Page 15 of Royally Scr*wed

I start to follow him, wanting to comfort him and just be near, but the door closes behind him. The lock clicks into place before I even have a chance to join him.

CHAPTER 6

JUDE

The hot stream of water from the shower does nothing to wash away the hurt and anger charging through my veins.

Over and over I ask myself how they hell we all got here.

My grandfather is dead.

A man that I admired all of my life. The man who stood in when I lost my father, loved me like his own son.

A man I respected above nearly all others. Who always had my back, until he didn’t.

The man who fucking betrayed me in the worst way – before either of us could make it right.

Our last words to one another were laced with rage and hate.

Now, I’ll never get the chance to tell him that I love him again.

And now it’s me who has to stand up and be the man Willow needs in her life. I have toreplacemy grandfather in the way he filled the same void our father left behind.

How?

How do you fill shoes that big?

Of course, we both still have my grandmother, thank God.

But me as a role model though, a father link figure?Fuck.

I am THE King. Tomorrow I’ll stand before all of Herefirth and proclaim my title. The entire country will look up to me. I’m now burdened with making decisions that will affect all of the people of this country.

It doesn’t matter that my father had been training me or that my grandfather did his best to prepare me as well. It wasn’t enough time. Papa was supposed to be here for this. To guide me.Thatwas the deal we made. His retirement and mentorship were originally one of the driving reasons for me marrying Charlie.

I bite my fist to try and stifle my sobs as I sink to the floor and let the water cascade over me.

When I do walk out of here, I need to appear solemn yet strong. All of our people will look to me for their strength.

But, right here, right now, I need to feel.

I need to bleed, to feel the heartbreak that is washing over me. Both the old and new.

The loss of my grandfather has drug up every last emotion that I remember far too well from the loss of my parents.

It’s suffocating. Deafening. Earth shattering.

And in minutes it will all need to be tucked away.

Gathering all of the strength I’ve got I somehow manage to pull myself up off the floor and finish what once seemed like such a simple task.

As clean as I could possibly be, I step from the shower and wrap a towel around my waist. Going through the motions, I grab another towel and wipe the fog off of the mirror before running a razor over my face to clean up the scruff and brush my teeth. One more splash of cold water to try and disguise my pain and a single spritz ofCreed– my trademark scent, then I take a deep breath and open the bathroom door.

Charlie is in the middle of the room wearing nothing but a black bra, lace boy short panties and thigh high black stockings – steaming our clothes.

“Your pants and jacket are ready. Just finishing with your shirt.”

“I told you to page Agnes.”

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