Page 38 of The Broken Queen

“Mommy said we could go to the park, can you come with us, Daddy? You and your friend? He’s so nice.”

Elijah? Nice? Don’t get me wrong, I had nothing against the guy, but he also wasn’t a big fan of mine.Probably because you were always a bitch to him.

“I’m sure they already have plans-”

As if I were invisible, Slade replied with, “Yes, we can tag along.”

I stood there as a mute, not sure what to do next. Goosebumps were on my arms, my stomach had butterflies swarming around, and my throat was dry. He always rendered me speechless. I wish there was a way to get over him, to cut him cold turkey and never look back. Unfortunately, he would always be around because of our daughter.

He would eventually fall in love with someone else and possibly have children with them. The thoughts that were racing through my mind made me nauseous. His gaze met mine and Icouldn’t figure out the look he was giving me. I wondered how he felt, what he thought. It seemed like he was trying to figure me out, to bust through the cracks in my armor and find out what lies beneath.

“There you are! It's time to meet your wedding planner!” A feminine voice called from behind me and I knew instantly who it was.Anna.

I still couldn’t figure her out. Sometimes it seemed like she was on my side, but other times it seemed she was on Father’s side. She was torn between the two of us, and that scared me. She’d been around for ages. I often thought of her as a good friend, but the only person I trusted without a doubt was Lewis.

Without meaning to, my body stiffened and Slade noticed the movement. He whispered in Julianna’s ear and put her down. She ran off back to her room.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. We have to get going.” I drowned out her voice and continued staring at Slade, not caring about much else.Why was he here?Something was off and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

A horrible thought entered my brain, and my stomach sank. I glanced behind me towards Julianna’s room and then back to him. His eyes narrowed.Was he here to take her from me? Was he trying to get custody? He wouldn’t be that cruel, would he?The truth was, I didn’t know Slade like I used to. He could be the cruelest human alive and want to hurt me to the point that it crippled me.

I swallowed and tried to formulate some words. “Are you here to...” I couldn’t even say the words. The thought of him taking her from me scared the crap out of me. “Are you here to take her from me?” Fear, then anger soared through my body, going deep into my veins, making my blood boil. I started seeing red. “I swear to God Slade, if you are, I will fight you. I can’t lose her too.”

His eyebrows rose briefly as if I had caught him off guard. Hmm, maybe he wasn’t here to take her from me? Maybe I misjudged him. It was like I had rendered him speechless along with everyone else. No one said a word. It was silent in the hall, it didn’t seem like anyone was breathing either. I just played with fire.

While seemingly wrong, I had every right to accuse him of that. He didn’t care for me anymore. What would be a better way to cripple your enemy than to take what is most precious to them.

His face recovered fast and he shook his head. “Despite our differences, no, I’m not here to take her from you.”

“Yeah, I think we can all agree you’re a great mother. A little fucked up in the head, but a great mom, nonetheless.” Elijah’s attempt at cracking a joke didn’t go over well when Slade hit him upside the head.

My shoulders relaxed.Thank fuck.

“Now that we’ve somewhat established that they aren’t here to do any wrongdoing, we really have to go.” My shoulders stiffened when I realized she was still here.

My gaze flickered to Elijah’s who was no longer watching me but had his eyes glued to Anna’s. Not that I could blame him. She was beautiful. Tall, brunette, blue eyes, slim figure with hips that swayed as she walked. The only thing truly fishy about her was her personality switches when it came to loyalty to the crown.

Fuck the crown and everything it stood for.

“I’m not particularly fond that we are disobeying the King’s orders,” she gives a pointed look at Lewis, “but that’s not my main concern. Currently, I need to get you to the wedding planner before she decides to back out,again.”Now her look was pointed at me. It wasn’t my fault the wedding planner only cared about herself and the strict schedule. I was the up andcoming Queen, I should have some leeway if something comes up.

I frowned. “I’m not really feeling up to going this morning.”

A harsh glare came over her features. “I don’t care how you’re feeling, you and I are going. Lewis will take care of Julianna. Hell, Slade and his minion are here too. Now come on!”

She dragged me away from the love of my life and once again there was so much I wanted to say, to yell and rant about, but didn’t get the chance. Maybe one day I would tell him exactly how I felt, but currently, I had a duty I had to take care of. Making plans to marry an absolute monster was at the top of the list.

I had to figure a way out of this.

Chapter Twenty

Slade

I watched her being dragged away from me to go plan a wedding with that monstrosity, and didn’t know how to feel about it. I had to stop myself, because I was tempted to make her stay. There was a time when I would’ve done anything to hold her, kiss her, and love her. I was so angry with her but I also couldn’t stand the thought of her marryinghim.There was a part of me that knew she belonged with me, but I tried to ignore it.

Are you taking her away from me?That question rang through my head. I would never admit it out loud, but her accusing me of doing something so cruel hurt. I wasn’t the cold hearted bastard she said I was. I cared what my daughter felt and thought about, and Raven was a part of that. It wouldcrushher if I went down that road. If I really wanted to hurt her, I would do it. I would take Julianna from her in a heartbeat. Even though the thought of having full custody of my daughter sounded great, I knew that Raven was doing what she could. I also knew that if I took Julianna away from her, Raven would cease to exist. She would give up completely. She was already teetering the edge of life and death, I couldn’t add that to her pain. Iwouldn’tdo that no matter how much I wanted to.

I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to remember why Elijah and I were here in the first place.The journal.

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