Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6)(103)

The night his wife died, Gav cried because he couldn’t smile anymore.

He’d lost his doll.

But then he found her. He’d seen her before, but he had his doll at the time, so he didn’t care much about any other doll.

But that night was different. That night, she was crying. His doll didn’t cry, she only smiled.

Now, she cried for him. She was sad for him, and Gav decided he’d found his doll again.

Gav knew that he’d own that doll.

He didn’t want to hurt her, though. He didn’t want to unleash how much he missed her.

So he found other dolls, temporary ones. He hit them from the back, masturbated to their helpless bodies, then left them in the forest.

They had golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes. They looked like his doll, but weren’t.

Now, Gav has his doll. She comes to him. She smiles at him and compliments him.

He cooks for her, washes her, and brushes her hair. He changes her clothes and takes pictures of her. When no one is looking, he masturbates to them.

To her.

His doll.

The one he’ll own forever.

No one believed in his happily ever after, but he did.

He believed that he and his doll would have forever. One way or another.

My hands are unsteady as I find the pictures in the box. Countless pictures of Silver in several indecent positions — while she’s asleep, half-naked, through the shower peephole.

The door to the office opens and I glance up.

Sebastian stares at me. “What are you doing here?”

“Do you have a gun?” I ask in a voice I don’t recognise.

He nods.

I never saw it coming when I should’ve.

That’s what happens when you watch everyone else except for yourself. When you observe everything except for the thing that’s right in front of your eyes.

I never recalled Dad’s last words, but now, I do.

When I ran outside that day, I was scared because I’d heard Mum scream.

I thought something had happened to her.



Dad is drowning in the pool, blood oozing from his head.

The sound of gurgling nearly suffocates me. Dad is going to drown.

I don’t want him to drown.

He reaches his hand out and I extend my smaller one. The red water is pulling him under. The red water is taking him away.

“Dad…” My whisper is haunted, my small hand trembling along with my entire body.

His face contorts. Chaos. It’s coming back.

Just like it took me to the dark, it’s now taking him.

“Y-you’re a monster,” Dad gurgles on the water. “R-run, Cole.”

Then he’s gone.



Run, Cole.

Those were his last words to me. Not the ‘You’re a monster’ part. He wasn’t looking at me when he said those words.

He was looking behind me.

At the shadow I couldn’t possibly sense because I was shaking, watching Dad drown and not being able to do anything about it.

He was looking at Gav.

Or what’s written in the book as Gav.

Gav is my mother.

Silver is her doll.





43





Doll Master





“Moonlight Sonata” echoes from the phone and I hum along with it as I wipe my doll’s hands.

It’s her favourite piano piece. It’s grown on me, and it makes me think of her.

She’s still out. Maybe I put too much propofol in the syringe this time?

Well, I missed.

I was a bit angry all night.

Everything that I’ve done to be close to my doll is slowly withering away. That bitch Cynthia has always been a sore thumb since high school. Her only saving grace is giving birth to my doll.

Now, she and Sebastian think she can take her away from me?

He said we should divorce. I should move out. I can’t see her anymore. I can’t cook for her, wash her, brush her hair, kiss her, watch her fuck my son.

I’m not jealous of Cole. He’s always been an uninteresting doll, but he’s the only one who can make her eyes roll back and her lips part with so much pleasure. So I let them have it their way.

Even if they lock me out sometimes.

Now, because of Cynthia, Sebastian says I can’t live with my doll anymore. I offered him everything William left me with the sole condition that I stay with him — with my doll.

I was only going to keep watching from afar. I was going to brush her hair and kiss her goodnight and good morning and have her kiss me back.

That’s all I asked for.

I was even hurting other dolls to not lose my cool and touch her.

None of those sacrifices worked. She was going to leave me anyway. No matter what I did, she’d choose the bitch Cynthia over me.

I’ll kill Cynthia as soon as my doll wakes up and gives me a kiss. Then we can stay here.

She used to always come and cook with me here. She’ll love it.

Silver moans as she slowly opens her eyes. Those blue, blue eyes. Like my previous doll that I used to hide beneath my pillow as Dad loved me.

She’s better than that doll, though. Silver is more sophisticated, and her smile is more real.

“H-Helen?” She cradles her temple as she slowly sits up. “What happened?”