Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6) by Rina Kent

My eyes widen as I try to keep my calm. I’m Sebastian Queens and Cynthia Davis’s daughter. I will not break.

Taking a deep inhale, I speak in a slightly cracked voice, despite my attempts to keep it neutral, “Adam. If you don’t stop, I’ll tell —”

“Shut the fuck up, Silver.” He punches the car again.

“What’s going on here?”

I release a breath as someone approaches us. Elsa. I’ve never been happier to see her in my entire life.

“Fuck off, bitch. This is none of your business,” Adam snarls at her.

“Silver?” she asks me carefully.

I slightly shake my head and mouth, “Cole.”

For some reason, he’s the only one I want to see right now. Besides, I know he can keep Adam’s claws off me.

And I need Adam’s damn claws off me.

Elsa retrieves her phone, shoulders pushing backwards. “Back off right now or I’ll call the principal, Adam. Maybe it’s his business.”

He takes a step towards her.

She jams her hand in her backpack. “Come any closer and I’ll blind your fucking eyes with pepper spray.”

Adam’s gaze roams over me one more second, and I hold my breath, only releasing it when his attention breaks from me as he snarls at Elsa, “Stupid fucking bitch.”

Elsa keeps watching him with that rigid posture and determined look until he gets into his vehicle and leaves.

I fall back against my car, hugging my stomach.

It’s going to be fine, baby.

It’s over.

It’s all over.

“Are you…okay?” Elsa stops in front of me.

I can’t believe she, of all people, helped me. After all the drama I’ve brought to her relationship with Aiden, I would have expected her to beat me up again or something.

At least, that’s what I thought when she caught me vomiting in the bathroom the other day.

Instead, she asked me if I needed help.

She’s the polar opposite of Aiden, and maybe that’s why they fit so well.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I whisper. “I…I need to go. Forget what I said earlier. Don’t mention a word about this to Cole.”

If he knows, he’ll blame me, not Adam. He’ll come after me for hiding this from him.

I need to talk to Frederic about it. He’s a PR genius, he can tell me how to deal with this in the best way that won’t hurt Papa.

He’ll also want to murder me, but I’ll take that.

I wish I could also tell Frederic about the pregnancy, but he’d tell me to get rid of it. That’s what everyone would say.

Cole included.

And that hurts more than I’d like to admit.

“You should tell Aiden,” Elsa says.

“What does he have to do with anything? King didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“Whatever. It’s not my place.” I open my car’s door and slide inside. “I won’t say anything until you talk to him.”

“About what?”

“What do you think?”

After what she did for me today, I might consider Aiden’s order and actually confess it all.

What’s the point of holding on to this engagement if he won’t take responsibility for the child?

As I drive out, I place a hand over my stomach and a tear slides down my cheek at the thought that I might be forced to lose this life after all.





33





Silver





Every day that passes is like a ticking bomb.

Every time Papa or Mum say they want to speak to me about something, I jump in my own skin.

Every time Helen brings me food, I wince, thinking I’ll get morning sickness.

Every time Frederic and Derek tell me ‘Good morning, Miss’ or ‘Good evening, Miss,’ I’m screaming inside, They know!

I spend the entire week with Mum so I can avoid Cole.

At first, he corners me, demanding I tell him what I’m hiding and threatening that I’ll pay if he has to find out himself.

His form of payment isn’t toying with my body as I wish. Instead, he completely tunes me out.

For the first time since we started whatever we had, Cole isn’t speaking to me.

He says he won’t unless I tell him what’s going on.

Whenever I pass him by and he pretends I don’t exist, I die a little inside. Cole has a perfect blank face, so he can make you feel like you’re no different from the dust on his shoe.

It hurts.

It makes me sleep with tears in my eyes every night.

But what hurts the most is the thought of what he’ll do when he finds out I’m carrying his baby.

Today, I turned down a dinner date with Mum and Lucien. Usually, I love the Frenchman’s company. He’s cool and charismatic and reminds me of Uncle Jonathan — without the frightening ruthlessness. As long as he makes Mum smile and forget about her demons, I approve.

Despite Lucien’s pleasant company, I decide to return to Papa’s house, hoping, praying Cole will actually sneak into my room.

He doesn’t.

He doesn’t pay me much attention at dinner, as if I’m not sitting right there in front of him. Even Helen asks me if Cole and I are going back to the time we couldn’t stand each other.