Broken Kingdom (Royal Hearts Academy #4)(123)



I regret taking it there when I see the horrified look on her face and she starts screaming at the top of her lungs.

“You were a mistake!”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to point out that a mistake is something that happens once…not multiple times.

“Was it a mistake before or after you got what you wanted from me?” I grind out, because I’m sick of this shit.

I came here to meet my sister and try to work on my relationship with my dad. Not be dragged through the mud by her.

It takes two to tango and I’m tired of being the only one to shoulder the burden of all this guilt while she gets to live her life like nothing happened.

I was still a teenager the first time we fucked, and I ended up paying the ultimate price and losing my family because of our mistake.

Hell, I’m practically an orphan now since I had to distance myself from my dad, and if it wasn’t for Jace and Cole saving my ass back when shit went south and taking me in, I’d have no one.

“My God,” she snarls. “You really need to get over your sick obsession with me.”

Obsession? More like revulsion.

However, I know exactly where to hit her so it hurts.

“Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart. I’m over chasing women who like to fuck teenagers because they looked in the mirror and realized they’re not nearly as hot as they used to be.” I snort. “Fuck you and your mid-life crisis.”

The slap from her palm connecting with my cheek nearly echoes throughout the kitchen.

And then Crystal hits me where it hurts.

“I thank my lucky stars every day that she’s not yours.”

It’s a blow I wasn’t prepared for.

But she isn’t finished yet.

“Because you’re such a screwup.”

She’s right, I’ve done a lot of fucked-up shit in my life…fucked-up shit that ended up hurting the people I care about most.

But I don’t want to do that shit anymore. I want to be a better person.

“I get why you think that, but I’m trying—”

Tilting her head back, she cackles. “Oh yeah? For how long?” Her eyes narrow into tiny slits. “You know as well as I do that it won't last. If you actually cared about your dad and baby sister, or this new girlfriend of yours, you’d go far away and leave them alone, because sooner or later you'll screw up again. Because that’s what you do. You destroy lives and leave everyone else to clean up your messes when you’re done. No wonder your mother left you. Dealing with you wasn’t worth the crap you bring to the table.”

Every word out of her mouth feels like a bullet burning through my chest and leaving me to bleed out.

“You’re a fuck-up, Oakley. Always have been, always will be. Do the world a favor and OD already you worthless piece of shit.”

Chest caving in, I brush past her and out the front door.

My dad is pulling into the driveway as I’m getting into my car.

“Hey, Oak.” His face falls when he realizes I’m bouncing. “What’s wrong? Why are you leaving?”

I don’t say a word as I drive off.

There’s nothing to say.

Because she’s right.





Chapter 59





Bianca





I spot Oakley in the waiting room standing next to Dylan and Sawyer.

He looks so broken it cracks my chest wide open and I can’t get to him fast enough.

Like a magnetic force pulling me, I catapult myself toward him as quick as my legs can carry me.

The moment his gaze locks with mine, he opens his arms, catching me.

I wrap my legs around his waist as he fastens his arms around my back, gripping me like I’m a lifeline.

Wordlessly, he walks us over to a chair in the far corner of the room.

I bury my head in the crook of his neck as he sits us down.

He doesn’t have to say anything for me to know how much he’s hurting.

And I won’t tell him false words of encouragement and pretend like everything will be okay, because right now his universe is falling apart.

A slight tremble runs through him as he breathes me in. “You came.”

“Of course, I did.” Shifting in his lap, I cradle his jaw. “I’ll be here for however long you need me.”

Closing his eyes, he tightens his hold on me, like I’m the only thing tethering him to this world.

And that’s exactly how we stay for the next hour.





“Your father is out of surgery,” some woman wearing scrubs and a white lab coat informs us.

“That means he’s alive, right?” Oakley rasps, his skin turning pale. “That he made it?”

The doctor nods. “The surgery went well, and we were able to retrieve the bullets.” She smiles. “Your dad was really lucky. One of the bullets missed his lungs by a centimeter and the other one just missed his spine. If everything continues to go well, he should make a full recovery.”

I can feel the relief coursing through his body as Dylan and Sawyer exchange hugs.

“Can I see him?”

“Sure. The nurses are getting him set up in his room so just give them another minute.” She glances around at all of us. “However, it’s only one at a time right now and immediate family only.”

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