~Ioana~"No one recognized me," a whisper left my lips as my heart clenched painfully while I walked past the palace guards from the gate out into the streets.The guards only gave me a strange once-over look. That’s it. These were the same guards that would salute in such a loud voice Gia herself would tremble.But now—nothing.I dragged my feet.There was a time I would jump up and down, doing a little jiggly dance because of it, but not this time. I felt hollow, like someone had taken a spoon and carved out a part of my chest.Even my hair turned black.It’s like everything that happened was an illusion. It faded away so fast.People brushed past me like I was air. In worse cases, curses were thrown at me. “Mad woman,” they whispered under their breath—loud enough that it drilled into my ears. Perhaps that was the goal from the beginning.Was this what it felt like to be truly unseen? No one remembers you. Everything you’ve done. Everything you’ve labored for—swept under the rug.S
~Ioana~A blurry image that was far away from me came together in my head.It was something I had turned over numerous times until I forced myself to lock it up in the deepest, darkest part of my mind.There was no need to turn over something that would bring a flood of depression to my heart.But for the first time in a while, I allowed myself to dream, to wonder once again.But it shattered.When Gabrielle said: "I heard that your mate was awful to you. Why don't you just leave him behind? Run away. Be your own person! Don’t hide behind any man."She fired words after words. She never allowed me to talk. The moment I was about to say something, she overwhelmed me with another."I won’t leave him, don’t waste your saliva," I snapped.She froze, shock flashing across her face, as if surprised I could “speak.” Her composure cracked.In an awful attempt to remedy it, she curled her lips into what she thought was a smile but was, in fact, a smirk.Was it possible for a person to smirk so
~Ioana~When I was young, my wishes never came true no matter how well or hard I'd pray to the moon goddess.But suddenly, who can tell me why my wishes became incredibly effective?I wanted to go back and slap myself when I screamed at Alessandro, "I wish you'd forget I exist, not just you, but the whole world would."He had hushed me, but I was undeterred.And now my wish, in the worst way possible, was answered.My feet slapped against the marble floor as I ran. My breath came up in ragged pants. 'Goddess, I'll exercise if I come out of this.'Behind me, the guards — hot on my trail — shouted, "Stop right there!"'As if,' I scoffed, rounding the corner."Catch that spy!"Somehow, I had evolved from the imposter to the spy.This morning should be court time. Yes, I'll head there, I thought. I ran towards the hall.The hall was open with no guards in sight. Sweet! Finally, so
~Ioana~Something lifted me into the air, moving me away. Was it him? A surge of delight went through me.But no, I knew it wasn't him just from his scent. I struggled to open my eyelids, but they were heavy. It was dark.'Where are you taking me?' I wanted to ask, but it came out of my lips as nothing but whimpers.A blast of chill hit me, away from the warmth I had. Goosebumps crawled through my exposed skin. Something was wrong. My mind screamed, but I couldn't do anything.Soon.The chill was gone. Were we back? That's what I thought at first, but when the melodious hum reached my ears. A light singing, in a language I didn't recognize. For some reason it sent chills down my spine, but this time it wasn't from the cold.The person carrying me halted. I was placed on the floor; the smell of damp dirt and something I couldn't name was in the air.Then the singing reached a crescendo and halted suddenly. The space plunged into silence. Sand crunched under someone's feet.A familiar s
~Ioana~I burnt my tongue.I sipped the tea mechanically, not realizing it was scalding until a second later.Forced to swallow it, I gave a bitter smile to the woman who sat opposite me, struggling to maintain my dignity before her—and failing the moment she asked,"Are you alright, dear?" Her brows furrowed, the concern in her eyes practically overflowed.It slammed into the desolate walls of my heart. My nose stung as I wrinkled it. Suddenly the pain seemed ten times more."I'm okay…" I averted my gaze.She sighed. "I know I've been a bad mother and I can't expect you to call me ‘mom.’ Perhaps that's just my wishful thinking."I snuck a look at her, the woman who sat opposite me— my mother. That word sounded strange even in my head. But when I saw the flicker of loneliness in her gaze, my hesitation vanished and I blurted out:"Mom."Her head snapped to me, the heaviness that seemed to weigh down her shoulders vanished.My cheeks flushed red.Her eyes crinkled at the corners. "I'm
~Ioana~Two days later.I ate my words as lunch.It all started last night, I was walking down the hallway when I was stopped by my mother. She seemed sad, shoulders sagged, but immediately she saw me she was like a drowsy person injected with caffeine. She clutched onto my arm.It was so fast I couldn't react, then the next thing that she did astonished me. She sobbed, tears after tears. Bitterness ran down her face."I've been a very terrible mother," she said, "and it's even more ironic that I've always known that and did nothing. Even when your eyes screamed for help, I turned away, and now we need help from that very same person."It's too much to ask for forgiveness." She took a deep breath.I was frozen. She didn't ask my forgiveness, she didn't push the blame, neither did she beat round the bush. Instead, she owned it, and that… that surprised me.Something trembled in my heart, it began to shed when she said further:"I know you've found a place for us. The guards informed us