Page 16 of Twisted Kings

If he’d fitted an electronic keycard lock linked to the house’s security system, Milo could have hacked it, but the bastard was old school and my skills didn’t stretch to picking old-fashioned mortise locks.

Since it was Christmas and Dad needed Mom as an accessory when we had guests, I had to pray he stuck to his word and didn’t send her away as long as I continued to play his games.

Guests were expected for dinner this evening. Or so the housekeeper had informed me. I wasn’t sure whether my attendance was obligatory, but I assumed so. He usually liked to wheel out his son and heir.

The sex tape story had died down in the week since it leaked online. Dad still hadn’t returned my phone, but I had access to the TV in the family room, and it connected to the internet. The stupid fuck had forgotten that. Him being such a technophobe had its benefits sometimes.

I’d spent a few hours surfing YouTube and watching all the gossip channels to gain some insights into how the sex tape had been received. Most of the worst trolling was linked to Thea, naturally. She’d been called everything from a whore to Satan’s daughter for fucking me.

It was pretty fucking laughable. Landon was still a sex god, and I now had a massive online fan club, all of whom wanted to marry me and bear my children. I presumed my father’s PR agency had hired some interns to spend 10 hours a day deleting all the disgusting comments and DMs on my socials. It had to be a full-time job.

Landon was probably loving all the attention. He lived for that shit. Women slid into his DMs all the time. Some wanted to date him, but most were only interested in fucking him. It was the downside of being young, hot, and rich.

I’d not spoken to the guys since all the Thea shit went down. Milo had tried messaging and calling me on the burner, but I needed some time out to get my head together. Discovering Thea had been a backstabbing cunt had fucked with me, even though I’d suspected it from the start.

What made it worse was knowing I’d shown her a side of me nobody else saw.

How fucking stupid was that?

The staff were busy preparing for tonight’s pre-Christmas dinner party. Everywhere I looked, there were fresh flowers in vases, fragrant garlands of pine-scented greenery, and several more opulent Christmas trees.

Dad had massively gone over the top this year. Most probably to deflect from his son’s embarrassing behavior.

“Can I get you anything, sir?” Harold, our butler, asked as I reached the library door.

I shook my head, then changed my mind. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind a G&T. Heavy on the gin, no ice.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll prepare that for you.” Wandering into the library, I took a seat by the window, and a few moments later, Harold returned with my drink.

A fire blazed in the hearth, casting a warm glow over the floor-to-ceiling shelves, packed full of books.

I planned to have more than a few drinks this evening. God knows I needed a helping hand to get me through the next few days. The new semester at college couldn’t come soon enough.

Once Harold disappeared, I pulled my burner phone from my pocket. It was time to call Milo and find out what the guys were up to.

“About time,” he grumbled when the call connected.

“Everything OK?” I asked. “Are you at home?”

“No, we’re still at Abernethy.”

Christmas was less than a week away. I figured they’d all have left campus by now.

“How come?”

“We’ve been putting together a rescue plan.”

“Things aren’t that bad here,” I joked. “Dad hasn’t followed through on his threats to send me to boot camp.”

“Not you. I know you’re fine.”

I wasn’t fine, but OK. Good to know my friends gave no fucks about my welfare.

“So who then?”

“Thea, of course,” he replied, making it clear I should have known this.

“What the actual fuck are you talking about?” I gulped some more gin down, wishing I’d asked for a fucking absinthe or some of my father’s Balkan vodka. That shit soothed all pain.

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