Semua Bab THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE : Bab 71 - Bab 80

FRANK I leaned against the tall stone, pretending to admire the view of the gardens, but really, I was watching them.Valarie and Carl. The way they interacted, too comfortable, too intimate for my liking. I knew there had been tension between them before, but this? This felt different.I shifted slightly, my eyes narrowing as I observed the subtle shift in her posture. She pulled away just slightly, as though trying to create distance but finding it impossible. Carl, on the other hand, stood too close, his presence domineering yet somehow gentle, like he knew how to make her feel safe in the chaos he stirred inside her.And that was what bothered me. He was so good at it. So good at reading her, at pulling her into his orbit without her even realizing it.I had been watching them for a while now, unable to tear my gaze away. The way Carl’s lips tilted up into that knowing smirk, how he said something that made her cheeks flush and her shoulders tense, as though she was trying to hid

VALARIE The night was quiet, too quiet. The kind that made every sound feel loud, every shift of the wind feel like a whisper through the walls. I stirred slightly beneath the warmth of the thick sheets, instinctively reaching to my side, only to find cool linen where his body should’ve been.My eyes fluttered open.At first, I thought he might’ve gone to the bathroom or stepped out briefly, but then I saw him, Tristan. Sitting by the window, half cloaked in shadow. Elbows resting on his knees. Head bowed slightly, as if the weight of the world was pressing down on him.Again.He hadn’t been sleeping well these past few nights. I’d noticed it. The long silences. The far off looks. The way his jaw clenched a little too often. He’d smile at me, touch me gently, kiss my forehead like everything was fine, but I knew better. Tristan was many things, but a good liar he was not, not when it came to hiding the storm behind his eyes.I sat up slowly, the sheets slipping off my shoulders, brus

FRANK I couldn’t sleep.Not because the bed was uncomfortable, hell, it was softer than anything I’d slept on in months but because my mind was screaming at me.What the hell had I gotten myself into?I stared at the ceiling, the golden light catching the moonlight, too grand for someone like me. Everything here was too grand. Too quiet. Too dangerous. And now, I was in the center of it, playing a role in a game I didn’t even understand.Lady Bianca… she knew exactly how to press the right buttons.She found me when I was at my worst. I had debts. Shame. My pride in the gutter. I’d burned every bridge that mattered. Then she reached out, with a promise of money, redemption, and a position in the palace. A fresh start, she said. A clean slate. I wanted to believe it. I needed to.But tonight proved it was never about helping me. It was about her. About power.And now, she wanted me to destroy Valarie.The woman I once loved.I sat up, running my hands down my face, my palms clammy. I

CARLI knew how to wear charm like a second skin. The palace had become my stage these days, smiling at the right people, offering compliments that sounded sincere, laughing when I needed to, promising strength and peace for a kingdom that didn’t know it was being manipulated from the inside.They loved me for it. The nobles, the council, even the servants who whispered in corridors. Every smile I gave was calculated, every compliment a carefully placed piece in a game of strategy. But none of that mattered in the moment I saw her.Valarie.She was standing in the garden like she belonged to it. Like something tragic had rooted her there, still and quiet, her gaze far away. The wind played gently with her hair, and even though she didn’t notice me, I noticed everything about her.The way her shoulders were stiff, like she was trying to hold something in.The way her hands were clenched by her sides.The way pain clung to her silently, like an invisible fog she couldn’t shake.And some

VANESSA My head throbbed.A deep, heavy ache that made it feel like my skull was splitting open. My eyelids were impossibly heavy, my vision a hazy blur of light and color. I could hear voices, distant and muffled, like I was underwater.Then a warmth, a hand wrapping around mine. A familiar touch. Another on my cheek. My name, soft, trembling.“Vanessa… baby, it’s mom… can you hear me?”I wanted to speak, but my throat felt like sandpaper, and my lips barely moved. I forced my eyes open, a step at a time, until shapes started to take form.Faces.Two of them.My parents.Tears glistened in my mother’s eyes, and my father , the man who rarely showed any emotion beyond stern disapproval looked like he was on the verge of breaking. I frowned, a deep crease forming on my forehead as I tried to piece together what was happening.Why did they look so scared?Why did I feel like I’d been asleep for years?“Vanessa,” my mother’s voice cracked, both hands now cupping my face. “Thank the moo