Royal Bastard by Avery Wilde Page A

rub it in. It reminded me of when I was younger, with very little knowledge of what I had been born into and the way he would berate me sometimes about the little things I did, like when I wanted to go outside and play with the rest of the normal kids. “You are royalty! You do not play!” he would shout, barring any access to my former life.
    I clenched my jaw tightly and gave him a look, bowing mockingly at him. “Of course, Father.”
    “It’s about time. You’ve disgraced this family with your antics for long enough. It’s about time you grew up to be a man, Edward. You need to earn my respect back, too. Just remember that.”
    If I bit my tongue any harder I would draw blood, I thought. Rose tightened her grip upon my hand, gently tugging me away, and I would’ve let it be if it hadn’t been for what he said next. “And while I’m on the subject of respect, maybe next time you will think twice before bringing a date . Your stepmother is going to be displeased when she finds out.” From the way he said the word date , with a disgusted twist of his lips, I knew exactly what he was trying to imply. That Rose was some sort of high-class call-girl, paid to suck my cock, to cause a scene and embarrass the family. Well, in one respect he got what he wanted…
    “And to think you believe that I’m the uncultured one, the one who has no manners? When you imply vile things like that… I’ve changed my mind. I no longer want to be in your damn presence.”
    Rose gasped next to me, but I was far beyond feeling sorry. “Edward,” Andrew said softly, drawing my attention from our father. “Not here.”
    “Oh not here, indeed,” I said angrily, pulling Rose close. “Come on, we are leaving.”
    Without another word, I all but dragged her out of the ballroom, my stride angry and fuming. This was a joke; I’d never belonged with them and never would. I couldn’t appease my father or anyone else for that matter. Suddenly I felt like I was about to suffocate if I stayed any longer in this place. My only relief was getting out as fast as humanly possible before I exploded and truly made a scene.
    “Edward! Slow down, dammit! I’m wearing heels, remember?”
    I ignored Rose’s pleas until we were back out into the night air, the soft breeze rippling through her escaping curls as she rounded on me, her expression thunderous. “What are you doing?” she demanded, her hands on her hips. “You can’t leave! We have a plan, remember? And we should stick to it.”
    “I can’t,” I ground out, attempting to step around her. I had to get out. She didn’t understand what was going on and had probably missed the subtlety of what my father said, but there was no way I was going to let her or me be subjected to it for a whole evening. And it was clear to me that I was never going to be Andrew. Hell, I was never going to be accepted into this family, no matter what I did. “Get out of my way, Rose, before I pick you up and move you.”
    “No,” she said, pushing at my chest with her hands. “I didn’t get all dressed up for you to storm out of the palace in five seconds. You are going back in there, and you will put a smile on your handsome face!”
    I reached down and grabbed her wrists lightly, feeling her pulse flutter under my touch. “Rose,” I said, my voice a bit softer this time, “I’m not welcome there.”
    She sighed loudly and looked at me, her eyes showing things I hadn’t seen from anyone else. “You were there a total of five seconds, Edward. How do you know that?”
    “I just know,” I said, dropping her wrists. “Please, can we leave? I really can’t…” I sighed and bowed my head.
    She opened her mouth to reply but surprised me by nodding tightly. I breathed a sigh of relief and signalled for my car, not saying another word until we were driving away from the massive gates. It was then that I yanked at the bowtie around my neck, throwing it before releasing the buttons of my dress