Page 2 of Triumphant Kings (Boys Of Kingston Academy #3)

Collin looks over my shoulder, and the smile falls away.

“What?” I ask, suddenly on alert. I try to look around, but Collin grasps the back of my head, holding me in place.

“Don’t look,” he commands before leaning down to kiss me.

It’s deep and dirty, all for show, but it still doesn’t stop the way my stomach flutters with arousal.

“My father is watching,” Collin murmurs against my lips. “And he’s pissed.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I ask, a flush of fear washing over me.

“I guess we’ll find out.” Collin moves me around, dancing to the music, angling my body just enough to see his father’s retreating form storming out of the doors that lead out to the garden.

“Fuck.” I bury my face into his chest and take a deep breath. “It’s like I can breathe now.”

“I know,” Collin murmurs, rubbing his hand up and down my back as he kisses the top of my head. “Me too.”

“But for how long?” I ask, tilting my head back to look him in the eyes. “We might have gotten you out of an unwanted marriage, but we’re not stupid enough to think that's the end of it.”

“Oh, it’s not,” he replies, and I sigh heavily. “It’s not over until one of us is in a body bag,” he states grimly.

My lips part as I gape up at him in horror. “What the fuck, Collin?” I hiss. “Why would you say that?”

His face falls, morphing into one filled with guilt. He’s about to say something else when we’re bombarded by our mothers.

“Collin!” Carol slaps the back of Collin’s head.

“Ouch,” he groans. “What's that for?” He frowns down at her, rubbing the back of his head.

“What’s that for?” She narrows her eyes at her son. “Don’t play stupid with me, boy.” Carol looks my way. “Excuse me, love, I need a word with my son.” She grabs Collin’s arm and starts to tug him away. “But don’t think you’re off the hook, young lady.”

I’m trying not to laugh, it’s really not the time for it, but it’s pretty funny to watch this tall, grown man be scolded by his mother like a child.

“What are you smiling about?” Mom’s voice has my back stiffening.

Biting my lower lip, I turn to her with guilty eyes. “Hey, Mom,” I say lamely.

She raises a brow. “Don’t you ‘hey, Mom’ me. So, you’re married, huh? Isn’t that typically something one would let their mother in on?”

Her eyes are filled with hurt, adding another punch to my gut. I was so focused on making sure Collin didn’t go through with the forced arranged marriage, I didn’t stop to really think about the fallout and how this was going to affect the other people in my life.

“I’m ss-sorry,” my words break as I grab her hand and tug her away from the crowd of people. Now probably isn’t the best time to be spilling all my secrets, but I’ve been lying to my mom for too long.

I can’t do it anymore.

“Why?” she asks when we’re away from prying eyes. “Why did you marry him? What about Declan?”

“I’m still with him,” I insist.

“And he’s okay with you marrying, Collin? Honey, that’s... that's not right. You're supposed to love them equally. You didn’t have to choose.”

“It’s not like that,” I urge. “Fuck.” I rub my hands up and down my arms, my mind a wreck. You did this to yourself, Sadie. You have no one else to blame.

“Then tell me what's going on. Please,” she asks, her eyes pleading with me. I nearly break when she puts her hands over mine, stopping my nervous movements and giving them a tight squeeze. “You're my daughter. We’ve always been close, but I feel like this year we’ve been drifting apart, and it’s killing me. ”

Her eyes fill with tears, and damn it, so do mine.

“Are you mad at me? Is this about me marrying Mark?"

“No,” I rush out, shaking my head. “Not at all. I love Mark. He's amazing. He loves you and makes you happy. You deserve that.”

Her eyes search mine before letting out a heavy sigh. “Please, tell me you haven’t gotten mixed up in something you shouldn’t have.”

“That depends.” I grimace. “I’m totally not addicted to drugs or alcohol. And I haven’t been stealing anything.”

“Well, that's good news,” she huffs out a laugh. “Now, out with it, Sadie. There’s nothing you can tell me that will make me think less of you.”

Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that one. “It’s about... Bradly.”

Her body goes stiff, eyes wide. “W-what do you mean?”

My eyes dart around, making sure we’re completely alone. “I can’t go into details, it’s not my place to say anything, but he’s been causing trouble with Collin and Preston. He was going to force Collin to marry another woman tomorrow. And well, of course I wasn’t going to let that happen, so...”

“So you married him first?” She raises a brow.

“Yeah, ahh, pretty much.” I rub at the back of my hair before fixing my mask for something to do with my hands.

