Empire of Hate (Empire, #3)

by Rina Kent

An unhealthy obsession is to have an extreme interest in something or someone. It’s to constantly think about them. It’s to do something repetitively, even against your will. It’s to have a compulsive preoccupation with them and being unable to chase them away, no matter how much you try.

His name is Daniel. It’s a normal name on everyone else but him.

Something happens when he grins or smiles or laughs. His cheeks crease and one set of dimples appear. If he were an angel, those would be his wings. If he were a prince, that would be his crown. Daniel is simply so…beautiful.

Loving something that hurts you is also an unhealthy obsession, I think.

“When we grow up, will you marry me?” His eyes widen, but he looks away. My heart shrivels and breaks in my chest. Once again, it was all for nothing.

If life throws you a lemon, you should probably eat it or else you’ll remain hungry.

“Are you okay, Nikki?” I lift my head from my task of chopping vegetables and stare at the adorable face of my little Jayden. He looks so much like me, it’s a little freaky. But his blond hair is shinier, like my mum’s, and his eyes are a light brown, like a warm forest during a sunny day. Despite being only nine years old, he’s the definition of a blessing. I don’t know what my life would be like if he weren’t around.

The deep voice with a British accent causes a foreign feeling to constrict my chest and I pause. No. It’s only my stupid imagination that I can never manage to control. There’s no way in hell it’s him. That would be just tragic. And cruel. And every negative word in the dictionary. Chasing that ominous thought away, I push the door open and freeze. My heart drops to the base of my stomach and I cease breathing when my gaze meets those blue eyes that stole from the sun, sky, and the stars. It is him. The man who ruined my life as much as I ruined his. Daniel Sterling.

“Do you have a problem with what I just asked, Ms. Adler?” Oh, I get it now. He’s trying to make me quit, isn’t he? Well, he doesn’t know who the heck he’s dealing with. “No, sir,” I say, another fake smile plastered on my face. “I’ll get a replacement right away.”

It doesn’t matter how many years pass or how old she gets, Nicole was and always will be beautiful. The provocative type.

“My, my, who do we have here?” “Excuse me?” Nicole asks incredulously. “Knox,” I call his name with a coolness I don’t feel. He gives me a mischievous grin. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your new…blonde assistant?” I don’t miss the way the fucker emphasizes the word “blonde” and I’m about to use his tactics about “how to get away with murder” against him.

I saw him steal the cake and take it to the other boys. Our eyes met and he paused, his blue eyes twinkling. “Don’t you dare say anything, Peaches.”

It got worse when my stepsister, Astrid, came to live with us after her mother died when we were fifteen. Uncle Henry told me to take her with me to Chloe’s birthday party so she’d make new friends. And guess who the only friend she made was? Daniel.

Maybe all I need is to become so bad that he’ll only look at me. Even if it’s with disapproval and glares. That way, he’s at least looking at me. So I’ve kept being mean to Astrid, especially when he’s around. I’ve kept being a thorn in her side and making her life as miserable as mine.

“Promise first.” I purse my lips, then say, “Fine, promise. Now, tell me what the kink is.” She gets on her knees and inches closer, bringing the sheets with her until she’s eye level with me, then whispers, “You.”

Still, he managed to become the media’s sweetheart and photographers’ wet dream. He has the looks anyone with cameras or eyes would want to freeze into an ethereal moment of perfection.

Daniel lowers his head so he can speak near my ear in a whisper-like range. “You of all people shouldn’t be talking about sexual harassment when you put a date rape drug in my drink.”

“Really. I feel sorry for her. It doesn’t matter that she’s the only senior female partner in the firm or that she’s close friends with Nathaniel. Kingsley is making her his target, and apparently, nothing will be able to stop him.”

A distant look crosses her eyes. “I know the feeling of losing a child, and I’ll do my best to keep you from going through the same experience.”

“It’s not much, really. Dad once said that he searched for Nicole and when he found her, she was carrying a baby and ran away.” “A what?” “A baby, Dan. You know, like my daughter, Glyndon.” “Nicole has a child?”

“I’m your kink?” he asks with slight bewilderment, but he’s smirking, those beautiful dimples creasing his cheeks.

“You have the beauty of a fucking angel, Peaches.” He rests his chin on my stomach, his eyes clashing with mine for a brief second. “Too bad you possess the personality of the bloody devil.”

“So what if you are? Is that a problem?” A strange gleam covers his face and takes refuge in his eyes. It’s almost…like possessiveness. “Could be.”

“I can still want you.” “That’s all?” His eyes meet mine, but it’s brief before he lowers his head and sinks his teeth into the space between my collarbone and shoulder, then speaks against it, “Believe me, you don’t want anything else from me.” “Why…not?” “Because the world is beneath you, Nicole. Me included.”

I sit there and wait. And wait. But Daniel never came back for me. And just like that, I’ve become invisible again.

Imagine it’s him. It’s not Levi. It’s him. I start to suck, but Levi tuts. “Stay still.” A bulge grows in his trousers and I reach for it, thankful that my hand doesn’t shake. “Wow, you’re so big.” Someone kill me.

