Broken kingdom

Obviously. 

I open my mouth to tell her cheerleading isn’t the reason I’m here, but she holds up a finger. 

“Let me put the baby down and I’ll run and get my checkbook, okay?” 

I don’t need a donation. I need answers. 

“That won’t be necessary,” I quickly sputter. “I’m actually here for Oakley.” 

Her brows crash together. “Oh. I’m sorry, Oakley doesn’t live here any—”

“I know.” I swear it takes everything in me not to knock some sense into her. “I’m his girlfriend and he’s—”

“Who’s at the door?” a deep voice calls out behind her. 

A second later Wayne comes into view. 

Finally, someone who’s not a total dumbass. 

“Hi, Mr. Zelenka.” 

He blinks in confusion. “Is everything okay, Bianca? I thought your dad was still in Europe?” 

“He is. But that’s not why I’m here—” 

“She’s here for Oakley,” Crystal interjects and there’s no hiding the a

Concern colors his expression. “What’s wrong with Oak?”

Crystal scoffs. “What isn’t wrong with him?” 

The tiny hairs on my arms stand on end.

I choose to focus my attention on Wayne because I’m liable to smack the shit out of her if she makes another jab at Oakley’s expense. 

“That’s the thing,” I begin. “I’m not sure. He was excited to meet Clarissa Jasmine and see you, and I thought everything was going great while he was here, but then he called me and sounded really ups—”

“Look, honey,” Crystal cuts in. “I know you think you care about him but—” She frowns at Wayne. “Oakley has a serious problem. You seem like a nice girl, but don’t try to save him because he’ll only end up destroying you.”

“That’s not true,” I argue. 

Oakley has his demons, but who the fuck doesn’t?

I shift my stare to Wayne again. “He’s been working really hard and he’s been sober for—” 

It hits me like a brick to the head. Destroying you. Those were the very same words Oakley said on the phone before he hung up. 

So many things roll through me. Sorrow, dread…but mostly? 

Anger. 

The kind that sends everything reeling. 

This witch has already hurt him so much, yet she couldn’t help herself from pouring salt in the wound. 

“You,” I seethe, my hands clenching into fists. 

For a moment I honestly think about taking a swing at her, but then my gaze falls on Clarissa Jasmine. 

It’s not her fault her mother’s a despicable whore and I don’t want her getting caught in the crossfire. 

Crystal’s eyes become saucers. “I’m sorry, wh—”

“What the fuck did you say to him?”

Her mouth drops open. “Excuse me—”

“There is no excuse for someone like you,” I growl before I turn my furious glare on Wayne. “If you care about your son—and I know you do—you’ll never let your piece of shit wife near him again. She’s toxic.” 

Wayne tries to speak, but Crystal doesn’t give him the chance. “You better leave before I call the police. I refuse to stand here while some little girl on a power trip makes accusations and insults me.”

That does it. 

“Little girl on a power trip?” My eyes narrow. “How about a grown woman who bullied her stepson in order to keep her twisted secret safe? That’s why you hurt him before, isn’t it?” I take a step in her direction. “You figured if you sent Oakley away and kept driving a wedge between him and his dad, your husband would never find out about what you did and you could keep living your perfect little life.” 

Red-hot rage floods my stomach, bubbling and simmering until it reaches a boiling point. “I’d call you a bitch, but you’re not…because a real bitch owns her shit. You’re nothing but a pathetic cheater who likes to manipulate high school boys.” 

Wayne’s eyebrows shoot up. “What the hell is going—” 

“Nothing,” Crystal says, panic rising in her voice. “She’s crazy.” 

“No, I’m not.” I look at Wayne. “You want to know why your son hasn’t spoken to you in over two years?” I jut my chin at Crystal. “It’s because your wife screwed him back when he was in high school and Oakley’s been so riddled with guilt about it, he thought the best thing to do was distance himself from you.” 

Crystal’s hands fly to her face. “That’s not—”

“Oakley thought he was in love with her, but Crystal was only using him to get pregnant. It’s why she wanted you to ship him off to military school. She was hoping Oakley would knock her up and she could pass the baby off as yours.”

There’s so much turmoil in Wayne’s expression when he looks at his daughter, my knees go weak. 

“She’s yours,” Crystal croaks. “I swear to God, Wayne. She’s yours.”

Tears fill his eyes. 

“Oakley loves you and he never meant to hurt you,” I whisper. “He feels so bad—”

“Bianca,” Wayne chokes out. “I think it’s best you leave.” 

It’s almost midnight by the time I get back home. 

After checking every bar and beach within a fifty-mile radius, there’s still no sign of Oakley. 

I’m pulling into the driveway when I spot his silver BMW. One of the rear doors is open as well as the trunk. 

Hope springs eternal as I get out of my car and run to the guesthouse.

He’s here. Which means I can fix this. 

My heart does a painful flip the moment I walk inside. 

The kitchen table is nothing but a pile of broken wood, the flat-screen television in the living room looks like someone took a bat to it, and the couch is flipped over. 

But that’s not the worst part. 

The worst part would be the two duffle bags lined up by the front door. 

I start walking toward the bedroom at the same time he comes out of it.

He’s in such a rush he almost knocks me over.

“Oakley.” 

He doesn’t say a word, but those eyes are filled with so much venom my insides coil. 

I swallow hard. “What—”

He brushes past me like I’m nothing more than a piece of broken furniture in the room. 

I tug on his sleeve. “Talk to me.” 

The muscles in his back tense. “I have nothing to say to you. Not now, not ever.” 

Both his words and the bitterness laced in them has me staggering back. “I know you’re upset, but—”

“Upset?” He snorts. “Nah, I was upset while I was at the bar. But now? I’m fucking furious.” I can smell the alcohol on his breath when he leans in. “I never want to see you again.” 

My heart snaps in two. “Wh—”

“You betrayed me,” he sneers. “And don’t you dare fucking stand there and claim you didn’t because my dad already told me.” A flash of pain flickers in his eyes. “I trusted you.” 

Oh. My. God. 

I was so caught up in my anger with Crystal and wanting Wayne to know that she was the one responsible for the rift with his son…

I didn’t think about the consequences.

Like how hurt Oakley might be once his house of cards came tumbling down and his secret was out. 

It wasn’t my gun…but I was the one who went behind his back and pulled the trigger that just imploded his life. 

Jesus. I messed up. 

I messed up so bad. 

With shaky hands, I clutch my chest. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I was just trying—”

“Doesn’t fucking matter.” He strides to the front door and picks up one of his duffle bags. “Nothing you say or do matters to me anymore.” 

Thinking quick, I wedge myself between him and the door. “You have every right to be angry with me, but—”