VioletMom and Dad shared a glance, probably confused by how close Dylan and I seemed. “Of course are,” Mom said softly, reaching for my hand before pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. “It’s nice to see the two of you getting along for once.”I glanced at Dad, not having any expectations—but to my surprise, a smile appeared on his lips. A real smile.A proud smile.“I heard you made the Elite Team within days,” he looked into my eyes. “As expected from you.”“Really?” Clarence looked impressed. “That’s quite something. You must be really proud of your children,” he added, full of admiration.Dad chuckled softly, glancing down with a smirk. “I’m always proud of my two children.”My heart melted at his words.Two children…For a moment, it felt like I was finally seen, acknowledged. The pride in his voice as those words left his mouth was something I had been craving for so long.Even though I walked into it with no expectations, the day started off great.After some more talking, it was
KylanMy grip tightened on the wheelchair as I looked back at Violet, who had just gave me the coldest stare in existence. That little puppy had some nerve.Of all the directions we could’ve gone, we had to pass by her family. Just perfect.They all had looked down at their feet, clearly making it a point not to look our way. My gaze met Dylan’s for a split second, and he greeted with a nod. I returned the gesture, acknowledging him.Surprisingly enough, out of all the Bloodroses, even Hastings, he was the only one I could somewhat respect. He had earned that respect.I didn’t know the other Hastings, but I wasn’t all that interested either. They were nothing, nobodies.As we passed by, the king glanced back at them, stopping in his steps. Everyone stopped, waiting for the king as he released a low chuckle. Then he continued his pace.What was so funny?Did he expect everyone to bow down, kiss the ground he walked on? Probably. He had a way of making everyone feel small with just the
KylanMy eyes widened, and my head snapped up as everything around us turned silent. I appreciated Rochwall, and he had been there for me from the moment I had met him. He was a good mentor to me, and having that close bond, I understood the need to stand up for me—but this was not the way to do it.For a second, I braced myself for the king to release the beast and tear this man apart—but he didn’t. Instead, he burst out laughing, slapping Rochwall’s chest. “James, James—you’ve always been one funny guy.”I exhaled, relieved as the tension in the room disappeared. “But it’s good,” the king continued, slamming his arm over Rochwall’s shoulder. “This place is always so dull. It could use a bit of fun.”As they walked away, Rochwall glanced back at me, shooting a reassuring smile before their voices faded into the distance.~Hours passed, and in those hours, the king made sure to leave his mark everywhere. Each interaction was more awkward than the last—but now that he seemed pleased w
VioletAs we sat around the dinner table, I tried my hardest to disappear into the chair. Sitting here felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from, and all I wanted was to get away.If I glanced to my left, there was Kylan’s brother, Kayden, grinning at as if he knew everything about me—if I looked straight ahead, there was Kylan, glaring at me as if I had ruined his day.To the right was even worse. There was Chrystal, shooting me death stares. If those stares could kill, I’d be dead a hundred times over by now.With nowhere to look, I settled for Nate, who sat beside his sister. He shot me a small, reassuring smile followed by a wink.At the head of the table sat the king, who looked around with a smirk. “It’s nice to have everyone here,” his voice dominated the table. His energy was dark and intimidating, it almost felt like he was sucking all the air out of the room.Clarence and Dad mumbled something in response, clearly not really feeling this so-called gathering.Family day w
VioletThe atmosphere changed instantly, and my heart sank as Mom’s memory was brought up in such a careless way.How dared he?Did he even know her like that to bring her up?I clenched my fists under the table, trying to keep calm. How could he even say something like that?The rogue attack that took Mom and Dad was something unfortunate, but it was not inevitable. His comment felt unfair, especially because it was something beyond Dad’s control. And the way he said it, with such coldness, made me realize just how terrible he truly was.He really was a heartless piece of shit—an even bigger piece of shit than his son.The king continued chewing, completely oblivious. “I was just talking to Jack yesterday about how I miss my Starlight days.”I glanced at Jack, wondering how someone like him had ended up as the Beta of someone like the king, or even Chrystal’s dad. All throughout dinner, that man had been nothing but kind and respectful—just like Nate.A smile tugged at the corners o
Violet“My mom,” I replied. He probably thought I meant Sonya, but that didn’t matter. I’d spare him the backstory.“How long ago?”I squeezed my eyes a bit. “Like ten years ago?”“Ten years ago,” he whispered, still inspecting the glasses on my face.“Well, make sure to keep them on at all times,” he spoke, his face serious. “We wouldn’t want you to lose them.”If only he knew…I swallowed, nodding quickly. “Yes, Your Majesty.”The king didn’t give another response and simply walked past me, leaving me standing there. I let out a slow breath, feeling more than happy that he had left.Even though I tried not to focus on Kylan, it was hard not to, especially when Chrystal laughed out loud, leaning into him like he had just made the funniest joke on the planet.As if it couldn’t get any worse, Kylan wrapped his arm around her waist and whispered something into her ear, making her laugh even more.At times it seemed like he hated her, but then he did stuff like this.It was just like he
VioletI sat on Nate’s bed, nervously fumbling with my hands as I waited for him. As soon as we arrived, he had disappeared to the bathroom with the promise to be back soon.Now it had already been several minutes too many as I stared at the closed door, wondering if it was too late to run out of here.I exhaled, closing my eyes for a second.No, Violet.You want this—you want him.After calming down a bit, I let my eyes wander around his room for the first time. It had the same layout as Kylan’s, only a bit smaller, and the colors brighter and warmer. Their rooms showed a perfect contrast in their personalities.For a second, I wondered if maybe he was just as nervous as I was, hiding in the bathroom—but then I chuckled to myself.No way. Nate had quite the reputation, and he wouldn’t get nervous over this. I was probably just nothing more than a number to him.I felt an awful lump in my throat, thinking about the reason why I was doing this. At first I made myself believe that it wa
VioletBy the look on his face, I could tell he didn’t believe a single word that left my mouth—and neither did I.Would I, really?He chuckled. “Because I see the way you look at him, Violet. And it’s not the look you give to someone you’re about to reject.”I swallowed, feeling confused by my own thoughts. There was only one look I ever gave him, and that was a hateful one, right?“I get why you’d want to reject him, though,” Nate shrugged as he lowered his gaze. “He has his moments, but he’s…complicated. He’s not always a good person.”The pain in his voice was obvious. Whatever happened between the two of them had clearly left a scar because Nate was able to see something that even his own brother refused to see.Kylan was not always a good person.“What happened between the two of you?” I approached the situation with caution.Nate smiled softly, looking up to hold my gaze. “I just tried to get him to talk about his feelings, like I always do…”He drifted into thought, his jaw ti