Broken kingdom

Chapter 54 Bianca

Once I get the go-ahead from a nurse, I sprint toward the hospital room to see Oakley. 

Just when I’m about to open the door, someone snaps, “Not so fast,” 

When I look up, I see Oakley’s dad standing there with a cup of coffee in his hand. The cross expression on his face makes it clear he’s not happy to see me. 

“Hi, Mr. Zelenka.” I give him a terse smile. “I’m just here to check on Oakley.” 

The nurse wasn’t able to tell me anything since I’m not family, but she did say he was allowed to have visitors. 

I try to open the door again, but Wayne wedges himself in front of it, blocking me from entering. “I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen.” 

I blink, not understanding. “Why?” 

He looks at me like I’ve sprouted another head. “My son was just stabbed…by your fiancé.” 

“Ex-fiancé,” I correct. 

And yeah, I understand his concern, but Stone’s out of my life for good. 

The only thing that matters now is Oakley. 

Wayne’s eyes narrow. “I tried to step back and let Oak make his own decisions, but I’ve had enough of this shit.” 

I raise a brow. “Enough of what shit?”

“I don’t know how to make this any clearer, but I want you out of my son’s life.” His hand clutches the coffee cup. “Ever since you two got together, it’s been one tragedy after another. First, he got drunk and high and ended up killing someone, then he chose to go to jail—despite the deal I worked out for him with the DA, and now, he was stabbed by your fiancé for defending you. What else has to happen for you to realize you two are the very definition of toxic and you leave him the hell alone?” 

It would hurt less if he slapped me. 

I had no idea Oakley chose to go to jail. 

That he left me on purpose. 

My heart folds in on itself. “I didn’t mean to…” I clear my throat and try again. “Look, I understand why you feel that way, but I love—”

“Maybe I’d believe that were true if you would do the one thing he can’t and walk away.”

My vision blurs as I take in his words. 

“I can’t just walk away from him,” I argue. “I love him.”

“Then let him go,” Wayne pleads. “Because Oakley is loyal to a fault, and if you don’t sever ties he’ll keep hanging on with everything he’s got until he either ends up dead or rotting away in a jail cell for the rest of his life because of you.” His features twist in pain. “I can’t lose my son, Bianca. I won’t.” 

The raw concern swimming in his eyes nearly brings me to my knees. 

It’s obvious he loves his son. 

And even though a parent’s love is a foreign concept to me given my own father was an absentee parent for most of my life…I do have two brothers who would do anything to protect me from harm. 

I just didn’t realize until this moment that Oakley and I were so poisonous together. 

I thought we were happy and in love. 

Two broken pieces of the same soul. 

But maybe we weren’t? 

Maybe we were fire and gasoline instead. 

Maybe what we felt for each other was a lethal addiction.

And the only way to save ourselves from total destruction is to quit each other. 

Maybe that’s why my mother made me promise her I’d never fall in love. 

Because she knew all along what it could do to a person. 

The way it could a

And that death was a fate far better than a love you were forbidden to have. 

I try to blink away the tears threatening to surface, but it’s pointless. “Can you at least tell me how he is?” 

I have to know that he’s okay. 

Wayne scrubs a hand down his face before he answers. “He’s still drowsy and out of it. The grand mal seizure was a bad one. Plus, there was also blood loss from the stab wound.” When I wince, he says, “However, it missed his organs and arteries and only required fifteen stitches. He should be discharged later as long as he remains stable.” 

Relief fills my chest. “Thank God.” 

He nods. “As far as your brother’s concerned, he’ll be released in a few hours. I haven’t heard if Stone’s going to press charges yet, but if he does, he’ll have a weak case.” His gaze drops to my swollen and bruised lip and he frowns. “Considering what he did to you and all.” 

“Right.” 

He takes a sip of his coffee. “It goes without saying that I’ll defend him if he needs it, on account of…you know.” 

Jace taking the rap for it. 

“Thank you.” Sorrow sinks like a stone in my gut and I look down at the floor. “Can you tell Oakley I’m sorry for what happened.” My voice cracks, betraying me. “And that I love him.” 

Until the day I die. 

Wayne stands stoic like a statue. “I’ll tell my son you wish him a speedy recovery.” 

The apathetic statement slices through my heart like a jagged shard of glass. 

I take a breath, trying to steady myself as I turn and walk away. 

“I know it hurts, but you’re doing the right thing,” Wayne states. 

Then why does it feel so wrong? 

A deep, wide pain spreads through my chest as I wander down the hall, my shaky legs threatening to give out at any moment. 

I always thought the worst moments of my life were losing my mother and Liam. 

But I was wrong. 

Because I didn’t have a choice when it came to that.

And now that I do, I can’t help but think how different things might be if the accident never happened. 

If I didn’t end up engaged to another man. 

And just like that, pure rage sears my belly, growing so thick it almost chokes me. 

Maybe it makes me a horrible person to want to see Stone suffer—because he clearly has some mental issues—but I no longer give a fuck. 

All I want is vengeance. 

To make him pay for what he did. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a young guy wearing scrubs standing in front of what appears to be a medicine cart. 

There are a few vials on top of the cart and he’s currently drawing a clear substance into a needle. 

Plastering a sexy smile on my face, I saunter over to him. “Hi.” 

It takes him a moment to notice me, but when he does, his eyes gleam with interest. “Hey.” 

I bat my eyelashes. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions?” 

He doesn’t look troubled in the least. “Sure.” 

Stone’s sleeping when I enter his hospital room. No doubt drugged up on all the pain meds they gave him. 

I zero in on the arm that’s in a cast and the leg that’s in traction. 

He couldn’t go anywhere if he wanted to. 

Doesn’t mean he can’t scream, though. 

Slipping my hands underneath my dress, I take off my panties. 

He stirs when I reach the bed and the moment his eyes open, I stuff the material into his mouth. 

Coughing, he goes to remove them, but I take the scrunchie out of my hair and tie his free hand to the bed. 

Studying my nails, I circle his bed like a vulture. “You know, some people would feel pity for you and say you’re nothing but a victim of circumstance.” Halting my movements, I hold his gaze. “But fuck that and fuck you.” 

He could have chosen a different path. 

He didn’t have to end up using his fists on me like his dad did with his mom. 

“Being in the same room with you makes me sick to my stomach, so I’m go