“Sadie,” she scoffs, but there’s no heat behind it. “That’s a big, life-changing decision. You don’t just get married on a whim.” Ha, she should have told me that a few days ago.

“I know. But I don’t regret it. Collin didn’t want to be married to that woman any more than I wanted him to be. And his father wasn’t going to stop until he did.”

Her face falls again. “Collin has spent years not caring about what his father wants. He’s been refusing to do anything that man asks. So why, all of a sudden, does he need to marry you to get himself out of marrying someone else? Why didn’t he just say no?”

“He couldn’t,” I whisper. I can’t say the words out loud. Not just because I don’t want to risk anyone hearing, but because I don’t think I can admit to my mother how little regard that man has for my life.

“The only reason Collin would do something he doesn’t want to do is to protect the people he loves. Seeing as how Bradly can’t touch Carol...” She shakes her head. “Please tell me he’s not doing this to protect you?”

“Okay, then I won’t?” I answer the question as a question.

“Sadie.” Her eyes widen with concern. “Are you in danger?” I don’t answer. “Oh, Sadie.”

“Everything will be okay.”

She’s the one to look around this time before stepping closer to lean in.

“If you need help—with anything—come to Mark. I’m not stupid, Sadie.

I know how this world works, better than you do.

I might have grown up on the sidelines of it, for the most part, but I was still in their world.

Bradly isn’t a good person. He’s as bad as they come.

I need you to be careful. Be safe. You’ve got me, Mark, and Carol on your side. Don’t fight this alone.”

And just like that, I’m a fucking mess. Letting out a small sob, I pull my mother into my arms.

“Oh, honey.” She sounds like she’s crying too. She holds me tight, and we just stand there having a moment.

“I've missed this. I've missed you.”

“I haven’t gone anywhere.”

“I know.” I sniff, pulling back. “I have.”

She gives me a soft, watery smile. “No, you're just a young girl, growing up and living her life. You have school, friends, and boys. So many boys.” She laughs. “Oh, to be young again.”

“You're gonna tell me you would have wanted to be with more than just Dad back when you were my age?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Your dad was the only man for me. But that doesn’t mean you have to choose only one. If your heart belongs to more than one person, then as long as you're happy, I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks, Mom.” I smile back, feeling like a weight’s been lifted off my shoulders.

As if my eyes have a mind of their own, I search the area until my gaze lands on Grayson. He’s standing by the bathroom, drink in hand, as he leans back against the wall, watching us.

My heart starts to race at the sight of him. He might be wearing a mask, but I’d know that black floppy hair anywhere. There’s this way in which he holds himself that makes it easy for me to pick him out of a crowd.

When I’ve been staring longer than I should, he nods his head. A sly smirk twists his lips, and my stomach swoops.

Mom is still talking, so I quickly move my attention back to her.

“Married.” She shakes her head. “I can’t believe it. Are there any more secrets you wanna tell me while you're at it? Another lover you’ve thrown into the mix?” I know she’s saying this as a joke, but still, my eyes find Grayson again, and I bite my lip.

“Ahhh...” There’s a lot more I haven’t told her. Some things I should, but not tonight. This is not the place to unpack all my life problems right now. Things are currently on a need-to-know basis.

She follows my line of sight and is silent for a moment. “Sadie...” Oh, this time when she says my name, it’s in her mom voice.

“What?” My attention snaps back to her.

“I should have known,” she sighs. “We’re going to talk more about that later.”

Oh. Fuck. She knows, doesn’t she? Of course she does. She’s my mom.

Does Mark know? If he did, he’d have talked to Grayson by now, right?

“Sadie, did those boys know about you and Collin getting married?” Mom asks, nodding her head toward Grayson.

I look over again to find Preston and Declan have joined him.

“I’m going to say by the guilty look on your face, they didn’t,” she concludes softly. “Go, talk to them. We will pick this conversation up again soon.”

“Are you sure?”

She nods and pulls me in for a hug before kissing my cheek.

She leaves me standing there all alone, and I feel like a mouse in an open field with hawks flying overhead.

“Alright, Sadie, it’s time to face the consequences of your actions,” I mumble to myself.

“Heeey,” I say when I reach them, giving them a little wave as I rock back on my heels. Smooth, Sadie, smooth.

“Hey?” Preston growls, launching himself off the wall. “You come here, announcing to the whole world that you’re married to my fucking brother, and all you have to say is hey ?”

“First of all, don’t be getting in my face about anything. Not after Declan and I spilled our hearts out to you and you fucking ghosted us for days!”