Page 52 of The Broken Queen

I wanted to be free to raise my daughter how I wanted, without the stress of having to look over my shoulder every time I went to the park with her. I wanted to go shopping at the grocery store with her like a normal mom would.Was that too much to ask for?

“Come on,” Slade walked in the direction of his office and I stood there for a few moments, admiring his backside. I was zoned in fully to him, ignoring the curious glances from his crew and questions they had directed at me.

I started to follow him and passed the large sitting area that seemed more like a living room with two couches, a table, some chairs and a television. To the left was a bar they had installed with numerous amounts of liquor and whiskey, along with the kitchen towards the back, and to the right was where all the rooms, stairs and bathrooms resided.

Here Slade was King. Everyone abided by his rules, did what he said or asked of them, and were loyal to him. At least that was the vibe I got from everyone around. I didn’t know how he got to that status, but it was admirable.

Once I was in his office, he shut the door behind me. I took a seat in one of the blue, comfy chairs and sunk into it. The stress of everything had been slowly eating away at me, making me lose weight because I was never hungry, I never slept well, and I was sure the black circles under my eyes along with my pale skin made me look like a ghost.

I wanted to be healthy for Julianna. Itriedto be, but my impending wedding to the monster of all monsters scared the crap out of me. It was one thing to sign my life over to the devil, it was another to sign my daughter’s.

Slade leaned against his desk, his eyes searing through mine. There were so many times I imagined us together, just in a room having a conversation about things that weren’t important. When we were younger, there were few times we were able to do that, but when I was with him, all the pain I had endured numbed. I could withstand anything as long as he was with me.

“What now?” I asked, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth. My leg started to bounce, and my fingers were tapping against the fabric. If he didn’t come forward with his plan soon, Iwould burst. I didn’t like waiting, and I certainly wasn’t going to wait around for Zeke to make me his little toy.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and typed a message to someone. Next thing I knew, Elijah busted in the room with a file in his hands. When he saw me, a grin spread across his face.

"What’s upQueen?”My gaze narrowed on his green gaze. Amusement flickered in his depths as he handed the file to Slade.What was his deal?I could never tell if he liked me or hated me. I often thought he hated me, but I could never figure out why. I had done nothing to him. I was nice and cordial, but maybe his lingering hatred was because of his loyalty to Slade. He had told me once that Elijah was one of the first people to make him feel welcome here after he moved from Texas. Especially since he didn’t know anything about the kingdom, estate or what the royal family was like, Elijah had become his confidant and best friend. I respected Elijah for that, but I also felt he could ease up on his hatred for me.

My gaze flickered to Slade as he approached me. He held out the file for me to take. “Everything you need to know is here. After you read through this, we will go over my plan of action.”

It all sounded so final. My heart was beating so fast inside of my chest. The file was there in his hands holding every answer I could possibly want, but fear plagued me as the daunting thing stared back at me.

I licked my lips and with shaky hands took the folder from his. He went back to his position in front of the desk, and Elijah stood near the window. I looked down at the folder, trying to decide what to do. There was an ache in my chest that told me if I opened the folder, my life would somehow be forever changed. But if I refused to look at it, life would go back to normal and Julianna and I would be sold off to Zeke.

Here goes....

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Raven

“I don’t understand...” I took a step back, my thoughts running rampant, a headache brewing. My world was falling around me, even more so than it already was.

“Slade is the actual heir to the throne. You have no claim to it....” Elijah was annunciating in a clear tone, but my head couldn’t keep up.

How was Slade the heir?That wasn’t possible unless...

My eyes widened. This couldn’t be happening.Could it?

Slade reached out and took a step forward, but I took another back.I should’ve remained sitting in that chair.

My head shook as I tried to process. I didn’t want to process it though. I was the heir. I have always been the heir. That’s why Father was so hard on me. But if the information this folder held was true, then I didn’t have to be Queen. All that pain and torture would’ve never happened.

I would’ve beenfree.

My stomach twisted; the invisible knife was shoved so far into my gut I was becoming nauseated. My back touched the wall, and I slid down it, not caring that Slade and Elijah were watching me process, waiting for my next move.

My gaze met Slade’s, and it was unclear what he was feeling.Was this his plan all along? To make me fall in love with him and then rip my feet out from under me? Did he hate me that much?

“Rav,” his tone was soothing, cautious, and he used my nickname, but I couldn’t seem to care.

My whole life was a lie; Julianna’s life was a lie.

“Give me the file,” he whispered to me, trying to take it away in my delicate state. I gripped onto it harder. This was proof. Actual proof that the pain I had suffered at the hands of that man was null in void. It didn’t have to happen, but he wanted it to. He wanted to make me weak and broken. He wanted to make it so that when the time came for me to take a husband, it wouldn’t be Slade. He knew that Slade was the true heir, and he wanted to do everything in his power so he couldn’t gain access to the throne.

What a fucking...I couldn’t even finish my thought because I started to see red.My hands curled around the file, and he noticed the change and tried to take the folder from me. I gripped it tight, but he eventually ripped it from my fingers.

“Please go put that somewhere safe,” he handed it off to Elijah who wore the biggest shit eating grin on his face.

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