LOGINMaximillian You know that moment when everything shifts—and you don’t need anyone to say a word because their faces say it for them? Yeah… that was me the second Edwina’s parents walked into that hospital room.I didn’t need a mirror to know I looked like the villain in their story. They didn’t even try to hide it. The disappointment, the anger, the blame—it was all right there, aimed straight at me. And honestly? I couldn’t even argue with it.Because what kind of man lets the woman he loves end up in a hospital bed… because of his own family?I stood there, hands stiff at my sides, forcing myself not to look away as more of them filed in—my parents, my grandparents, her sisters. The room felt smaller with every step they took, like the walls were closing in, squeezing the truth tighter around my throat.This is on you.They could say it wasn’t. They probably would. But I knew better. I’d seen the tension. I’d noticed the looks. And what did I do? I trusted my sisters. Trusted them
Maximillian The world narrowed to the sound of my own pulse and the way her name kept tearing out of me like it could anchor her here.“Edwina—hey, hey, stay with me. Look at me.”Her head lolled slightly against my arm as I pushed through the hospital doors, the fluorescent lights too bright, too sharp. It made everything look unreal—her skin too pale, the blood at her hairline too dark.“I can’t… I can’t see right,” she murmured, her voice thin, wrong. Not her.Something inside my chest twisted hard.No. No, no, no.“I’m right here,” I said quickly, even though her eyes weren’t focusing on me. They kept drifting, unfixed, like she was trying to catch something that wouldn’t stay still. “You’re fine. I’ve got you.”A lie. I knew it the second it left my mouth.“Head injury!” I called out the moment a nurse saw us. “Get a gurney—now.”Hands replaced mine. Too many of them. Efficient. Practiced. And just like that, she was taken out of my arms. I stood there for half a second too long
Maximillian You think you know someone… and then they go out of their way to prove you wrong. Not in subtle ways. Not in ways you can excuse or explain away.No.In ways that make you stop and think—who the hell have I been living with all this time? I’ve known my sisters for over two decades.Hell, longer if you count the months we shared the same space before we were even born. We grew up together. Same house. Same blood. Same name.And not once—not once—did they ever show me this side of them.Sure, they were annoying sometimes. Entitled? Definitely. They carried themselves like the world revolved around them and everyone else was just background noise. But violent?No.They didn’t get their hands dirty.They preferred words—sharp, cruel, calculated. The kind that could ruin someone’s reputation in minutes. The kind they could throw in your face or blast all over social media without a second thought.But this?This wasn’t them.Or at least… that’s what I thought.Because they did
Edwina“Why’s that?” I asked, my voice steady—too steady, considering the way my chest felt tight. “Because I’m poor? Because I didn’t finish my education?”I already knew the answer.Still, I wanted to hear them say it.“All of the above—and more,” Bianca shot back, her voice dripping with disdain. “You’ll only ruin Max’s life. He needs someone of his calibre, not some impoverished rebel with a streak of bad luck.”There it is.Laid out plainly. No pretence. No masks.Just pure, unfiltered contempt.For a second, something in me flinched—but I crushed it before it could show on my face. “I love Max,” I said, holding their gaze. “More than you’ll ever know.”The words came out firm, but inside, I felt exposed. Vulnerable. Like I’d just handed them something fragile and watched them decide whether to break it.Bianca scoffed. “Do you love Max—or do you love the idea of being tied to him? He’s rich. He’s a Crown Prince. When he becomes King, you become Queen.”Ah. So that’s what this is
EdwinaI didn’t see it coming—becoming close with Max’s sisters? That, I could have imagined. But this? This quiet, deliberate rejection? No. I hadn’t prepared for that.The day after they arrived, after lunch, I made an effort. They were in the living room, stretched out like they owned the air itself, eyes glued to the TV. I tried to join in, tried to start something—anything—but it was like speaking into a void. They didn’t even glance at me. Just… nothing.So this is how it’s going to be?It got worse. When Esther and Evelyn came in, asking harmless questions about their jobs, the way they responded—sharp, dismissive, borderline cruel—made my stomach twist. My sisters didn’t deserve that. No one did.I wanted to say something. God, I really did. But I swallowed it down.Three reasons.First—they were Max’s sisters.Second—they were princesses. Actual royalty.And third… I was just the girl living under their brother’s roof.A commoner.The word echoed louder in my head than I car
Maximillian Ever since the day I met Edwina, my imagination had betrayed me more times than I could count. I had pictured her in dresses—dozens of them, maybe hundreds. In every color, every style. And in nearly every one of those daydreams, things never stayed proper for very long. One moment she’d be standing there in some beautiful dress, and the next… well, the dress would end up somewhere else entirely. Draped over a chair. Hanging off a lamp. Tossed carelessly onto the floor wherever I imagined myself throwing it in a moment of reckless desire.But standing there that morning, watching reality unfold before me, I realized something immediately.My fantasies had been embarrassingly inadequate. Because nothing—absolutely nothing—had prepared me for the sight of Edwina actually wearing a dress.My jaw quite literally went slack as she appeared at the top of the staircase and began walking down toward us.The dress was sky blue tulle, light and delicate, the hem stopping just at
Maximillian Truce.Edwina liked to throw that word around like it cost her nothing. Like it was some sort of magical spell. As if saying it could wipe the slate clean. I'd lost count of how many times she'd said it before, only for us to be at each other’s throats again the next day.I’d heard her
All he had left were what-ifs, unspoken regrets, and a lukewarm affection for the woman he had married—Lillian, Steven’s mother. Sometimes, when the nights were too quiet and the house too still, Matthias wondered if she could tell. If, after all these years, she had sensed that his heart had never
Edwina No matter how guilty I felt, I couldn’t help myself—I kept the conversation going, mostly just to prove a point. I was stubborn like that. I always have been. Even when I knew I was wrong, something in me just couldn’t back down without having the last word—even if it meant pushing someone
EdwinaThe hallway to the ICU felt longer than any road I’d ever walked. Every step echoed off the tiled floor like it was measuring my guilt, my fear, and the weight of the unknown that lay behind the door ahead.I paused just outside, staring at the faded “Authorized Personnel Only” sign like it







