Page 27 of Vengeful Princess

Landon’s eyes widened in horror. “Fuck, is he still making you get engaged to the Troll?”

“Yeah. Father’s organized an engagement photo shoot for this weekend.” Yet another reason why I needed to burn off some steam. He called me just as my ethics lecture ended this morning. Nothing like a death sentence to kill my mood. Olivia was lucky I only eviscerated her verbally. The way she was carrying on, I’d felt like punching her in the face. Not that I hit women, but in her case, I’d make an exception.

Blood gushed from my nose. At least Kyril hadn’t fared much better. His left eye had started to swell, and he had at least one bruised rib. Most of the time, he took it easy on me, but not today. The moment we got into the ring, I unleashed my temper on him, and because he was my friend, he fought back viciously, knowing exactly what I needed.

After an hour of sparring, I was exhausted but less keyed up. I may also have had a broken nose, which would piss my father off immensely, but I was all out of fucks to give.

“What’s eating you, anyway?” Kyril asked between gulps of water.

“My father.”

He nodded with understanding. His father was as bad as mine, just less polished.

“What’s he done this time?”

I wiped the blood and sweat from my face and grimaced at the crunching sound my nose made when I pressed it. I’d better ice it when I got back to the apartment.

“I have to go home this weekend for an engagement photo shoot.”

Kyril looked at me with sympathy. “What are you going to do? Marrying that fuckingcykais a fate worse than death.” He hummed thoughtfully. “Want me to get rid of her? There can’t be a wedding if the bride has gone AWOL.”

“Tempting though that offer is, I’d prefer it if you didn’t end up incarcerated at His Majesty’s Pleasure for the next 20 years.”

Kyril rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t do the job myself,brat. I’m not that dumb. The Lev brothers owe me. I’m sure they’d happily get rid of the ugly cunt for a bargain price.”

It was impossible not to smile at his ridiculous suggestion, but disposing of Camilla wouldn’t solve my problems. My father would no doubt produce some other whore for me to marry. “I’ll take your offer on advisement,” I said with a sigh.

The truth was, I couldn’t see a way out of this engagement to Camilla. If I tried to go against my father, he’d make my life impossible. While I might have a chance of escaping him, despite his very long reach, my mother was stuck there.

There was no way I could abandon my mother, even if she had checked out a long time ago.

14

Thea

Since college had never been on my to-do list, I was woefully unprepared for the workload expected of me. If I’d been a regular student desperate to get good grades, I’d have been panicking by now.

Quite a few students in my classes had shit a brick when our accounting professor informed us we had our first exam next week. To assess the holes in our knowledge, he said, which in my case were extensive. Seeing as how accounting was new to me.

Not that I cared. I had always been good at math, and accounting was math-based. I figured I’d hit the books for a few hours, learn the basics, and I should be fine.

Eden didn’t have to worry about this stuff. She was an art student and spent her time painting and drawing. It sounded like a lot more fun than my stupid degree, but since I’d had no input in the course selection process, I was stuck doing business administration.Yawn.

I was on my way to meet her for lunch. Despite my reluctance to make friends, Eden was growing on me. She was funny,didn’t mind my antisocial tendencies, and was happy to carry the conversation.

Having spent so much of my childhood with only my sister for company, it was nice to have a friend. Someone to sit with at lunchtime. A friendly face to hang out with at student mixer events.

Neither of us walked around in Dior and Chanel. We didn’t hail from families with double-barreled surnames and mansions in the Home Counties. Nor were we second cousins twice removed to minor members of the British royal family.

Eden understood the life I’d grown up in, even if she had no clue about my fucked-up family. From what little she’d told me about her uncle and cousins, Eden was a mafia princess born and bred, but unlike me, she had a father who cared enough to ensure she wasn’t part of that world.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I walked past the athletic field where a bunch of guys were playing soccer. The sun had disappeared behind a gunmetal gray cloud and rain was imminent, but the soccer players didn’t seem to care.

They tore across the pitch in pursuit of the ball, yelling at each other. I thought I recognized the tall blond guy at the front of the pack, but Eden’s message distracted me.

Eden: Picked up a chocolate brownie for you. Best hurry before I eat it…

Me: Be there in 5

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