Cruel King (Royal Elite #0) - Rina Kent Page 0,102
an inseparable part of my core. And no fucking one can take that away from me.
Not even her.
“Captain?” Daniel calls from my side. “What are you doing here?”
“The same as you. To see Astrid.” I narrow my eyes. “But I came first, so wait for your turn.”
He releases a sigh. “She’s going through a lot. Maybe you should give her some time to cope. Ever heard of that term?”
“Whatever that coping is, Astrid and I are doing it together.” I push past him towards the entrance.
He grips my shoulder and pulls me back with a force I didn’t realise he had.
“Fucking stop. She’s not like you. Astrid isn’t the type who goes forward, not caring about those left behind.”
“Is that what you think I am?”
“That’s what the whole team thinks you are! They’re just too scared to say it to your face.”
“Yeah? What have I been doing?”
He throws his hands in the air. “You’ve been torturing us more than Coach for the championship.”
“So now we don’t want the championship?”
“We do, but we started this to have fun. Not all of us are going pro. Hell, not even half of us.” He releases a deep breath. “This is the last season we’ll ever be able to compete in football before it all become corporates and politics.”
Huh. I never looked at it that way.
“Nice talk.” I pat Daniel’s shoulder. “Let’s finish after I see Astrid.”
“Captain!” He runs alongside me. “You’re not hearing a word I’m saying. She needs time. Once she’s calmed down, she’ll come out on her own accord and talk to you.”
“What if she never does?” I meet Daniel’s eyes. “What if she spends distance away and realises that she doesn’t fucking want me anymore?”
He remains silent for a second too long. “Then it’s her choice. Another word you need to learn.”
I jab a finger at his chest. “That’s not going to fucking happen.”
Daniel tries to stop me again when a loud sound slices through the silence.
We both stop and stare at each other with wild eyes.
A gunshot just came from inside Astrid’s house.
52
Astrid
Everyone falls. Including the king and his queen.
* * *
I shriek as the gunshot reverberates all around us.
My fingers dig into Dad’s forearm as my frantic gaze slides over him, looking for any injury.
“I’m fine, Astrid.” He motions behind him to a hole in the wall.
My heartbeat skyrockets until it’s impossible to focus on anything but the buzzing in my ears.
“Put the shotgun down, Victoria.” Dad speaks in a calm yet firm tone as he cages me behind him.
Still, I peek around him.
Victoria stands at the entrance, her finger trembling on the trigger. For the first time in my life, I see tears streaming down her cheeks.
I always joked with Dan that she’s an unfeeling robot considering she doesn’t show emotions. But I should’ve known that those are the most dangerous.
“I stood by you.” Her voice is shaky and she seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown. “I was the perfect wife for you. I did everything from those dinners to those stupid wives’ gathering. How dare you throw me away?”
“We had a deal, Victoria,” he tells her slowly. “I told you the marriage was a contract. I provided a home for you and your daughter and paid your dead husband’s debts. In return, you play the wife’s façade. You agreed to those terms.”
“I thought you’d come around.” Her finger shakes on the trigger, and I shrink further behind Dad’s back. “I waited for you to come around. We could’ve been a real family…” She smiles in nostalgia then it drops. “If it weren’t for that slut.”
“My mother wasn’t a slut,” I grit out.
“And you!” She points both her gun and manic expression at me. “The Clifford name is my daughter’s right. You don’t deserve anything except for rotting with your whore of a mother. But you just refuse to fucking die.”
My lips part as I choke on air. My gaze slides from her to Dad. His jaw clenches but he keeps his calm. “So you did it. You hit Astrid at the party.”
“Yes, I did it. I went to pick up Nicole, and this little bitch was running in the street begging to be hit.” She laughs. “I slowed down about to stop, but then, I thought that if you joined your mother, we’ll finally be a real family.”
My eyes blur as I stare at the monster in her eyes. She planned to kill me. It wasn’t an accident. She did it on purpose.