Royal Prick (A Stepbrother Romance) (17 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

-Royal

She was so naïve, and it was adorable yet extremely fucking frustrating all at the same time. I needed to know what it was that she was doing, but I couldn’t intrude on her, not when she needed space like she did.

I had already staked my claim to her. She was mine, the alpha in me already possessed her body in ways that no other had. She was marked by me, and the fact that she was still a virgin after having finding out she had never once come before was a godsend. I wanted to unravel her in the darkest ways possible, but I held back because she deserved more than just a hard fuck. She needed to be cared for, sipped on like a fine wine.

                     I feared for her, for us. She was shutting me out. Pushing me away because she didn’t think I wanted her, which was insane when all I could think about was her, and the things that we just did. The dilemma was that I couldn’t show her how much I wanted her without crossing the imaginary line that I drew between us.

I wasn’t ready to do that just yet. Not when I didn’t have the willpower to stop myself if things went too far. Being around her all the time was making that willpower slowly diminish, and soon I wouldn’t give a fuck about breaking the rules and crossing lines. I would destroy the lines and Noelle in the process.

Still something about her scared me, it wreaked havoc on my heart. The things she made me feel were nothing like I ever felt before, then there was the explosiveness that was us. Every touch from her sent me over the edge, every glance she sent my way. I wasn’t afraid for her, but for myself. Noelle had the power to be my undoing.

I padded around my bedroom, my thoughts always drifting back to Noelle. I hated that she left and that I didn’t know what it was she was doing or who it was that she was with.

                     If she was going out tonight, I knew exactly who it was that I needed to talk to. I plucked my phone from my pocket. I had a text from Sasha asking me if I wanted to go to a party with her tonight.

                     I hit the ignore button and pulled up Jordan’s contact info, shooting her a quick text message. I shouldn’t have even let her leave, knowing that she was going out with Jordan after what happened last time.

                    
Me: Noelle best be with you tonight.

                     I sat on the bed, waiting like a little boy for his dessert after eating all his dinner. The tone of an incoming text met my ears so I stared at the screen allowing the message to scroll across the screen.

                    
Jordan: Whatever, Fuckboy. What are you going to do about it if she isn’t?

                     I couldn’t even hide my smile. Jordan was brave calling me Fuckboy after I told her not to, even braver to question me. I kind of liked her snark, and I liked it even more that Noelle had a friend that wasn’t afraid to push the limits.

                    
Me: You must have a glaring death wish or something. If she isn’t with you, then you won’t want to see what happens.

                    
I texted back, my fingers gliding over the keys agilely. I had just sent the text when another appeared on my screen.

                    
Echo: Fight at Central Heights, you in?

                     I cracked my knuckles at the thought. I needed an outlet for the tension that I was feeling, and fucking the shit out of Noelle was totally out of the question. I knew Jordan and Noelle would be hanging out together, and therefore she would be safe, or at least I hoped she would be. I could slip out, fight, bring home some cash, and no one would ever have to know.

                     Me: Fuck yeah.

                    
The text was just been sent when Echo responded back.

                    
Echo: 24 South Blvd. In the old Industrial park. Be here at 10.

                    
Nothing could wipe the smile from my face. I was going to get rid of all this nonsense that was swimming around inside my body. I was going to unleash the demons tonight and pray that I could stuff them back inside myself before Noelle came back home. I was darker and dirtier after a fight, and I was never one to give up a good fucking. I wanted Noelle, and if I didn’t rid myself of this darkness I would end up taking her in a way she didn’t deserve; in a way that would make me hate myself. When it came to her, I wanted to be better. I wanted it to be good.

                     A knock sounded on my bedroom door, coloring me shocked. If It was Viviana I would have no other choice but to cunt punt her. She would have a lot of fucking nerve coming to me without Noelle here.

                     “Can you come to my office when you get a chance please?” Mark’s deep voice sounded on the other side of the door. I grunted out a yes before getting up from the bed.

What the hell could he possibly want?

                     By the time I got up and opened the door he was gone, having already entered his office at the end of the hall. My nerves were already shot to hell after everything that went down.  There was no way I could handle a confrontation with him, nor could I walk away from a fight with him. A point had to be proven.

                     I barged into his office just as he sunk into his leather office chair; a glass with brown liquid in his hand. I could tell he was in his element; his sleeves were rolled up, and his demeanor was calm and relaxed.

                     “If this is about the shit with Viviana, I just want to make it known that she started it and I ended it. She had no right to touch Noelle as she did,” I started, only to realize that Mark didn’t seem to care. His eyes were heavy with emotions, and his mouth was in a grim line.

                     “Viviana is a bitch nearly every day. I wouldn’t expect you or her daughter to get along with her. I can barely get along with her and I’m married to her,” he admitted, taking a drink from the glass in his hand. The smell of sweet whiskey permeated the air. I licked my lips, suddenly thirsty.

                     “You mean you’re not mad?” I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling as if he was playing some type of game with me. He’s lectured me since I got here about fighting, grades, and maintaining a positive attitude. There was no reason why he wouldn’t set in on the lecturing now, for calling Viviana out for being the bitch she truly was.

                     He smiled, and it was the real kind with actual teeth showing. It made me want to smile, and I didn’t fucking smile. Ever. Not unless Noelle got me to crack one and that was rare as well.

                     “Viviana is just a temporary wife. She wasn’t who or what I thought she was when we married.  Her entire life seems to have been a lie, and the lies she makes up as well as the way she treats Noelle makes me sick, but what can I do…” He sipped at his drink. “She’s not really my child.”

