Semua Bab Forbidden To Love: A Royal Sin : Bab 1 - Bab 10

“Where are you going at this time of the night?” my father’s voice stops me cold in my tracks.It’s stern and cold. He's looking at me like I’m a book he’s trying to read.I freeze and bow quickly, my hand hiding behind me, clutching the small pouch like it’s my life. Lina bows too, beside me.“I… I’m going to see Dr. Arun,” I manage to say, my voice a bit nervous. “I’m not feeling so good.”He steps closer, his brows folding into that deep fatherly concern he’s mastered over the years.“What’s wrong with you, Christie? Why didn’t you come to your mother?”“It’s… it’s nothing serious, Father,” I lie, touching my lower abdomen gently. “Just an unusual kind of monthly pain. I wanted to talk to the doctor, myself.”He lowers his eyes, staring straight into mine. That look again, the one he gives when he suspects I’m lying. My knees go weak under my long pants. I brace myself, expecting him to order me back to my room.But instead, he sighs and waves his hand. “Go on then.”I bow again qu

Lina’s chatter and sweet pastries do nothing to cheer me up this morning. I saw her again in my dream last night, the girl who looks like me. She wore a simple dress like a commoner, smiled and waved at me. I’ve seen her so many times in my dreams. She looks like me… but everything about her is different.I didn’t sleep much last night. I couldn’t stop fussing over my true identity.I wonder again... do my parents know I’m not their biological child?Mother is the curious type, always meticulous and sharp. She must have investigated at some point.But Father? He always seemed less bothered. He acts like he’s genuinely proud of me, Princess Christie of Aerithia, and never misses an opportunity to show me off or spoil me silly.I smile at the thought.Still... he’s always been very protective. Too protective sometimes, especially when it comes to Gregory. Almost like he’s trying to keep a boundary between us.Or... does he already know?Does he know Gregory and I aren’t really siblings?

“My Princess… Princess, you need to rise!”Lina’s voice reaches me from somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.“It’s daybreak, you need to prepare for your classes!” she speaks again and I hear her more clearly now.I yawn and stretch lazily. “What time is it?” I mumble, still groggy.“Eight a.m.!”“What?” I jump out of the bed and rush into the bathroom.“Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” I call out to her.“I tried,” she says, “but you were far gone. I didn’t want to shake you too hard.”I wash up quickly and step out, wrapping a towel around myself. On my bed is a simple, stylish gown Lina has laid out, easy to slip into but still elegant. I dress quickly.Just as I finish, Lina returns with my breakfast. She sets it on the small table: toast, scrambled eggs, and steamed bacon.I sit to eat.“I waited… last night,” she says softly, arranging my books. “Kito too. But he retired to his chamber after a while. I had to leave as well.”I blush, a little embarrassed about last night. I

The clinking of cutlery is the only sound filling the grand dining hall. No one dares to speak, not with the thick air of tension swirling around us.Then the King clears his throat. His voice is calm, but it carries that unmistakable tone only he can command. “It’s great to see my children seated together like this,” he says, his gaze resting briefly on Gregory, then on me. “You’ve both grown… so much. Sometimes I forget you were once inseparable toddlers, running through these halls like scouts. I only pray you’ll continue to make wise choices as siblings born of this palace should.”My heart pounds. He doesn’t say anything outright, but I feel it, that gentle nudge laced with a reminder. A warning.He knows. Or at least, he suspects. “Of course, Father,” Gregory says with a soft nod. “Christie and I know what’s expected of us.”Expected of us.The words sound harmless on the surface, even respectful. But there’s something in the way he says them. A kind of tension in his voice. I

Right now, I’m frantically going through my closet, searching for something wild, seductive, and absolutely befitting. I want to thrill Gregory when he shows up.After the charity ball with my mother, we returned to the palace and I went straight to my chamber to rest. We skipped the routine dinner as mother was too tired to even sit up. Gregory had escorted Anna back to her kingdom. Lina helped me run my bath, and as I soaked in the luxurious, scented water, Gregory’s whisper from the ballroom, after our dance had ended: “Stay up. I’ll be in your chamber by midnight. I have something to tell you,” replayed in my mind and his words moved through me like a spell. I stayed in the bath a while, preparing myself, body and soul for whatever he was coming to say. I would be ready. I would be waiting.Now, it’s almost midnight. Lina has long retired. My heart flutters as I finally find something perfect to wear. I slip it on, throw my neatly brushed hair down, dash a mild fragrance here and