A look passes his features and I wish I could use up all the wishes and lamp genies in the world to know what it means. “You and I…are impossible.” “Obviously. Good luck being Astrid’s boy toy.” “Oh, please. It’s not about Astrid. It’s about you, Nicole. You’re vindictive and vicious and a general bitch. I don’t want that.”

“I don’t remember inviting you to my employer-employee TED talk, Aspen.” “And I don’t remember you having the type of small dick energy to actively ruin a woman’s chances at custody.” I’m about to show her my actual dick size and risk a sexual harassment suit, but before I can go the crazy route, her words sink in.

Daniel cocks his head toward the glass door. “Is he mine?” I nearly choke on my spit. “W-what?” “Is the boy mine?” “No!” “Is he yours, then?” “What the hell, no! He’s my brother.”

Is he mine? Daniel’s question from earlier strikes me again, and although Jay is neither his nor my son, I don’t know why a twisted part of me is wishing for that.

And yes, I shouldn’t know this much about him, but it’s a disease. I’ve come down with the Daniel flu, and apparently, it’s chronic.

The art of pain is an abstract form of vengeance. That’s what his tattoo says, in bold, neat letters that should belong in a museum. My heart lunges, thinking about the reason he had this inked on his body.

“We haven’t even gotten started.” He smears his cum on my parted lips, then thrusts two fingers inside like he did the other day. “I’m going to fuck you again, once in the shower and once on my bed, and then…you will tell me all about the fucking skeletons you’re hiding in your closet.”

I didn’t let them go back to their place from hell, so we’re all stuck in that “Are we living together?” phase.

By the time we’re done with golf, King and Aspen are seconds away from slitting each other’s throats or fucking on the grass. Not sure which one is more pressing.

She squeezes me until I grunt. “He doesn’t mean downtime from sex, just downtime from the other girls.” My lips tilt in a smirk. “That’s too many words and a tacky tactic to tell me you want us to be exclusive.”

What happens next is a blur of motions. I’m disoriented, and my body feels like it’s a different entity from mine. The assault. The violation. The burning pain. Sometimes, I think I’m lucky I don’t remember most of it.

Without sparing me a glance, Daniel grabs her by the throat and slams his lips to hers. His eyes meet mine as he drags her inside and slams the door in my face. I crouch in the rain and let the tears I couldn’t shed earlier loose. Everything is over. And it hasn’t even started yet.

“How did that fucker…” I trail off at my strained tone and start again with a cooler one. “How did he become Jayden’s father?” A chin tremble. A jerk. Silence. “Is he…actually your son?” “No! Do you think I would’ve let that monster have more hold on me?”

“I need you to hook me up with a member of Anastasia’s family.” “The fuck you need the mafia for when you’re an attorney?” “I need them to tie up some loose ends the law couldn’t.” When I’m done with Christopher Vans, he’ll wish for the fucking Grim Reaper.

Nicole is beautiful under normal circumstances, but when she smiles, her entire face brightens and the universe pauses. At least mine does.

Kyle agreed to meet me here and even said he’ll have Christopher waiting for me. He only needed his full name and that’s it.

A black figure comes from the shadows, and I’m slightly taken aback. He’s tall, wears black like a Gothic model, and has the looks that go with it. Doesn’t strike me as a mobster at all. “Kyle, I presume?”

“You’re the only woman I wanted with a desperation that bordered on both pleasure and pain. The only woman who drives me fucking insane but I still can’t look away from. My fixation with you made me hate all blondes because they reminded me of you. Brunettes aren’t my type, Peaches. You are. And you know what, your condition about exclusivity is bloody useless. Ever since you came back into my life, I haven’t been able to see another woman, let alone fuck her. It’s you. Only you.”

If this is one of those fantasy subconscious things where I picture Daniel picking me. There’s pain in my palms. So this is real. He’s actually taking my side over Astrid’s. His best friend Astrid.

“Mummy!” A small figure with light brown hair slams into her leg, then stares at Jayden with awe. “You found a prince, Mummy!” “Sort of.” She laughs, then leans down so she’s almost eye level with him. Her expression is soft and loving as she kisses his cheek. “Brandon, this is Jayden. He loves Minions, too. Do you want to show him your collection?”

But the thing I could never forget about Uncle Henry? The way his green eyes hold the calm of Buddha, the wisdom of Confucius, and the kindness of Mother Theresa. He made me feel safe.

“Yes, and I’m grateful. I’ve been searching for you for years.” “But why? Don’t you hate me?” What resembles pain crosses his features. “I never hated you, Nicole. I admit that after I found out Victoria toyed with Jasmine’s breaks, caused her death, and nearly killed Astrid in that hit-and-run, my sole purpose was to make her pay.”

He erases the distance between us and wraps me in a fatherly hug. Uncle Henry is an aristocrat through and through, so showing any emotion is blasphemy, but he’s patting my head now. And I cry like a baby. I cry for losing him. For thinking he always wanted to get rid of me.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I want this woman with the desperation of a sex addict, an incubus, and a nymph combined.