Chapter nine.

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• Rejected By The Beta, Loved By The The Demon King   chapter thirty.

  Kiara's POV.I thought I had prepared myself.I had given permission, after all. I’d told myself that it was just a dance. That it meant nothing. That I wasn’t going to be the jealous wife standing in the corner, fuming while her husband danced with another woman. No. That wasn’t me. I wasn’t going to let Valerie get under my skin.But as I stood there, watching Valerie lead him to the center of the floor, my stomach churned with a rage that I couldn’t even begin to explain.The way Valerie smiled at him, the way she placed her hand on his arm as if she owned him, God, I could feel the heat in my chest rise. Her fingers brushed against his skin, and I nearly choked on the knot forming in my throat. And that smile, so smug, so full of knowing.I had allowed it.No, I let it happen. But I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I had been played, that I was just a pawn in some ridiculous game. She was using me.Her eyes flicked over her shoulder at me as they reached the dance floor, that

• Rejected By The Beta, Loved By The The Demon King   chapter twenty nine.

  Kiara's POV.The maids had done their work well. Too well, I almost thought. I stood before the mirror, The gown was perfect. Elegant. Far too beautiful, perhaps. The bodice, a delicate lace embroidered with gold, hugged me tightly, extending softly to the floor.But it wasn’t the dress that held my attention.It was me. Or rather, how I looked.My skin had a radiant glow and my dark hair flowed in soft waves over my shoulders, a few strands left loose to frame my face. The makeup was subtle, just enough to emphasize the sharpness of my features, the natural flush of my cheeks, the slight upturn of my lips. But it was all... too much. Too perfect.a knock suddenly came on the door.“My lady?”It was one of the maids. “His Highness is waiting for you,” she said."I'll be with him shortly." I replied. As I made my way to the door, I paused, catching a glimpse of myself once more. What would Hyde think when he saw me?But I had no time to dwell on it. I took a deep breath, straighten

• Rejected By The Beta, Loved By The The Demon King   chapter twenty eight.

  Kiara's POV.I’d been awake for a while.Not wide eyed and alert, just… existing. Eyes half open, staring at the carvings in the ceiling, following the curves of the wood like they might reveal some answer to the question still crawling under my skin.Valerie.I hated how her name sat in my mind like a splinter. Not even a sharp one. Just dull and persistent.Who was she really to Hyde? Could she truly be just the past? A closed chapter, no bookmarks left behind?Or was she a pause in a sentence waiting to finish?The thought alone made my stomach turn.And yet, here I was, still laid across the bed, pretending like I wasn’t still playing every moment from the garden over and over in my head.The way she had looked at him, and the way she absolutely didn't spare me a second glance. A knock suddenly snapped me out of it.“My lady?” came a gentle voice, Elsin, one of the quieter maids. “His highness requests your presence in the dining room. Breakfast is served.”My heart gave a traito

• Rejected By The Beta, Loved By The The Demon King   chapter twenty seven.

  Kiara's POV.The night breeze relaxed my mind comfortably.I sat on a stone bench mounted on several parts of the garden, pulling my robe tighter around me, but not because I was cold. The garden had always been my place of calm, a corner of quiet. I could almost convince myself I wasn’t waiting for him.Almost.But my eyes stayed open.Hyde had left a while ago, long enough for the worry to start its slow creep in my chest. I hadn’t asked where he was going. He hadn’t offered the information. I told myself he just needed to feel the outside breeze just like I wanted as well.I ran my fingers through the petals of a moonlit lily beside me, trying to distract myself. The night was beautiful. Quiet. Peaceful. But all I could feel was the tightening in my gut.Then I saw him.A shadow at first, moving with the fluid pressure only Hyde ever had. He stepped into the the clearer light, and my breath caught in my throat.He looked like he’d been dragged through a war.His shirt clung to hi

• Rejected By The Beta, Loved By The The Demon King   chapter twenty six.

  The woods had always been a place for thinking.Hyde didn’t come to the forest for peace, he came for space. The kind of space that let thoughts stretch and unravel, wild and aimless. Although the quietness presently wasn’t comforting, not exactly. It was too alive, too watchful. Every creak of tree trunks, felt like he was been observed. But he pushed the thoughts away and and continued walking. His thought was centered on Kiara.She wasn’t the same girl he had first found trying to run away from her pack just so she doesn't have to marry him, and she was too scared of her father to stand up to him about it. There was so much fear and uncertainty in her eyes that day. She looked too naive. Too weak, bruised. But she’d changed. Bit by bit. Hardened and honed.He had seen the changes in her, more clearly than she saw it in herself. The quiet strength building behind her words. The way she didn't flinched when he told her his story... everything, no half truths, no softening, she h

• Rejected By The Beta, Loved By The The Demon King   chapter twenty five.

  Kiara's POV.The heavy steel door creaked open on a slow groan, and I stepped in.Hyde stood at the far end of the hall, shirtless, skin gleaming with sweat, knuckles bloodied from the heavy bag he’d been working like it owed him a life.His back was to me.“Didn’t I give an order?” he said, voice low and flat.“You did,” I said, stepping closer. “And I’m ignoring it.”He froze. I watched the muscles in his shoulders tense, then slowly relax.“I’m not in the mood, Kiara.”“Well, too bad,” I said, folding my arms. “Because I didn’t come here for your mood. I came here for you. And I’m not leaving without answers.”He turned to face me then.And when he did… his eyes were still normal. But everything else about him looked hollow. Torn.“You shouldn’t be here.”“I need to be here.”Our stares locked. For a moment, neither of us moved. The weight of everything unsaid crackled between us like electricity.Then he looked away.“What do you want to hear?” he said bitterly. “That I’m not who