Empire of Hate (Empire #3) by Rina Kent

My eyes stung, but I couldn’t allow the tears to escape. I didn’t let Daniel see me cry when he hurt me before and that won’t change. “You’re a bloody idiot.”

“And you’re a bitch.”

That’s what he started to call me after that. A bitch.

It got worse when my stepsister, Astrid, came to live with us after her mother died when we were fifteen.

Uncle Henry told me to take her with me to Chloe’s birthday party so she’d make new friends.

And guess who the only friend she made was?

Daniel.

They fell in the pool together and then got out laughing and disappeared to where I couldn’t find them.

Since then, they’ve been inseparable.

Since then, I’ve been forced to see him come to our house, make me feel invisible, and only care about Astrid.

Sometimes, it’s like he doesn’t see me. And the only time he does is when I’m mean to Astrid.

Mum dislikes her because she’s middle class and not from our social standing. I didn’t really care about her at the beginning, but she just had to get close to Daniel.

She had to be friends with him in one freaking day while I’ve been hopelessly trying for seven years.

One day, I hid her sketchbook, just because I wanted her to fret. But it was Daniel who got mad at me, got in my face and told me, “Is your life that boring that you find pleasure in making other people’s lives hell? Why do you have to be a bitch?”

Because he only sees me when I’m being one.

It’s not like I’m physically hurting anyone. I’m just tired of being a good girl, tired of feeling lucky and privileged.

Daniel has never seen me during all the years I’ve been a good girl. Hell, he hated me for it, so maybe that’s not the answer.

Maybe all I need is to become so bad that he’ll only look at me.

Even if it’s with disapproval and glares. That way, he’s at least looking at me.

So I’ve kept being mean to Astrid, especially when he’s around. I’ve kept being a thorn in her side and making her life as miserable as mine.

I hated her and was jealous of her. I envied her lighthearted energy and how she couldn’t care less about the luxurious life she was thrust in.

I was jealous of her for making Daniel smile and show his dimples.

He’s never directed that smile at me.

Never.

I could only watch it from afar.

Until now.

I have to end this ill-fated relationship. I have to stop Daniel from misunderstanding me.

From looking everywhere except at me.

From making me invisible.

Today, we’re at a party to celebrate the football team’s win.

The captain of the football team, Levi King, is hosting the party at his mega-rich uncle’s holiday mansion.

Everyone from school had to drive for hours to get here. The car park is filled with all types of luxurious German cars that parents buy for their kids.

After all, everyone who studies at Royal Elite School is the elite of the elite. It’s the school from which prime ministers and parliament members graduate.

Papa and Uncle Henry studied there as well.

And so did Daniel’s father, Benedict Sterling. He comes from old money and is the CEO of a computer engineering company. Daniel and his older brother, Zach, are the sole heirs of a multibillion-dollar fortune and a multitude of real estate that extends beyond borders.

Zach is already studying to take over after his father retires, and Daniel is expected to follow in their footsteps. Or that’s what I gathered—I mean, spied—while Mum was talking to Aunt Nora, Daniel’s mother.

I do that a lot, spying, staying around just to hear crumbs about his life.

That’s how I learned that he’s a picky eater and only has specific places he eats from. But I don’t think Aunt Nora knows the actual reason why her son is that way about food.

I do.

Because I followed him the day his taste in food changed forever.

I was around the corner when he threw up his guts and leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

He didn’t see me, though, not even when I constantly left him my precious peach lollipops so he could chase away the bitter taste of vomit.

But that won’t be the same after today. I’ll make sure I’m out of the invisibility shadow that I’ve been living under for the past ten years.

I scarcely pay attention to what Chloe and the other girls are talking about. Which is mostly boys and fashion shows and the latest gossip.

Vain, vain, and more vain.

But I’m lucky and privileged to be part of this life, so I don’t have the right to complain. Besides, what’s the point?

Isn’t this type of luxury what other people strive for?

“Your dress is so pretty, Nicole. Is that Dior?” Hannah, one of the girls, asks.

I pause my obsessive watching session of the entrance and focus back on the conversation.

My dress is light peach-colored with subtle streaks of gold. It’s short enough to graze my upper thigh, but it’s not tight enough to make me look cheap. Its straps are an elegant gold and it’s low-cut enough to show a hint of my cleavage.

It’s a “You can look, but you can’t touch” dress at its finest.

My hair is loose and falls straight to the hollow of my back. I’m wearing my lucky peach-colored heels that allow me to stand taller than all the girls here.