by Rina Kent
“You manipulated my mother’s brakes, didn’t you?”
“I did that, too.” She smiles like a psycho. “Henry was planning to divorce me and marry her, so I decided to erase her. Pity you didn’t go down with her like a good little bitch.”
I scream and push past Dad towards her. I’m going to murder her. I’m going to choke her with my bare hands.
Dad yanks me back as Victoria’s stance widens in menace.
“Let me go!” I cry, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Dad, let me go!”
“Yes, let her go, Henry.” Her voice is soft, motherly almost. “If you do, we’ll finally be a family.”
“We were never going to be a family!” Dad’s voice rises. “The only family I wanted was Jasmine and Astrid.”
“No…” A tear slides down her cheek. “You only felt duty towards her because she trapped you with a baby.”
“There was no duty about Jasmine. She’s the only woman I’d ever love.”
“No. Henry. We’re a family.”
He shakes his head, his voice steel. “Not anymore.”
“You!” She screams aiming her shotgun at me. “It’s all because of you. I’m going to kill you this time.”
I swallow, my limbs shaking until it’s impossible to control them.
Dad stands fully in front of me until I can barely see anything.
“Drop the gun, Victoria.” He speaks low. “Don’t make this worse than it already is.”
She shakes her head frantically.
“The police are on their way.” He enunciates. “It’s over.”
“No! No! That little bitch doesn’t get to live her life while I rot behind bars.”
“Mother…”
All our attention snaps to the voice coming from behind Victoria.
Nicole stands on shaking legs with Levi and Dan behind her.
They came.
Tears fill my eyes. Levi returned for me. He didn’t give up on me.
Our eyes meet for the briefest second and in his light blue ones, I see concern and longing. Desperate, intense longing that matches my own.
“Nicole?” Victoria stammers. “Go back to your room, darling. I’ll take care of this and come fetch you, okay?”
“Mother, stop.” Nicole’s voice shakes with every word like she’s finding it hard to speak. “Please.”
“But, honey. I’m doing this for us. For your future. You will be a Clifford soon.”
“I don’t want to be a Clifford. I love Dad’s name just fine.”
“What are you talking about? That’s what we worked for.”
“That’s what you worked for. I only wanted to be free of all these shackles and protocols and wearing masks.” She hiccoughs. “I only put up with this life for you, Mother.”
“But… how about your future and the doors the family name will open for you?” She pauses. “We’ll talk about this later after I finish this.”
Dan nudges Nicole, and she winces before stepping forward.
“Mother, please.” She reaches a shaky hand towards her mother. “Uncle Henry always gave us everything we wanted, you can’t hurt him.”
“I won’t hurt him. It’s his daughter that I’ll kill.”
“Stop!” She shrieks. “Just stop it, Mother. I already lost my father, I can’t lose you, too.”
Victoria lowers her gun, tears shining in her eyes. “I… I did all of it for you, darling. I did everything so you can have a better life.”
“I know.” Nicole cries, pulling her mother into a hug. “I know.”
I gasp as Levi steps forward and yanks the shotgun out of Victoria’s fingers.
For a second, I think it’ll go off and kill him or Victoria will put up a fight and shoot him.
I only breathe in relief when it remains inert in his hold.
Dad pulls me to his side, his arms clasped tightly around my back in a protective hold.
I hug him back even though a part of me wants to run to Levi and kiss him.
Officers barge inside with the deputy commissioner on toll. One of the officers yanks Victoria’s arms behind her back and handcuffs her.
“Victoria Clifford, you’re under arrest for attempted murder on Jasmine Green and Astrid Clifford. You have the right to remain silent…”
As the officer reads Victoria’s rights, Nicole sobs begging them to let her go.
Even though I don’t feel the slightest sympathy for Victoria and I’m happy she’s finally getting what she deserves, I can’t help feeling bad for Nicole.
Life as she knows it is over now. She lost both her parents and there’s nothing she can do to stop it or turn back time.
Daniel clutches Nicole’s shoulder, yanking her back, when she keeps holding on to her mother. She tries to fight him, but Victoria shakes her head.
In full Victoria style, she stops crying and lifts her chin like the aristocrat she is.
Dad pats my hand and walks towards her. He nods at Dan to take Nicole away. Once my step-sister’s sobs disappear down the hall, Dad stares down at Victoria with the most furious expression I’ve ever seen on his face.
“You took a life from me and I promise that I’ll take yours back.” He speaks with pure contempt that causes my skin crawl. “I’ll make sure you rot in prison until the day you die.”
Her breathing hitches as she shakes her head.
Dad exchanges a look with the deputy commissioner before they all walk down the hall.
I go to follow them when Levi blocks my path, looking down at me with furrowed brows.
He must’ve gave the shotgun to one of the officers because his hands are empty. When he opens his arms, I want to dive into them so hard.
I want to cry into his embrace and tell him how much I love him.
