Broken Kingdom (Royal Hearts Academy #4)(129)

After fishing around my purse for my phone, I bring it to my ear.

Oakley answers on the fourth ring.

I’m not sure what’s happening at his dad’s house, but it sounds like there’s one hell of a party going on in the background.

“Oakley? Hello—”

“Bianca,” he slurs on the other line.

And just like that, my heart crumbles.

“Are you drunk?”

He’s been sober for a month now. Well, with the exception of weed, but I know he mainly does that because it helps with his seizures.

I’m not sure why he’d throw his sobriety out the window like this.

“What happened? Where are you—” I start to say, but his next sentence steals the air from my lungs.

“I can’t do this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Us.”

A flicker of panic shoots through my chest. There are a lot of changes happening in his life lately, and everything I’ve read told me change can be a major trigger for addicts.

Somehow, I manage to find my voice. “I know you’re nervous about telling my brothers, but we don’t have to—”

“It has nothing to do with your brothers,” he slurs. “I don’t want to destroy you, Bianca.”

Tears well in my eyes. Not only because of what he’s saying, but his lack of faith in us.

In himself.

“You won’t,” I assure him. “I know you would never hu—”

“You’re wrong,” he roars. “I will. Because that’s what I fucking do.” The agony in his voice sears my soul. “She was right.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about. “Who?”

His voice drops to a faint whisper. “Goodbye, baby girl.”

A swell of pain infiltrates my heart. “Goodbye? Oakley, this isn’t—”

The line goes dead.

I try to call him back, but it goes straight to voicemail.

Slamming my fist against the table, I mutter a curse.

I don’t know how one moment everything was perfect between us…and now.

Everything’s broken.

Clutching my stomach, I let out a ragged breath.

The last time I spoke to him he was at his dad’s house, playing with his sister.

And now he’s getting drunk God only knows where and breaking up with me.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out something must have happened while he was there.

Snatching my keys out of my purse, I head for the door.

I might not know what went down, but I do know one thing.

Hurt people…hurt people.

And I have every intention of finding out who’s responsible for hurting the man holding my heart in the palm of his hand.





My heart beats like a drum as I march up the hilly lawn leading to Oakley’s old house.

I have to force myself to relax as I knock on the front door.

Storming in there angry won’t solve anything.

I just need to know what happened, so I can fix it.

A woman who looks a whole lot like Jace’s girlfriend Dylan answers the door.

She’s holding a sleepy Clarissa Jasmine on her hip.

My brain scrambles briefly because I realize that I’m officially face to face with the notorious Crystal.

In other words, the cunt who broke Oakley’s heart.

I swallow my irritation. “Hi, I’m—”

“Oh, my God,” Crystal says. “I love what they’ve done with the uniforms. Super cute.” She gives me a big smile. “I was a cheerleader at Royal Hearts Academy too.” Her nose crinkles. “Well, back in the day obviously.”

Obviously.

I open my mouth to tell her cheerleading isn’t the reason I’m here, but she holds up a finger.

“Let me put the baby down and I’ll run and get my checkbook, okay?”

I don’t need a donation. I need answers.

“That won’t be necessary,” I quickly sputter. “I’m actually here for Oakley.”

Her brows crash together. “Oh. I’m sorry, Oakley doesn’t live here any—”

“I know.” I swear it takes everything in me not to knock some sense into her. “I’m his girlfriend and he’s—”

“Who’s at the door?” a deep voice calls out behind her.

A second later Wayne comes into view.

Finally, someone who’s not a total dumbass.

“Hi, Mr. Zelenka.”

He blinks in confusion. “Is everything okay, Bianca? I thought your dad was still in Europe?”

“He is. But that’s not why I’m here—”

“She’s here for Oakley,” Crystal interjects and there’s no hiding the annoyance in her tone.

Concern colors his expression. “What’s wrong with Oak?”

Crystal scoffs. “What isn’t wrong with him?”

The tiny hairs on my arms stand on end.

I choose to focus my attention on Wayne because I’m liable to smack the shit out of her if she makes another jab at Oakley’s expense.

“That’s the thing,” I begin. “I’m not sure. He was excited to meet Clarissa Jasmine and see you, and I thought everything was going great while he was here, but then he called me and sounded really ups—”