Page 2 of Shattered Reign

I couldn’t get enough of this view, and I needed to take more photos of the scenery. I needed to take as many pictures as I could throughout my stay because there was no way that anyone back home would believe this.

Then again, who did I have to show this to back home?

My parents wouldn’t have cared normally, but now even more so. As far as I knew, they didn’t know I was the one who set into motion all the events that occurred over the last half a day or so, but I’m sure it would be red flag central that I wasn’t at the party, and the fact that I wasn’t answering my old phone.

Then again, that was if they were even attempting to call me. They might be too busy dealing with the shitstorm I created.

Well, the one that they’d started, and I now put an end to.

Although I’d had help in the form of a video leaking—which I really needed to find out how in the hell that happened—I was the reason for all of the dominos tumbling down. But if they hadn’t tried to orchestrate a fake engagement and wedding, then none of this would have occurred. Or I wouldn’t have been the cause of it all happening, at least.

My brother might be interested, but who knew how he was feeling since he might be in the direct line of fire due to the implosion of my father’s political career.

Iris, my best friend, was who knew where and the guilt from having left her sat heavy in my stomach.

Then there was Easton. I didn’t even want to begin to think of what might be going through his mind.

Instead, I grabbed my phone and began snapping photos of the landscape. Once I was done, I walked back into my suite and unpacked my things. After that, I decided that resting would do me a bit of good, given the journey I’d just been on. I probably should stay awake in order to try to fix my internal clock after the time zone change, but I couldn’t make myself give a fuck. I decided to take a quick shower before putting on a pair of sweats, setting an alarm so I didn’t sleep too long, and getting into bed.

The bed felt like heaven on earth, and I was ready to embrace the sleep that awaited me.

But first, my mind wandered back to what I thought might have happened after the news broke about my father’s lies and infidelity.

2

EASTON

SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER

If you had told me that the world had come to a standstill, I would have believed you. The awkwardness that permeated every surface in this room was suffocating. I glanced over at Raven, and she looked as if she was ready to melt into Nash if she could have. I didn’t blame her.

Shock was present on every face in the room as the breaking news that everyone had just read sank in. Murmurs picked up as the Hensons’ guests couldn’t believe what they were reading and experiencing. It was a chaotic scene without the physical signs of chaos.

What none of this gave me any insight into was where on earth Bianca was.

My eyes searched through the crowd, looking for her once more, but landed on her mother instead. Her face had turned pale, and based on her expression, I was beginning to wonder if she was going to faint. I watched as Mayor Henson walked up to her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder, but she wasn’t having it.

She moved her body away from his and issued him a strong glare as if to warn him not to try that move again. When Mayor Henson tried to whisper something in Mrs. Henson’s ear, she threw her head back in disgust and walked away from him. It took him a couple of seconds to realize what had happened before he was soon following behind her.

I found Diana Caldwell standing with her mouth open and a hand over her chest in one of the corners of the room. Her reaction was over the top compared to everyone else’s at the party. I still couldn’t shake the feeling that she was somehow involved, even though I didn’t have any definitive proof.

“I’m going to check on my parents,” Nash said.

I was forced to look back at him because I couldn’t believe the words that had come out of his mouth. After everything they’d done, he still felt the need to check on them.

“I’ll go with you,” Raven replied as she grabbed his hand. Together the couple walked away, leaving me to my own devices.

I was happy that he wouldn’t be left alone to deal with the mess he was about to walk into. I wasn’t sure if it had been my place to offer to go with him, given the recent troubles we’d had. This freed me up to do what I needed to do and find the only person that I really wanted to be around at this moment.

Bianca. Where the hell was she?

“Easton?”

I turned and found my parents standing near me. I’d been so distracted that I hadn’t seen them approach. The look on their faces was what I suspected everyone here was feeling.

Shock. Concern. Confusion.

“Can you believe all of this? Do you think this is true?”

---