Page 66 of The Broken Queen

Lovely.Maybe my news will help. I was going to play the perfect daughter, acting like everything was okay, getting excitedto marry someone he threw at me. I had to fake it to make it if I wanted to be free of him. Ofallof them.

I went to knock on the door. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you; like I said, he’s pissed.”

I shrugged. I’ve dealt with his wrath before; he can fucking get over it. Ignoring his statement, I decided to walk in instead of knocking. Father would listen to me when I wanted him to listen, not the other way around.

I walked in to him having his hand raised over a man who looked to be in his sixties. He was dressed in a nice suit, so I assumed he was a CEO or something in deep shit. Once Father saw me, his anger drifted towards me.

“What the fuck are you doing in here? I told Markus not to let anyone in.” He lowered his hand and moved back, his angry gaze focused on me.

“I didn’t give him a choice. You’re going to listen to me.”

His gaze narrowed. “I’m going to listen to you?”

“Yes.” I folded my arms over my chest. “I won’t fight you anymore on marrying Zeke.”

His brows rose. He clearly wasn’t ready for that one.

“But I will do it on my terms. I get to pick the dress, the cake, and every detail that goes into it. I also get to pick the date.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. “I want to marry him this Saturday at noon.”

He took a breath and went to lean on his desk. “Why all of the sudden?”

Here’s where I had to sell it. I didn’t give a fuck who was in the room with us. I didn’t know who the person he was about to beat to a bloody pulp was, but I needed to get this out.

I took a deep breath and released it. “You were right. Slade isn’t the right person for me and Julianna, and it’s time to move on. He can’t give us what we need. I believe Zeke can. And while I don’t love him yet, I’m sure that will come with time.”

It had been so long since I’d seen Father happy. But there was a genuine grin that came onto his face. He chuckled, “Well, it looks like you’re in luck, Julian. My daughter just saved your life.”

He moved around the desk, sat in the chair and reached for his cell. He glanced back at me as he looked for the number and brought the phone to his ear. “I accept your offer.”

I nodded and left the room quickly.

The first part of the plan was ready.

Time for part two.

SLADE

“Wait, she didn’t even listen to you?” Elijah was a hard person to crack. At times he was down to earth, trying to be funny and everyone’s friend. Other times, he was an asshole who needed to be reminded often that he wasn’t in charge.

I was.

“She wasn’t particularly thrilled with me throwing her to the wolves. I understand that. I’m just giving her a little time to process it while we work on our next move.”

“I still don’t understand your fascination with her. There are plenty of women around, pining for you. You need to go that route instead of getting caught in that tangled mess.”

I tipped the bottle back and chugged. Once it was empty, I threw it in the trash, grabbed another beer from the fridge, and opened it. I looked him in the eye and told him how I felt. “I love her. Plain and simple. Love isn’t easy. It never has been. I hate her at times, and currently I hate that she is making me out to be the bad guy. She’s irrational, makes stupid decisions, but she means well. She’s always meant well. It’s not her fault she was put in the place she is currently. It’s not her fault that I was framed. So, again...don’t input your suggestions when you don’tknow what the fuck you’re talking about. Don’t make me choose Elijah because if it comes down to it, I’ll pick her. Every damn time.”

He was quiet for a minute, then he reached for a bottle of crown. He grabbed two shot glasses from the cabinet, opened the bottle and poured. “Then I guess it’s time to confess something.”

I stilled. He handed me the shot. “You better drink up. I need you drunk, because once you hear what I have to say, you won’t be my biggest fan.”

I took the shot and downed it. My hand gripped the glass. The kitchen was quiet, everyone was out at the bar or having sex somewhere on the compound. Lewis had taken Julianna for ice cream and then took her back to the estate. She was ready to be back with Raven and I wasn’t going to fight it, especially since my head was so fucked up.

“Tell me.” I said through gritted teeth. I had a sick feeling whatever he was going to tell me had to do with Raven, and that I wasn’t going to like it.

“Do you remember that night I came to the estate and told you that Kyra was bugging me after you broke it off with her?”

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