                     Confusion started to sink in, where was any of this coming from? I was just about to ask him what the hell he was talking about but he stopped me with a halt of his hand as if to say one moment. He stared at the confusion written plainly on my face, and started to speak.

                     “I know you’re confused as to how your mother and I ended things and then suddenly I was remarried with another child. Believe me it all seemed to happen rather fast.” The amber liquid shined in the light as his eyes swung from my face and down to it. He stared at it swishing around in the glass.

                     “I loved your mother, in case you were wondering, I guess I still kind of do. There will always be a piece of me that belongs to her, after all you can’t just have a child with someone and then it seem as if you never cared for them.” His eyes shot up to mine. I  wondered about it, only a million and one fucking times.

“Things became messy when I left on a business trip. I was just starting out and trying to get my feet wet in the industry. I was at a dinner party and ended up getting hammered.” A bark of laughter left his lips as if he was reliving the memory in his own mind. I couldn’t even ask questions; I was too eager for the answers that I’ve been wanting for years and he was finally offering them to me.

                     “Anyway, I went to this party, networked, socialized trying to make the right connections with the right people so I could go somewhere; become successful for the family I had at home,” he said with a shrug of his shoulder as if it made complete since.

“Somehow I apparently ended up drinking too much. The next morning, I woke up in bed with another woman. As you realize now, that woman was Viviana. I couldn’t believe that I cheated on your mother. It wasn’t like me, not after all we had been through; not with how much I loved her.” I could tell it hurt him just thinking about it, and I hoped it did because it hurt me more watching my mom have to suffer from the very moment I was a young child.

                     “You did though, didn’t you?” I had to ask, the question was right on the tip of my tongue, burning a hole in my head.

                     “That’s just it.” His eyes shot down to the papers on his desk. “I didn’t. I had no idea at the time that I didn’t, but I’m not lying when I say that I never cheated on your mother. I loved her…” He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Hell I still do, I think about her almost every night as I get into bed next to Viviana.”

                     “Then what happened?” I slouched back in the chair, my belly filling with tightness. I wanted the pain of all of it to go away.

                     “Viviana lied to me. She told me that we slept together, and with the amount of liquor I apparently had to drink and waking up undressed in bed with her with no memory, I had no real reason to doubt her. Then a few weeks later after I had told your mother what happened, she came to me telling me that she was pregnant with my baby and that was the last straw for your mom. She asked me to leave that day and after everything I put her through I couldn’t deny her request by asking to stay.” There was a pause, and I wasn’t sure what to think of what he was saying. Could I have been wrong about him all along? Was Viviana really to blame? The web of tangled lies seemed to grow tenfold.

                     “I didn’t know what to think about Viviana being pregnant. On one hand I was elated. Even though I lost your mother’s trust, I still vowed to try and be an active part of your life… Your mother couldn’t handle the pain, though, so she cut herself off from me. When Noelle was born I knew she wasn’t mine. I could just tell. By this time Viviana and I had already gotten married, and things were looking up. You have to understand Viv was a different person back then; she put on a good act.”  My eyes locked on his as I waited for the rest of the story to be spoken.

                     “Noelle isn’t yours though right?” I asked without hesitation. I had to make sure she wasn’t. He shook his head, a smile lingering on his lips.

                     “God no. Not that I wouldn’t mind having her as a blood daughter, but she isn’t. Viviana trapped me, telling me Noelle was mine when she wasn’t. We were already married and divorcing would give her access to everything I worked hard for and accomplished over that one year of time. There was nothing else I could do but move on from what happened, putting the past behind us and moving forward.” Sadness radiated from him. I could tell that he was hurt and filled with regret by the events that had taken place.

                     “She tricked you! That bitch ruined my life with one single fucking lie?” I swear fire was shooting out of ears. I was so angry hearing what he said. I no longer felt anything but placid anger toward Viviana. She was a monster, and I wanted her fucking gone from our lives.

                     “It was my fault too for believing someone I had just met when I should have believed and trusted in myself. I didn’t trust myself, though. What she said seemed so real, so damn true. I woke up naked for god sake in bed with another woman.” I could see defeat and humiliation in those somber eyes of his. It was as if he finally realized that he failed my mother and me.

                     “You wouldn’t have believed anything if the bitch never targeted you. If she was never a part of your life. If she never walked through that fucking door… If she never lied, then you wouldn’t be here right?” I stood from the plush chair I was sitting in, ready to give that whore a piece of my mind. She was a homewrecker no matter which way you looked at it. She took everything from the people I loved most.

                     “Royal, the past is where it needs to stay, in the past. You can’t go around fighting for the past when the future is right here within your grasp. You just learn to let go and adapt to the changes that come with it. Attacking her for something that happened seventeen years ago will do no good. We can’t change the past no matter how badly any of us might want to.” Was he trying to cover this up, now that he finally told me the truth? The words were already said. There was no taking back the things that happened.

                     “Listen here, Mark.” I slammed my fist down on his desk, the rational part of my brain shutting down. Nothing about what I was about to say was rational.

                     “I listened to my mother cry almost every day for a year. I’ve watched her slip in and out of depression since before I was even old enough to know what the fucking word meant. The past is very much still a part of my life. Maybe you have been able to move on from it, but I haven’t, not when the repercussions of her lies destroyed my life.” Everything inside of me told me to go downstairs find Viviana and tell her just how I felt about her. To rip her heart out, and make her endure the pain that my mother and I had; to tarnish her perfect image. To rip away every single thing she loved in her life.