“Your Highness?”
A gaggle of girls was standing before me, and I had no idea which one was which. I laughed at the thought to a group of very confused faces.
“What’s so funny?” one of them asked.
I ran my fingers through my hair, grinning to myself, and when I looked back at the women, they were all wearing matching expressions of awe.
“You ladies keep me alive,” I told them with a smirk. “I could jack my dick off in front of you and you’d all line up to swallow, wouldn’t you?”
They stared at me, eyes wide and mouths wide open. I wanted to laugh out loud when an icy blonde pushed to the front, smiling wide and saying, “Absolutely, Your Highness.”
Freya.
I remembered her name. I remembered the swell of her breasts that was visible now through her mint-green dress.
“Delightful,” I told her with a grin.
“Olivier!”
Now, I turned around with the grin still plastered on my face when I locked eyes on my mother. “Mother dearest! How nice of you to come here and scold me.”
“Now Olivier,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “Why don’t you join me in the front for the elimination?”
“I suppose I don’t have a choice,” I replied, grinning at the women behind me. “Will you excuse me, little dolls?”
They whispered among themselves and I felt their gazes following me as I made my way to the front of the room with the Queen. The moment we stepped away, she grabbed my arm and her nails dug into my skin.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she hissed at me, and I grinned at her angry face. “I’m serious, Olivier! You can’t come to these functions after you’ve been drinking!”
“You mean my first sip of alcohol since my father passed away?” I ground out at her. “It’s been four years, mother.”
“Four years of you being sober, yes,” she replied. “Nothing compared to the decade you spent partying and drinking before that!”
I didn’t even look at her. I’d been living with the same knowledge for four years, and now I’d fallen into the same fucking bottle-shaped hole I’d been in for a decade.
It was easy to live life like that. Boozing, partying, fucking. Being a goddamn playboy. All those years ago, it had felt natural, but now, I knew it was a mistake. From the first sip of the all-too familiar wine, I knew I’d slip into my old ways.
We made our way to the front where my brother was already standing. My mother gave him a warm smile, and my stomach knotted once again. She even preferred Dad’s other fucking son to me. Figures.
“We shall carry on,” mother said with a cool smile. “Now that we’re all here, Bruno will pick the girls who will be proceeding to the next part of the elimination. Keep in mind two ladies will be sent home tonight.”
I crossed my arms in front of my body, glaring at my brother out of the corner of my eyes. He didn’t meet my eyes, but that eternal smirk was playing on his lips, pissing me off even more.
“Bruno, why don’t you begin,” my mother said, nodding to make him step forward.
“I’ve been entrusted with the task of choosing my dear brother’s betrothed,” Bruno grinned at the gathered crowd while I swayed from foot to foot. Fuck. I shouldn’t have drunk any of that wine. “So why don’t we begin? The first woman I’m picking is… Freya.”
I looked over in the direction of the ice princess. She beamed proudly, stepping forward to Bruno. My brother grinned at her and presented her with two stones for the collar she was wearing. He pressed one druzy and one onyx stone in her collar while I seethed in anger. I hated him touching her.
Just then, my thoughts switched over to Amber. I looked back at the gathered girls, but my vision was fucked, and all I saw was a flash of red, unsure whether it belonged to my girl or her lookalike, Eva.
I realized then what a jackass I’d been by not checking in on Eva or Amber after the incident I’d witnessed. I hadn’t managed to find the piece of shit who’d tried to hurt Eva, and I felt guilty for letting things get out of hand.
“Kendy.”
The African beauty stepped forward next, and I watched as Bruno presented her with two stones. Safiya was next, then Asya. I looked back at the girls, and this time I caught the glance of a pair of golden eyes, judging me from afar.
My chérie.
He picked Camellia.
Zara.
Monica.
Violetta.
The group of girls was dwindling, those golden eyes still staring in my direction. Now, there was panic in her gaze. She was worried Bruno wouldn’t pick her, and so was I. He was playing games again, just like fucking always.
Four girls left – two of which would be sent home.
“Eva,” Bruno said, and Amber’s doppelganger stepped forward.
I waited with gritted teeth, then, before he could call the next name, tugged on his arm, making him look at me in front of all those people.
“Remember what I told you,” I growled at him. “Remember who to pick.”
“Oh, brother,” he grinned. “I remember all too well. Now watch your step before you embarrass yourself.”
I stepped back, my fists tightening. It took every ounce of self-control not to smash my fist into his face and break his goddamn nose.
“Amber,” Bruno called out, and my knees nearly gave out.
Thank fuck.
The two remaining girls, cousins, looked at each other with grateful eyes. I was glad they were going home, not because they weren’t stunning, intelligent or interesting, but because they were too fucking young to be exposed to the court’s wicked games.
Then, my attention shifted back to Amber who stood in front of Bruno now, in a pretty midnight blue dress that flared out over her hips and accentuated the curve of her tits. I saw the way my brother’s eyes lingered on her. I also saw her flinch when he touched her.
I said my goodbyes to Chloe and Marceline, the young French girls. They seemed thankful, so I was relieved as well.
“Don’t rush into things,” I told them both as they stood before me. “You’re teenagers. You should have your youth. Have some fun with it.”
“Such great advice to give,” Bruno said, appearing next to me and clapping me on the back. “And something my brothers knows a whole lot about, don’t you, Olivier?”
I grit my teeth while he went on.
“Your titles will get you far in life, girls,” he said. “But don’t let them turn you into sad, drunken wrecks like someone we know.”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snarled at him. “You don’t know shit about me.”
“I know more than you think,” Bruno spat out. “And I hate you more every fucking day you pretend it isn’t true.
The girls exchanged worried glances, so I gave them a reassuring smile. “Someone will collect you now, so you’d better get your things.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” they replied in unison, curtsying before me.
I turned my back on them, my eyes following my brother as he made his way through the room. I knew he felt me looking, because he turned over his shoulder and smirked at me before making a beeline for Amber. But I’d had fucking enough.
Just as I was about to go after him, a hand wrapped around my arm.