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34 Family Reckoning

Author: Karima Sa'ad Usman
last update Huling Na-update: 2025-09-27 18:46:17

Arden’s POV

The heavy doors shut behind us, sealing the echo of the murmuring court outside. The room that remained was smaller, intimate in its own way, yet tense enough to make the air feel like it might shatter with the next word. My father moved toward the long table at the center, his robes sweeping behind him, his hand already pressed to his brow in weary agitation.

Richard hovered near the hearth, jaw clenched, arms crossed like a sulking child. Ivana stayed close to the king, her hand brushing against his arm as if she were the one who required comfort, not the woman who had orchestrated half the mess. I remained standing where I was, a deliberate act of defiance. Let them feel my presence rather than dismiss me into silence.

My father was the first to break the quiet.

“Did that woman put you up to this?” His voice was sharp, but beneath it lay something else, an edge of genuine concern. “Arden, you have to know when you’re being used. I thought you better than that.”

I exhale
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