But that would only be torture for the both of us.
Our fate was decided three years ago on a rainy night by a stray dog. Nothing short of a time travel machine would change the past.
Maybe then, Mum would be alive and married to Dad. Maybe then, Levi’s father would be alive, too.
Maybe there wouldn’t be a feud between Jonathan King and Lord Henry Clifford.
Maybe we would have met under different circumstances.
But there are no maybes in my life. There are no time travel machines either.
Truth is, we were over before we even started.
And that hurts.
“Astrid…” He trails off as if he can’t find the word. “I love you. I’m fucking crazy about you, princess.”
Tears barge into my eyes, but I push them back.
Be strong.
You have to be strong.
“And I love you, Levi,” I murmur the words as if I’m afraid of them.
I’m afraid that now they’re out there, I doomed myself to a harder fall.
He smiles as his lips capture mine.
It’s impossible to resist him. I can’t.
I’m crashing and burning, but I still enjoy every hit. Every lash. Every burn.
The kiss is filled with so much passion and unspoken words. It’s like he’s begging me to stay with him. To never leave him. And I’m tempted to do just that.
But I can’t.
I place both hands on his chest and push him away, shaking my head.
“No.”
“Why the fuck not?” He ruffles his hair, almost ripping it. “We love each other.”
“That’s never enough. It wasn’t for my parents and it’s certainly not enough now.”
“You said that you wouldn’t leave me no matter what. I told you not to say something you don’t fucking mean, but you still promised. You fucking promised, Astrid.”
I fist a handful of my hood where my heart lies. “It hurts, Levi. Seeing you hurts so much.”
His body freezes as if someone threw ice water on him. That someone is me.
His shoulders droop and he nods before he turns around and leaves.
My knees crumble and I fall down, realising that I’ve suc
ceeded.
I broke us apart for good.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Astrid
We might be over, but is it the end?
* * *
The two weeks after Victoria’s arrest go so fast.
Nicole went to a relative’s house in southwest London. Dad offered her to stay, but she refused.
Victoria pleaded guilty, but even with that, I know Dad pulled all his weight in the political ring to have her behind bars as long as possible.
After my time off school, I decided to go back. According to Dan, the entire feud about a murder’s daughter was slipped by Victoria to the journalism club, and it blew up in Nicole’s face.
Since Victoria’s story is all over the press, the secret murder’s daughter is now Nicole.
I don’t think she’ll ever return to RES or finish her senior year. And for some reason, I feel bad for her.
Like me, Nicole didn’t want this life. She only accepted it for her parent. It’s wrong for her to pay for her mother’s sins, even if Nicole can be a total bitch herself.
I’ve never seen her so broken as the day she packed her suitcases and said goodbye to Dad and I. Daniel stood by my side that day.
She didn’t look him in the eyes as she bowed her head and walked out of the door.
“Are you ever going to tell me what happened between you two that night?” I ask Dan once she’s out.
His jaw tightens. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Dan… I’m your best friend, you’re supposed to tell me these things. I’m supposed to be there for you when you’re hurt.”
“That’s a tad bit dramatic, crazy bugger. Tone it down a notch.”
“Nope. It’s written in the friendship manual. I finally read it.”
He laughs. “About time.”
I face him. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“One. It’s fucking embarrassing to tell you I was drugged and might have drugged you. And oh, wait. You had an accident that night.”
“Well, we had time after, why have you never brought it up?”
“You make it sound like a disaster or that I’m traumatised.”
“You aren’t?”
He continues staring at where Nicole disappeared. “I’m not.”
“But didn’t she… assault you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Not exactly? What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. Nicole is over.”
But something tells me that’s not the case.
I sit at my desk in my room and stare at the sketchbook. I’m supposed to find a few sketches that speak of me and my style so I can send them to colleges, but I got lost somewhere.
For the past hour, I’ve been staring at multiple sketches of Levi. There are a few of him scoring, running, or just standing over the team with crossed arms.
I can’t get him out of my head.
Since that day he walked out on, I keep replaying the last look in his eyes. The hurt. The defeat.
I broke his wings, but I’m the one who’s bleeding.
I’ve been dreaming that he’d come back to knock on my door or sneak from my window.
But that’s all they were. Dreams.
Even if he came, it’d only make it harder to push him away again.
Because I said the truth. He’ll only see me as the daughter of the woman who killed his father. And while Mum had nothing to do with it, his father died that day.
I can’t live having him look at me that way.
That doesn’t mean I can stop thinking about him, though.
That doesn’t mean I can stop my muse from sketching him.
A few months.
It’ll be less than a few months before we go our separate paths.
Dan mentioned that Jonathan King allowed Levi to play professionally.
He’ll pick either Manchester or Liverpool and live at the other half of the country while I continue studying in London.
My heart aches and bleeds at the thought of never seeing him again.
“Those are really pretty.”
