Page 65 of Cruel (Brutal Academy)

"Who is?" I barely glanced away from my laptop screen. I should have chosen somewhere more private to study than the library, but after the attack I didn't want to be alone.

Sleeping at night without having nightmares was hard enough.

"Dad." She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the top of the table. "What he said about not doing enough."

"Are you suggesting I'm not doing enough?" I closed my laptop and swivelled around in my seat to look at her. "Should I strangle you now and get it over with?"

She rolled her eyes. "No. I mean our first instincts should have been to turn the attack to our advantage. Not team up and run."

"We fought back," I pointed out. "We could have hidden in the bush until it was all over. We didn't."

"No, but if we were thinking right, one of us would insisted the other go and hide. If I dealt with it while you were trembling under a tree, I would have won."

I smirked. "If my guys and I went and trembled under a tree, you'd be dead and Zachary with you."

"Then neither of us would have won. Dad isn't going to let a coward take his place." She chewed on the tip of a bright pink nail.

"You got that vibe too?" When she gave me a questioning look, I added, "I got the impression he has a plan for none of us to take over. Like somehow all of this is a test he wants us to fail."

"Why would he want that?" She narrowed her eyes at me, but didn't deny the suggestion.

I considered for a moment, but slowly shook my head. "I don't know. I'm starting to get the impression nothing we can do will be enough for him."

"He is Dad," she pointed out. "When have we ever been enough for him? Maybe if we were born with cocks, he'd be more satisfied. Or if Zachary's mother gave him a little boy."

"That would have pissed Zachary off." I smiled. "Passed over for his own half brother."

Chloe frowned. "We would have been passed over for the same little half brother."

"Yeah, but then we wouldn't be trying to destroy each other." I toyed with a ring on my right hand. A gift from Hunter on my last birthday. Parker gave me a matching necklace. I'd protested that I didn't need any shiny things, but in typical twin fashion, they insisted I deserved it. I didn't usually wear them, but after the last few months, I felt the need to have something from both of them close to me.

"Was teaming up to stay alive such a bad thing?" I asked. "Would you rather die than lose?"

Something flickered in her gaze. "You don't get it do you? I've done nothing but lose. I was born first, but I might as well not have been born at all. Dad always preferred you. Then our stepmother did. Our mother probably did too. Even Zachary…"

She scrunched up her mouth and shook her head. "Just once, I want to be first."

"Dad does not prefer me," I protested.

Although… I always got the impression he saw more of me in him than in Chloe. My stepmother used to help me with my maths homework, but Chloe never needed it. She was always better with numbers than I was. As for our mother, the memories of her were vague. If she had a preference, I couldn't remember, but I doubted she did. She was our mother, surely she wouldn't play favourites?

"Zachary cares about you," I told her. "You're all he wants. You're all Dane wants too."

"Both of them want power," she said bitterly. “They backed me because they knew they couldn't compete with the fucking Brantley twins. If you win, they'll hold so much power. Dane and Zachary would have had none."

She really was bitter.

"Dane and Zachary adore you," I said. "Yes, both of them want power, but they want you with it. Besides, I never would have had any interest in either of them. And vice versa. Dane has put everything on the line for you. He'd do it regardless of who you are."

She snorted in disbelief.

"Why don't you step aside from this competition and see?" I suggested. "Chances are, neither of them will walk away."

I wasn't completely certain of that. Dane, in particular, was desperate to claw back power for himself and his family. I doubted he'd go running to his cousin to do it. If that was an option, he would have already taken it.

Chloe laughed. "Good try. I'm not stepping aside from this. I want Dad to look us both in the eyes and say I deserve to win. I want him to be proud of me." She pointed her perfectly manicured nail at my face. "Don't say he already is. We both know it will take more than what I've already done."

"This is about more than you winning," I accused. "This is about you seeing the expression on my face when I lose. You want me to— what? Cry?"

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