forgive me.

I’ll never tell Cole I’m thankful. That means showing weakness in front of him again and he’ll use that against me for years to come.

That day was black in both our lives. When I went home, my parents sat me down and announced they were getting a divorce. I cried myself to sleep that night.

The following morning, I found out that Uncle William, Cole’s father, tripped in his pool and hit his head against the edge. He died around the time Cole was talking to me in the park.

Cole’s life has never been the same since then. He doesn’t say it, but I kind of feel it.

Mum and her friends keep saying Helen became a rich widow who has so much money, she won’t be able to spend it in her lifetime.

Cole didn’t cry at his father’s funeral. He doesn’t cry in general, but I thought he would that day.

However, he didn’t even shed one tear.

He spent the entire ceremony clutching his mother’s hand as she sobbed. It was like she was crying both Cole’s and her share.

That day, I gave Cole my Snickers bar. I only get one every three days — Mum’s rules because I have to watch my diet — and I figured since he was sad, the chocolate would make him feel better.

He glared at it, then at me, before he told me to eat it in front of him. I did, secretly happy I could get my chocolate. While I was still eating, he told me I was selfish. I threw the rest of the chocolate bar on his chest and left.

He’s been a wanker ever since. He makes me think he wants to spend time with me, just to say mean things while smiling.

I hate it when he does that.

I hate his smiles and his chestnut hair that he keeps long enough to be ruffled by the wind. I also hate that his eyes are a green so rare, it’s mesmerising. It’s not foresty like Kim’s, no. It’s also not like the grass everyone can stomp on. It’s like the tip of the tall trees where it appears light but it’s in fact dark and deep. High and mighty and far.