I startle and meet Dad’s gaze. I fumble with the notepad, slamming it shut and fight the embarrassment creeping up my cheeks.
Thank God Dad didn’t see the half-naked sketches.
“I knocked,” he says. “Three times.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” He pulls a chair and sits beside me. “I mean it. You have a special talent that’s different from your mother’s.”
I smile. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Are you returning to school?”
I wince. “It’s time, I guess. I can’t run away forever.”
No matter how much I want to.
“I know it’s been crazy around here recently, but you’re strong and I trust that you’ll get through this.”
“I know, Dad, it’s just…”
“That King boy?”
I swallow. “It’s over between us, don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried. My feud with Jonathan isn’t something you two should worry about.”
“Dad… are you approving of Levi right now?”
“He had the balls to meet me head on and even risked his future to process evidence about your accident. That grants him some points.” He scrunches his nose. “He still has that loathsome King pride, but it can be wrenched out of him.”
“But… but how about Mum and his father?”
“They both died, Astrid. It was an accident. Neither you or Levi had anything to do with it.” He holds my hand in his. “All this guilt is coming from inside you and you’re the only one who can fight it.”
“I don’t know how.” My voice breaks.
“Ask yourself. Are you living for the past or for the future?”
I’m speechless, not knowing how to respond to that.
Dad stands up and pats my hand. “For what it’s worth, that boy seemed infuriatingly set on the future.”
Chapter Fifty-Four
Levi
It isn’t over until it’s over.
* * *
The sound of the spectators is deafening.
We’re on our way to the championship.
Coach Larson looks at me like a hawk and points at his watch. Five. We only have five minutes left.
I motion at Ronan and Cole to push back to defence. I know they want to go out with a bang, but it’s been a bitch to defend our two to one against Manchester even though we’re playing on our ground.
I scored the first goal and Aiden scored the second.
The prick’s Daniel’s words from the other time stayed with me. For the last few games, I’ve been giving the team more leeway to have fun as long as the results are there.
Being the captain doesn’t only mean leading my team to victory. It also means being there for the fall and listening to them when they talk. Like every responsible general would do.
We lose the ball, and Aiden slams his shoulder in mine on his way back.
“You’re sloppy, Captain.” His eyes shine with contempt as he runs backwards. “I’d be surprised if you impress any scouts with your safe ways.”
Fucker.
He laughs, exchanging glances with Xander.
Sometimes, I think Aiden only allows himself to let go during the game. For ninety minutes, he transforms into an unstoppable beast, playing the opponent’s defence until he wears them out.
Cole snatches the ball from a midfielder and passes it to me. I keep possession, studying the pitch.
I can defend our score and win the game for sure. I can play as Coach wants. As everyone expects.
But I’m not a coward.
I’m a King and we don’t play fucking safe.
I sprint forward, and I can almost imagine the Coach yelling profanities in my peripheral vision.
I focus on the crowd going wild, the adrenaline pumping in my veins, and my team who follows me.
Aiden and Xander sprint on either si
de of me so we form a triangle. I dribble past one from defence and pass the ball to Xan who changes the direction with one masterful touch to Aiden.
I push in the last defender’s back and make sure we’re at the same line.
Aiden runs forward like a bull in between two defenders and passes me the ball. I don’t bother to keep it in place. I shoot it while it’s still in the air.
The crowd goes wild. I don’t even get a chance to see the ball inside the net. Aiden tackles me to the ground and the entire team plus the bench form a pile on top of me.
It’s impossible to breath, but I laugh anyway. It paid off. The gamble paid off.
This isn’t even only about the game anymore. This is about the fucking zombie I’ve become the last two weeks.
After I walked out on Astrid and never looked back because I was playing it safe.
That’s not me.
And it’ll never be.
Xan and Ro carry me on their shoulders and I shout alongside them.
This victory is for us, not only me.
That’s probably the difference between me and Aiden. He’s too individualist to play the game right.
And the reason I’ll make sure he’s not the captain once I’m out of here.
The guys lower me when we reach Coach Larson. He stares at me with a disapproving glance, and all the guys grow silent.
“That was a dangerous stunt, Captain.” Coach grins. “But a damn good one at that.”
He headlocks me and I accept the taunting punches from everyone.
“Coach.”
He and the rest of the team straighten at Uncle’s voice.
“Mr King.” Coach Larson shakes Uncle’s hand. “You should be proud of your son and your nephew.”
“Right. Of Course.” Jonathan’s voice is completely neutral.
Aiden and I exchange a look and roll our eyes.
“Someone is here for you, Lev.” Uncle points to a man dressed in a three-piece suit and looks so much like the type Uncle hangs out with.
Wait. This is…
“Mr Jeremy?” Coach Larson who’s always composed almost stumbles on his words. “It’s an honour to meet you.”
“The honour is all mine, Coach.” Jeremy shakes Coach’s hand. “You’ve built an impressive team.”
