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The Impostor Arrives

last update Last Updated: 2025-07-01 19:29:43

The royal gates of Vespas creaked open with a grandeur befitting long-lost royalty. Aretha Santon stepped out of the diamond-trimmed car with exaggerated grace, her head held high, and her newly tailored gown flowing like stolen silk over polished marble. The crest of the Vespas bloodline had been embroidered onto her sash in gold thread, bold, unearned, and glaring.

Her carefully styled hair shimmered under the sun, and her demure smile drew murmurs of admiration from the crowd. A handmaiden from the Vespas palace held a golden parasol over her head, shielding her from the afternoon glare. Aretha walked with the grace she had spent days rehearsing, her eyes wide in feigned wonder at the opulence surrounding her.

From the palace balcony above, Crown Prince Miguel Vespas stood still, unmoving, as the scene unfolded beneath him. A once-proud and passionate prince who had refused to remarry after Diamante’s disappearance, he had lived for this moment. And yet, something in him remained u
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