เข้าสู่ระบบLIORA’S POVThe woman stared at me like I’d lost my mind, then turned and walked away without another word.I stood there in the garden path, my scraped palms stinging, my heart still racing from the chase. Disappointment crashed over me in waves.It wasn’t her. Of course it wasn’t her.I didn’t know what to do anymore. Darren was nowhere to be found, gone to escape me. The court ladies had spent the afternoon mocking me. My own servants wanted me dead. And now I was chasing shadows through gardens, desperate for answers I’d never get.I crouched down, pressing my damaged hands to my face, not caring that I was getting blood on my skin.“Mama,” I whispered to the air, to the memory of a woman I barely remembered. “What would you do? How would you survive this?”The wind rustled through the hedges, offering no answers.“Are you about to have a breakdown in the middle of the garden?”I looked up sharply.Lucas stood a few feet away, his ice-blue eyes studying me with something that migh
LIORA’S POVI choked on my tea, the liquid going down the wrong way. I coughed violently, and pressed my napkin to my mouth as my eyes watered.Seraphina was immediately at my side, patting my back. “Are you alright? Breathe, just breathe.”But before I could recover, Elora’s voice cut through the room.“What an inappropriate question, Lady Serena,” she said, her tone still sweet but with an edge beneath it. “I don’t think that’s anyone’s business but ours.”The dark-haired woman, Lady Serena, smiled innocently. “Is it inappropriate? I thought we were all friends here, sharing openly. Besides, everyone’s wondering about it. I’m just brave enough to ask.”“Wondering about something and demanding answers are two different things,” Elora replied, her smile tightening.“Oh, I’m not demanding. Just curious.” Serena took a delicate sip of her tea. “After all, it’s such an unusual arrangement. The mate and the surrogate, sharing the same man’s bed. Some might find it… uncomfortable.”“Some m
LIORA’S POVThe room fell silent as I stepped inside.At least a dozen women sat arranged in an elegant circle, teacups balanced on delicate saucers, their eyes all turning to assess me. The afternoon light streaming through the tall windows made everything look deceptively warm and welcoming.But the expressions on their faces were anything but.Seraphina bounced forward, pulling me with her. “Everyone, you remember Liora!”A few polite smiles but mostly cold stares.“Of course we remember,” one woman said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “How could we forget?”Elora glided to the center of the room, gesturing to an empty chair. “Please, Liora, sit. Make yourself comfortable.”I moved to the indicated seat, hyper-aware of every eye tracking my movement. Seraphina settled beside me, squeezing my hand encouragingly.The ladies immediately surrounded Sera and Elora, their attention shifting away from me as they launched into animated conversation.“Lady Elora, your gown is abso
LUCAS’S POV“The northern trading route has been compromised for three months now,” Jensen said, his voice rising with barely contained frustration. “We’re losing thousands in revenue every week that we delay action.”“Action?” Valor scoffed from across the council table. “You mean reckless military intervention that could spark a war we’re not prepared to fight?”“I mean protecting our interests…”“By sending troops into disputed territory? That’s precisely the kind of shortsighted aggression that…”I sat at the head of the table, watching them argue with the same detached boredom I’d felt through countless meetings like this one. The same arguments, posturing and predictable dance of council politics.“The northern clans have been testing our borders for years,” Jensen continued, leaning forward. “If we don’t respond with strength, they’ll see it as weakness. We need to…”“Negotiate,” Valor interrupted. “We need to negotiate like rational leaders instead of warmongering fools. The t
LIORA’S POVMy heart skipped a beat, panic flooding through me as those hands covered my eyes.Then a familiar female voice spoke up again, warm and teasing. “Come on, guess!”I knew that voice.I spun around, and my breath caught.“Seraphina?”She grinned at me, her dark curls bouncing as she clapped her hands together. “You remembered! I wasn’t sure you would after all this time.”“Of course I remember!” Without thinking, I threw my arms around her, and she hugged me back just as tightly.Seraphina was Lord Aldric’s second wife, though calling her that made her sound older than she was. We were the same age, he’d married her just two years ago when she was barely seventeen. She’d been kind to me during my time at Lord Cassius’s house, one of the few people who treated me like a person rather than a servant.When she pulled back, I could see she’d changed. She wore elegant clothes now, her hair styled beautifully, but her smile was the same. Warm and Genuine.“I traveled to the easte
LIORA’S POVI stood frozen, water dripping from my hair and dress, staring up at the balcony where the maid had disappeared.Then suddenly, the other maids surrounded me.“Oh, my lady, how terrible!”“Let us help you…”“Come, you need to get out of these wet clothes…”Too many hands touched me at once, pulling at my arms, guiding me away from the courtyard. Their voices were glazed with false concern, their smiles stretched too wide.I looked back over my shoulder.Myra still crouched on the ground where I’d left her, one hand pressed to her bruised cheek. Our eyes met for a brief moment before the maids steered me around a corner and she disappeared from view.They ushered me back to my chambers with efficiency, chattering the entire way about what an unfortunate accident it had been, how clumsy that girl was, how they would make sure to report her carelessness.Inside my room, they began helping me out of the soaked dress, their fingers quick and impersonal.“So sorry, my lady…”“Su







