Page 36 of The Cruel Heir
“Jesus Christ,” John exploded, from the other end of the table. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Zara?”
I looked up, trembling. “H-headache,” I whispered.
John sneered, “Instead of interrupting dinner, why don’t you head up to bed?”
Sterling had removed his fingers, and fixed my dress in the commotion, slowly licking them while staring at me, like he had not a care in the world. His molten gaze sent a warning to me. We weren’t finished. Not by a long shot.
“Gladly,” I mumbled, pushing away from the table. The room spun when I stood too fast. I blinked through it, hoping he didn’t notice.
My dinner had barely been touched. I spun on my heel and raced upstairs. I swore I could hear the devil’s laugh, chasing me along the way, laughing about the scent of my pussy lingering on his fingers, before I slammed the bedroom door shut behind me. Fuck, I needed to get out of here. I would not survive in this hell hole.
Back in my room, I pressed my back against the door, my breaths coming in shallow gasps. My reflection in the mirror wasa stranger’s; a woman with wide, panicked eyes, and trembling hands. I clutched my stomach, the slight swell a cruel reminder of the secret I carried.
Could I really be pregnant?
The thought sent a shiver down my spine. The timeline haunted me. It fit too perfectly. Too neatly.
I shook my head, trying to banish the thought. What mattered was finding a way out of this house, away from Sterling, and the twisted power he held over me.
I shouldn’t have fallen into his web. But had I been given any choice? Sterling was a menace. In school, he’d often bullied me.
High school was a battleground.Some girls got through by hiding, others by clawing their way to the top. Me? I tried to blend in, to be untouchable. But no amount of hiding could make me invisible to Sterling Kingsley.
He had a way of pulling the rug out from under me, just when I thought I could breathe.
It was sophomore year and I had just gotten a rare break, an afternoon without Chadwick clinging to me like I owed him my existence. The moment the bell rang I slipped out of class, my books clutched tightly to my chest, as I navigated the hallways of Clear View Academy. The place was a breeding ground for the privileged and the cruel, a world Sterling ruled with a smirk and an iron grip.
I should have known better than to think I could make it to my next class without him noticing me.
I felt him before I saw him. A shift in the air, the weight of his presence pressing against my spine like a phantom hand.
“Where are you sneaking off to, little hummingbird?”
His voice slid over my skin, like silk laced with barbed wire. I clenched my jaw, keeping my gaze locked on the end of the hallway. Maybe if I ignored him, he’d get bored. Maybe-
A hand snatched the back of my sweater, yanking me backward. I gasped as I stumbled, barely catching myself, before my books spilled onto the floor.
"Now, now. Ignoring me? That hurts, Zara."
I turned, my breath coming short as I met his gaze. Sterling leaned against the locker beside me, one hand stuffed into the pocket of his perfectly tailored uniform slacks, the other braced against the metal boxing me in.
Even at seventeen he was too tall, too sharp, too fucking much. His uniform fit him better than any of the other guys, his tie loose in a way that screamed rebellion rather than laziness. A slow smirk tugged at his lips, and I hated the way my stomach clenched.
"Move," I said, my voice flat.
He tsked, reaching out to tug at one of my curls. "Not even a 'hi, Sterling'? You wound me."
I smacked his hand away, but it only made his smirk widen.
"God, you're predictable,"he mused, tilting his head as if he were studying me, like an insect trapped under glass. "Always trying so hard to act like you're better than us. Like you're not one of us."
I swallowed, knowing what was coming. He could be vicious, but it was when he got thoughtful that I had to worry.
"You're not, you know," he continued, his voice dropping. "You’re just a girl playing pretend. Trying to walk between worlds, but we all know how this story ends."
My throat tightened, but I forced my expression to remain neutral. "Let me go, Sterling."
He leaned in, his breath brushing against my ear. "Say please."
