Dirty Little Secrets (Kings of Bolten 1)

Bianca

“You’re going to love Bolten,” Mom gushed as we stood outside David’s black luxury sedan twelve hours later.

My cheek still ached from the heavy hit from Hail. I had to cover the ugly, purple bruise with a layer of makeup. After Hail had unceremoniously shoved a diamond onto my finger, he’d kissed me again and grabbed my ass, promising me I’d regret not giving into him when I’d refused to kiss him.

David smirked at me over the roof of the car as I opened the door to get in. I clenched my fists and held back my scowl. He and Mom were both on my shit list. Who the hell marries their kid off like that? And to monsters?

My heart ached for more than one reason.

“Bolten is going to be your Eden, Bianca. You’re going to become a lady there. No more all-black clothes and ugly, dark nail polish,” Mom continued. “And you’ll be with Hail! We’re so excited to plan this wedding. . .”

I tuned her out as she started plowing on about love and marriage and wedding dresses. I wasn’t sure what had happened to my mother, but this wasn’t the woman who’d birthed me.

I’d read the brochures for Bolten again after going to my room last night, cringing because I knew some urchin like me would never fit in there. It was a school for the privileged, the overindulgent, and the elite. I didn’t check any of those boxes. I came from a broken home, was poor as dirt, and I hated being told what to do. I liked books, silence, and being left alone. Telling myself that the other students would be too self-absorbed to pay any attention to me and the alternative was staying in the house with David was the only thing that kept me from flat out refusing to go. Of course, Hail would be there, but I figured I could avoid him. Hopefully.

“You’re going to love it there,” Mom’s voice broke through my angry thoughts.

“I’m sure,” I muttered, sinking into the backseat and crossing my arms over my chest.

I’d been forced into wearing some cream-colored dress with a delicate matching belt at the waist and matching heels. Mom made me wear pearls and curl my hair so it cascaded down my back in soft, blonde waves.

She even made me remove my nail polish and had one of her manicurists come in to give me a French manicure.

“You’ll be home before you know it. Winter break is just a few months away.”

Mom glanced at David as he slid behind the steering wheel. He hardly ever drove. Most of the time he was in the back of the car with Perry, his driver, taking us wherever we had to go. I guess he’d made an exception for the day.

“We can plan an engagement party for Christmas.” Mom was off and running.

I tuned her out again, opting to look out the window at the passing scenery. Buildings. Lots of buildings and fancy cars. Hardly any greenery in sight. At least in my old neighborhood, we had a tree in the backyard. Everything was bought and paid for in this neighborhood. I hated it just as much as I hated David and his cronies.

“Bianca, did you hear what David said?”

I pulled my gaze from the passing concrete jungle and fixed my stare on David’s in the rearview mirror. “Can’t say I care.”

“Bianca,” Mom admonished with a nervous titter.

“I said we have a spending account set up for you. You won’t need to ask us for money. What we don’t provide, Mikhail will.”

Mom handed me a card from the front seat. “Isn’t that nice?”

“No thanks.” I didn’t reach out for it.

“Bianca, you’ll need the money. Bolten does all sorts of trips and things. This will help you. Please. Take it.” Mom peered over the front seat at me, the look in her eyes daring me to say no again.

My mom wasn’t a bad person. Or at least she hadn’t been. Dad leaving had broken the woman she was. When he disappeared, she stayed in her bedroom for weeks. She lost her job. Then we couldn’t afford our house, even though it wasn’t exactly opulent. We ended up moving to a tiny, ramshackle place in the shitty part of town because she went from bringing home a steady paycheck to being a waitress in a hole-in-the-wall diner where she struggled for tips.

That was where she’d met David. He’d come in on a whim, or at least that was the story he gave, but I had no idea what David would even be doing in that part of town, let alone in the shittiest place to eat.

“Please?”

Sighing, I snatched the card from her hand and stuffed it into my messenger bag. Maybe I could buy a plane ticket away from there.

“Thank you.”

“Whatever.”

Mom’s frown was evident as she turned back around, but David was quick to grab her hand and squeeze it. He locked eyes with me once more. The previous night’s events raced through my mind as nausea rolled in my guts at ugly memories. I tore my gaze from his and stared out the window again.