Savage Royals: A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance(27)
Thirty minutes later, because Leah was never on time for anything, the two of us were sprawled out on the large couches, notes and books spread around us.
“So, how was your grandparent’s house?” she asked as she flipped through a massive political science textbook.
“Weird,” I answered honestly. “My grandma apparently knows the Princes’ parents, but I can’t tell how much she likes them. Plus, she and my grandpa act like they’re practically strangers, and I really don’t think he wanted me there at all. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad to be back at Oak Park.”
“Damn!” She laughed. “Must’ve been pretty bad then. Unless you’re actually starting to like this place?”
“Not likely.” I rolled my eyes. “The Princes still fucking hate me, and Adena’s out for my blood. As soon as I got back, the first thing she did was threaten me and talk shit. What the hell is her problem?”
“Oooh, I think I might know. At the party on Friday, I saw her and Mason get into a huge fight.” Leah sat up, abandoning her book.
“What? Why? What was it about?”
She arched a brow at me. “Calm down, overeager. I have no idea. They were yelling at each other out by the pool. A bunch of us were inside watching them, but I wasn’t about to step out there and risk getting fried by her laser beam eyes. Forget that.”
I sighed. “Good call. The last thing you want is to be in Adena’s crosshairs. She seems to seriously have it out for me.”
“Yeah, just like all the Royals. I don’t know what you did, but God, girl. Stop it.”
I laughed. “We both know I’m innocent.”
Although after my conversation with Jacqueline, I’d started to wonder if their grudge against me was less about something I’d done and more about who I was. A Hildebrand. Did they resent that I’d come from nothing and was now poised to inherit an empire that rivaled theirs in wealth and power? I hadn’t grown up in this world, but I was Charlotte Hildebrand’s daughter, and my name still bore the weight of my family’s legacy.
“Honestly, you have to remember that Adena is here for one reason,” Leah said, flipping her book open again. “She wants to snag a husband.”
That caught my attention.
My head whipped up, and I stared at her before I burst out laughing. “What? We’re in high school. Who the hell thinks about a husband at our age?”
“The Royals,” she shrugged, not laughing with me. “They take it really seriously.”
“So, what? The thousands of dollars in tuition is considered a matchmaking fee? The actual education part isn’t important?” I scoffed.
“It is, just not as important as meeting someone and securing a good connection. These rich families don’t wait until college to start matchmaking. Honestly? A marriage tie could be worth billions and the families don’t mess around making sure the best fit for their family name is found.”
“Holy shit.” I blinked, staring at my notes but not really seeing them. “That’s insane.”
“No argument there.” She swatted at my arm, grinning. “Now leave me alone. I’m trying to study.”
Chapter 11
I passed the English Lit test.
Barely.
It was short answer format, which was my least favorite, and everything I’d shoved into my brain the night before felt like a jumbled mess as I tried to spew it out in somewhat coherent sentences.
Mason finished early and leaned back in his desk, legs spread wide in a casual stance, long fingers playing over the silk of his tie as he watched me struggle. He looked thoughtful more than malicious, but I’d learned not to trust his expressions. Usually when his face was the softest, that was when he was about unleash the most cruelty.
But I passed. I didn’t let him or Adena win.
All my classes ramped up after that. The teachers had apparently been taking it easy on us for the first month and a half, and they kicked things into high gear before Halloween rolled around.
On Halloween, I went to a party with Leah. I didn’t want to, but she talked me into it—mostly because I’d accidentally let slip that I was a sucker for dressing up. I loved costumes, although I hadn’t actually gotten to celebrate Halloween in years.
The party was off-campus, at a luxurious mansion in the hills outside of Roseland. An enormous infinity pool was set into the hillside overlooking the town in the distance, and the giant house was full of girls dressed as slutty versions of various characters and guys drinking from red Solo cups.
Adena and Mason got into another fight, and even though I tried to stay out of it, she didn’t need much of an excuse to turn her anger on me. After Mason stormed off, she tripped me by the pool and shoved me into the water. The kids who were already swimming laughed at me and played keep-away with my phone, which I’d hoped I might be able to salvage if I got it out of the water quick enough.
No such fucking luck.
Leah—who’d been my ride—offered to ditch the party early and drive me home. I think she felt bad for making me go in the first place, but I couldn’t really be mad at her. She’d made a good argument when she was trying to talk me into it—that if I never showed my face at these things, if I holed up in my room forever, the Princes and everyone else would think they’d won.