Page 2 of Sinful King

As soon as the door closed, the adrenaline left my body all at once. My knees buckled, and I hit the floor as the sob I didn’t know was there broke free. It felt pathetic as every ounce of pride I had pooled on the floor at my feet.

No one had ever stood up for me like they had, like Sean had.

Not my father or brother or mother, who had no real power. How could I blame her for not being strong enough to get us out? She was doing the best she could and sometimes I had to suffer. Sometimes I had to take one for the team.

“Stand up,” Sean ordered firmly, not in an unkind way but enough to make me listen. He crouched down and slipped a hand under my elbow to help me. “Whatever that was about, you’ll have to face it at some point.”

“I’m aware,” I mumbled, staring at the floor. I felt his gaze on me but couldn’t bring myself to look at him. “I’m not afraid.”

“Liar,” Finnegan tried to mutter, but it was loud enough for me to hear.

“I’m not!” I snapped, hands flying in frustration. “But he’s bigger than me! Forget it. You wouldn’t understand, anyway.”

I went to leave, ready to put as much distance between myself, them and this room as possible. But as I went to open the door, Sean’s hand pressed against it and held it closed. Startled, I spun around to him looking down at me with that same unreadable expression.

His light brown eyes seemed to search mine, like he was trying to pull the truth out of me.

“Help us understand,” he said, his voice quieter now. “Maybe we can help.”

“No one can really help me but me,” I said, my voice matching his. “But thanks for stepping in today.”

I opened the door and moved into the hallway, grateful he hadn’t tried to stop me again.

Maybe if I told my dad, he’d at least send Caden back to Baltimore to save face with the congregation.

Or he’ll blame you like he had before.

What happened in the church, stayed in the church, right?

It felt nasty thinking those thoughts.

Even though I believe in God, I’m not sure I believe in his followers. This was supposed to be a safe place but it wasn’t and I hated being part of it.

“Blair!” one of the church mothers whisper yelled as she approached from the left side of the sanctuary. “Your father wants to see you.”

So much for hiding out in here until it was time to go home.

“Did I do something?” I asked, tugging my arm back after she gripped it a little tight. “I can walk on my own.”

Why would I want the woman my father slept with behind my mom’s back touching me?

“That mouth is going to get you in trouble one day,” she mumbled as we walked up a flight of stairs to my father’s study.

My heart dropped when she pushed the door open and eight sets of eyes met mine.

Sean and his brothers were standing near their dad, who watched me closely as I trudged inside.

My dad sat behind his desk with Caden and Blake flanking both sides. I only caught eyes with Caden for a second but knew he’d been the one to orchestrate this.

“Tell him what you were doing when I found you,” Caden said. “It’s better to be truth—”

“You’re the liar,” Cian blurted, arms crossed. “We already said it wasn’t true. And don’t look at our dad, he’ll always believe us first.”

I could barely think straight, let alone understand what was happening, but somehow a kid younger and smaller had the strength to speak up.

And their father stood by without saying a word because what Cian said was true, he believed them.

“Can I know what I did?” I asked, looking around the room but avoiding my father’s angry eyes.

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