Ruthless Empire (Royal Elite 6)

Now, because of Cynthia, Sebastian says I can’t live with my doll anymore. I offered him everything William left me with the sole condition that I stay with him — with my doll.

I was only going to keep watching from afar. I was going to brush her hair and kiss her goodnight and good morning and have her kiss me back.

That’s all I asked for.

I was even hurting other dolls to not lose my cool and touch her.

None of those sacrifices worked. She was going to leave me anyway. No matter what I did, she’d choose the bitch Cynthia over me.

I’ll kill Cynthia as soon as my doll wakes up and gives me a kiss. Then we can stay here.

She used to always come and cook with me here. She’ll love it.

Silver moans as she slowly opens her eyes. Those blue, blue eyes. Like my previous doll that I used to hide beneath my pillow as Dad loved me.

She’s better than that doll, though. Silver is more sophisticated, and her smile is more real.

“H-Helen?” She cradles her temple as she slowly sits up. “What happened?”

“You’re okay, darling.” I caress her arm, her soft skin, her porcelain doll complexion.

I’m the master of this doll.

So much pride fills me at the thought.

“I came here to meet Cole and…” she trails off, finally taking note of her surroundings.

We’re sitting on the edge of the pool.

Where it all started.

William’s death freed me. It gave me so much I didn’t know I could have.

It made me a genius. The type of person who can toy with people’s emotions through writing. I disguised myself in every character I wrote. People hated me, were enraged about my actions, but most of all, they were intrigued by me.

I was William. I was Sebastian and Cynthia. And, last but not least, I’m me and with my doll.

I always liked bringing my doll to the pool and bathing her in it.

We swam in it before, but I couldn’t touch her like I wanted to, because she was smart and she would’ve freaked out.

My son is smart, too, so I had to wear the mask I perfected so well from when I was in my father’s house.

I had to play on his guilt and love for me so that he’d forget about his infatuation with my doll, and let me date Sebastian, and eventually marry him.

Cole pitied me. He felt guilty because I got hit on his behalf.

I didn’t. I simply didn’t want to miss any of William’s beatings. I wasn’t protecting Cole. I was pushing the brat out of the way so he didn’t take what was rightfully mine.

My son is so intelligent; he takes after me, but he’s not at my level. Cole is a bit too blinded by my doll, so he misses the small things.

Like the stalker messages. He came to me for help, saying some wannabe stalker at school wanted to hurt my doll. I took care of him, of course, and I stopped the texts so he and my doll believed it all ended with Adam.

It never would.

My doll smiled for me when I first sent her those texts and she’ll continue to.

“Why are we here?” Silver appears more confused than suspicious.