Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite #6)(80)

I couldn’t possibly risk going to a pharmacy for a pregnancy test, so I ordered one, along with a bunch of makeup and clothes that I’ll probably never wear just to cover the initial purchase.

I have my own bank account, and since I turned eighteen, neither Papa nor Mum have the right to see my statements without my approval, so this is merely a precaution.

“Thanks, Helen,” I tell her, helping with the pack.

“What have you gotten in here, darling?” She drops the box on the bed. “It’s so heavy.”

“Just stuff.”

“Don’t take long. Breakfast is ready.”

“Okay.” I kiss her cheek, then lock the door behind her. I also close the balcony’s door for good measure.

As soon as I open the box, I rummage through the rubbish I bought until I find the test.

My fingers tremble as I clutch it.

You can do this. You’ve got this.

I read the instructions carefully before I go to the bathroom and follow them. As I wash my hands, I keep staring at the test.

Two lines means pregnant.

One line means not.

The instructions say I have to wait for five minutes. It’s been ten seconds and I’m already freaking out.

It took me some time to buy this test. As in, more than a couple of weeks. I kept thinking that if I didn’t know for sure, then nothing would happen. In a typical running from responsibility kind of way. Every day my period doesn’t show up, I freak out more.

During all this time, I’ve been letting Cole fuck me slow and deep until I think I’m going to faint from the amount of softness he actually possesses.

Other than that, weird stuff has been going on all around us.

Like when Uncle Jonathan took me to the Meet Up so he could announce to Elsa that I’m engaged to Aiden. There was a whole shitshow that involved her father and a lot of other things.

I wanted to run from there, and I did as soon as I could. Aiden is still after my head because I didn’t warn him about his father’s surprise visit, but fuck him. He made me believe Cole fucked Johansson when he never had sex with anyone else but me.

A small smile tugs on my lips at that thought and I gently bite my lower lip.

Cole was a virgin until me. It’s hard to believe that he never had sex until our parents’ wedding day.

I’m Cole’s first and last.

I frown at that. Last?

That can’t be possible. Not with the situation we’re in. That’s why I got the test. I need to figure out what to do about what’s growing inside me.

I glimpse at the timer, then at the test. Three minutes to go.

Letting my head fall into my hands, I pretend to play “Moonlight Sonata” in my brain.

I’m not here. I’m in another universe where I get to be with who I want without any restrictions.

Then I can even have this baby. I can be a mother and promise not to throw my emotional baggage on to him.

God. I sound like a bitch about my parents in my head.

The timer goes off and I release a breath as I peek from between my fingers.

Two lines.

Pregnant.

I’m pregnant with Cole’s child.

Holy. Shit.





I apologise to Helen, pretending I have a meeting with Summer and Veronica so I can’t have breakfast at home.

If I sit at the same table as Cole or Papa, I’ll eventually crumble, and I can’t do that.

My head is in complete chaos during the entire day. I can’t focus. I can’t play the piano. I can’t even take two steps without being in a daze.

It’s like I’ve been pushed out of my own skin.

I know I’ll eventually have to make decisions. I have to go to the doctor and either ask him about the baby’s health or tell him to kill him.

Tears prickle into my eyes at that second option.

I don’t want to kill my own child. I don’t care that I’m eighteen and that the father is my step-freaking-brother. Why does an innocent soul have to pay for that?

Every time Cole is in sight, I act cool, then run away.

He’ll know I’m avoiding him. He always does, the wanker.

Besides, I can’t possibly fall asleep without him reading me one of his boring books now. He’s so snobbish about paperbacks, I gave up trying to make him read to me from my Kindle.

The thought that I’ll lose all of that once the truth of what I’m carrying comes to light makes me sick to my stomach.

Maybe I can crash at Mum’s for a few days until I figure out what the hell I’m going to do.

Unless she finds out and kind of kills me.

And Papa.

He’s so old-fashioned and conservative. He’ll be so disappointed in me if he finds out I haven’t only been fucking my stepbrother under his roof, but I also fell pregnant.

I call it a day as soon as the last class ends. Usually, I’ll linger around the football team’s practice and pretend they bore me out of my mind while I secretly ogle Cole.

What? He looks hot as hell in his football jersey and with that captain band around his thick bicep.

All the girls are head over heels for Aiden and Xander because they’re the strikers who scores the goals. Or Ronan, because he makes a show out of everything he does. But Cole is the secret weapon.

I think only the coach and the players themselves understand how important his position on the team is. Ninety per cent of the assists that lead to goals are made by him. All the possessiveness of the ball in the midfield is also ensured by him. Most of the attacks are orchestrated by him. The defence is literally his bitch.