Broken Kingdom (Royal Hearts Academy #4)(82)

Irritated, I cross my arms. “What in the actual fuck are you talking about?”

“I asked you how dress shopping went the other day and you didn’t even answer me. It’s like our wedding is the farthest thing from your mind—”

“Because I don’t want to get married!” I shout before I can stop myself.

Oh, God. There it is.

Out in the universe.

I should feel bad, but all I can feel is a strange sense of…freedom.

Stone looks like I just sucked all the oxygen out of the room and left him to suffocate.

“What? What do you mean you don’t want to get married?” Slowly, he shakes his head, like he’s trying to process the atomic bomb I’ve just placed on his lap. “You don’t…you don’t love me?”

“No,” I quickly say because it’s not that. “I still care about you, but…” I close my eyes. “Everything happened so fast between us. We got engaged so quickly that I barely had a chance to wrap my head around the accident, graduating, and leaving for college before we were planning a wedding and—”

“Leave,” he croaks.

When I look up, I notice his eyes are glassy.

“I’m sorry, Stone. This isn’t how I wanted to tell you—”

“Leave,” he repeats, harsher this time. “It hurts too much to look at you right now.”

I’m at a loss for what to do because I don’t want to abandon him while he’s so upset…

But I know I’m the one who caused it.

So, I do what I should have done a long time ago.

I walk away so we can have some space.





Chapter 36





Bianca





I probably shouldn’t have drunk all that champagne.

By the time Oakley arrives at Ruth’s house to pick me up, I’m so buzzed I start giggling when I see him pull up on his motorcycle.

“What did the pirate say on his eightieth birthday?”

A curious expression lights his face as he gets off his bike. “What?”

I punch the air. “Aye ‘maighty.”

His eyebrows shoot up to the sky. “Are you drunk?”

A weary sigh escapes me. “Not nearly enough for the shit night I’ve had.”

He joins me on the curb. “Yeah, you sounded pretty upset on the phone when you called.” I can feel him studying me, worry etching his features. “What happened?”

I shake my head. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Because if I do? I’m afraid I’ll crack wide open and he’ll see everything I’ve been keeping inside.

Like the fact that I’ve spent so much time hating and resenting my former self instead of trying to figure out why I became that way in the first place.

Most people would push, but Oakley doesn’t. He cocks his head to the side, looking around. “Nice neighborhood.”

“Yeah.” I touch his arm to get his attention. “Can we get out of here? Stone’s still in the house and I don’t want him to come out here and...”

“See me?” he finishes for me.

“Yeah.” I look down, wondering how the hell I can even begin to untangle the mess I’m trapped in. “We got into a big fight and I kind of, sort of…ended the engagement.”

Welp. The cat’s out of the bag now.

I’m not sure what to make of his expression, but Oakley’s definitely not upset about the news. “Oh.”

“I’m not ready to get married yet,” I explain, even though he didn’t ask for one. “I don’t know what that means or where that leaves things between Stone and I, but I feel like a gigantic weight’s been lifted off my chest.”

Like I’m no longer drowning.

He gives my hand a small squeeze. The contact causes a shiver to run down my spine. “Then you know you did the right thing.”

That may be true, but right now it just hurts.

Like an open wound that won’t heal.

Oakley stands and reaches for my hand to help me up. “Let’s get you home.” He pauses. “Shit.”

“Shit? What’s shit? Nothing’s shit.”

Well, other than my life at the moment.

His jaw hardens. “I have my bike.”

I shrug, not understanding. “So?”

I’ve never been on a motorcycle before, but it seems like a lot of fun.

Heat rushes over my face when his eyes peruse my body from head to toe.

“That dress might be an issue.” A frown pulls at his mouth and his entire demeanor changes. “I don’t want you on my bike.”

Color me confused. “Why?”

Those blue orbs harden. “Because the last time I drove with you I almost—”

“But you didn’t,” I argue before he can finish that sentence. “Sure, I have a few scars, but someone once told me that scars meant I was stronger than what tried to kill me.” Rising on my tiptoes, I fold my arms around his neck and look deep into his eyes. “I forgive you, Oakley.”

His nostrils flare as pain illuminates his face. “Don’t.”

Not the reaction I was hoping for. “Don’t what?”