Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6) by Rina Kent

‘Spotted: Sebastian Queens and Cynthia Davis’s Daughter at a Pharmacy, Buying a Pregnancy Test.’

‘Scandal: Sebastian Queens and Cynthia Davis’s Daughter is Pregnant Before Marriage. The Father is her Stepbrother.’

I nearly throw up at that thought.

No.

I drive out from in front of the pharmacy and head to school, listening to my playlist with the volume turned all the way up.

My nerves are on the verge of spilling to the ground by the time I finish my first class. Cole keeps watching me, and I know, I just know he’ll pick up on it.

I have to do something.

For the rest of the day, I bide my time practising the piano in the most distracted way possible while forming my plan.

I wait until the end of the football practice to make my first move. For the first time in ever, Elsa isn’t with Aiden. Ronan mentioned something about how she was going to meet them in Aiden’s house so they could watch the game together.

Perfect.

I’m at the car park, standing by Aiden’s Ferrari. As expected, he comes out first, his hair still damp and his messenger bag slung carelessly over his shoulder. He hasn’t even bothered with wearing the jacket.

He’s like that when it comes to Elsa. Since she’s meeting him at his house, he’s skipping unimportant steps so he can get to her faster.

He dismisses me with an impatient hand. “Get out of my way, Queens.”

“I think I’m pregnant.”

He pauses his dismissal game and narrows his eyes on me before he returns back to his poker face. “Congratulations. I’ll send gifts. I won’t offer babysitting services, though.”

“I’m not kidding.”

“And I honestly can’t give two fucks. You made this mess. Clean it up.”

“What mess?” Cole’s voice rips me out of the moment like doom.

“Make a sound when you approach, damn it.” I glare at him.

“Why?” He tilts his head to the side. God, I hate how good he looks fresh out of a shower, his wet chestnut strands falling over his forehead and his lips a bit redder. “You have a secret with King?”

I lift my chin. “Maybe I do.”

Aiden grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me into Cole’s embrace. “Here, your mess. You’re welcome.”

He gets into his car before staring the engine. I try to go after him, but a strong hand at my waist pins me in place.

Cole stands behind me, his front glued to my back and his hand wrapped around my middle. He whispers in low, frightening words against my ear, “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

I gulp, but my mouth is dry, so it doesn’t soothe the thing lodged in my throat. “We’re at school. Let me go.”

“Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on with you? First, you pretend you’re asleep. Then, you don’t have breakfast with us. And now, you’re running after Aiden?”

He picked up on all of that.

Of course he did. Cole is perceptive to a fault. That’s why I need to get the hell out of this before he figures out the rest.

I have no idea how he’ll react, but I know whatever it is, I won’t like it.

So I need to take things into my own hands.

I force my voice into its most neutral tone. “I decided to announce my engagement with Aiden for publicity. Uncle Jonathan thinks it’s a great idea.”

He does. It’s always been one of the things he’s insisted on since the engagement started.

I wait for Cole’s reaction, brace myself for his wrath, but his calm response takes me by complete surprise. “Why?”

“What do you mean, why?”

He’s still speaking against my ear and every word out of his mouth injects a shiver straight up my spine. “You’re not doing it for the publicity alone, so why don’t you cut the bollocks and tell me the real reason behind it.”

“You.” I whirl around to face him. “It’s so I can get rid of you.”

Hot scorching emotions whirl inside me and I feel like crying, like screaming.

Cole laughs. The sound is strong and hollow, making me stiffen.

“You’re so cute to think you can get rid of me.” He grips me harshly by the chin. “You should know already that the harder you push, the meaner I turn. The louder you say you hate me, the more ruthless I become about owning that hate. It doesn’t matter which game you play. You can even invent a new game, but I’ll learn it and still bring you to your knees in front of me. So tell me, Silver, do you honestly think you can ever win against me?”

No.

The answer is loud and clear in my head, but I also know I have to win this one.

I have to push Cole away.

“This time, I will.” I jut my chin in his hold. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to catch up to my fiancé.”

His grip tightens until I wince, but I don’t push away or cut off eye contact.

For a second, we’re suspended in time, almost as if we’re the only people on the face of the earth. My skin prickles and goosebumps erupt on my arms. Something tells me it’s not because of the cold.

The moment ends abruptly when Cole releases me.

Wait. He’s letting me go?

“If you follow Aiden and play this game, you won’t like how I’ll react.”