Broken Empire A Reverse Harem High School Bully Romance - Callie Rose Page 0,77

again as she tried to reach for the crown—or maybe she was going for my eyes. “It’s about not ever letting anyone say no to you. I get what the fuck I want.”

I relaxed my grip slightly, meeting her gaze. “Oh, so you didn’t earn it. Just like you didn’t earn Harvard. Or all your school honors either.”

“I did earn Harvard!” she screeched, wrenching against my hold so strongly that we both almost fell over. “You think I would’ve fucked the admissions guy if it wouldn’t get me in? Maybe you would’ve, you slut, but I only do shit like that when I get something out of it! I don’t just spread my legs for anyone like you do!”

“No,” I grunted, pulling her several feet across the stage. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Mrs. LaVaunne was staring at us in open-mouthed shock, but it would only be a matter of time before she pulled herself together and intervened. “You only sleep with guys in exchange for favors, right? Like Mr. Cartwright?”

She scoffed, even as she made a swipe to grab at my sash. “What, you think I slept with him because of his looks? Get real, Idaho.”

And… there it is.

She’d said plenty. She had already buried herself, but she was too far gone to realize it.

But I wasn’t quite done.

“What about my car?” I demanded, catching her wrists as she dove toward me again. “Did you get Preston to fuck with my car?”

“No!” she hissed, pressing against my hold until we were practically nose-to-nose. “I did that my fucking self. And don’t even act like you didn’t deserve it, you whiny bitch.”

Holy fuck.

My breath caught.

My heart felt like it stopped beating and sped up at the same time.

I loosened my grip on her arms, and she wrenched them out of my grasp, yanking the crown off my head and clutching it like a prize. I stepped back, limping out of her reach as I lifted the sash off my shoulder with one hand.

Preston stood behind Adena, staring at her in wide-eyed disgust, and even Mrs. LaVaunne seemed completely unsure of what to do.

I was breathing hard, and my hair had come partially down from its updo in the struggle. But I lifted my chin as I held out the sash that read Prom Queen in curling blue letters to Adena.

She gazed down at it, her eyes regaining clarity for a moment as she blinked twice.

I saw the exact instant when she realized what she’d done, what she’d said, and it was possibly the most satisfying moment of my life. Her focus shifted from the sash to my face, her features contorting with confusion, her gaze going fuzzy again from whatever the Princes had slipped into her drink.

“You know what, Adena?” I shrugged, offering the sash to her again. “You’re right. I think you need this more than I do.”

Chapter 20

“God, that was fucking amazing!”

Finn’s whole body practically vibrated with glee as he turned to look over at Cole, who sat on the couch next to me. We had returned to Cole’s dorm almost immediately after several teachers had escorted Adena off the small stage. She’d been surprisingly docile as they led her away, and I wasn’t sure it if was because she was still reeling from shock at what she’d said and done, or if rapid mood swings were a side effect of whatever drug the Princes had dosed her with.

“You got it up everywhere?” Elijah put in, leaning against my shoulder to glance at Cole’s screen.

“Just about,” the dark-haired boy grunted. “I live-streamed it too, so it’s all over Facebook already. It’s not going away.”

“And we emailed it to Dean Levy and the dean of Harvard.” Mason’s smile was feral. “Just in case they want to know what kind of fucking person she is.”

“Do you think Harvard will rescind their offer?” I asked, glancing at him.

If it was possible, he looked even more pleased as he answered. “Fuck yes. That’s the kind of PR nightmare these schools do anything to avoid. And if the admissions officer slept with her in exchange for pushing her application through, who knows who else he did it with? Every application he’s ever touched will be suspect. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s already been fired.”

I tried to feel a little bad about that but really couldn’t. He’d been collateral damage in our plan to take down Adena, but it wasn’t like he didn’t deserve what was coming