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Todos los capítulos de Saving Myself From My Fate: Capítulo 1 - Capítulo 10

13 Capítulos

Chapter 1

The comments scrolled past my eyes in a frenzy. I said nothing, only reaching for the pastry with hands that had turned purple from the cold.The moment my fingertips pinched the corner of the wax paper, the Chancellor went still in his fine robes. His gaze dropped to the swollen, cracked chilblains across the backs of my hands, and something anxious stirred behind his eyes.His lips parted as though he meant to speak, but no words came.The man beside him saw the hesitation and immediately pressed the pastry into my palm. His voice was cold enough to cut, and he did not so much as glance at me."Next."I looked down at the warm pastry resting in my palm, and my eyes burned with a sudden, stinging ache. I should have known all along that they would not claim me.Even with the truth laid bare, my heart still felt as though it had been plunged into ice water, cold enough to set my whole body trembling.The comments went wild when they saw us standing face to face. The scrolling wo

Chapter 2

[He saw the pendant! He's finally going to claim her!][It's over! Our girl's suffering is finally over!][Take your sister home, Dorian! Don't let that impostor steal her place!]I could not stop my fingers from tightening on the hem of my clothes. Bitterness and a fragile thread of hope churned together in my chest.Perhaps what my brother said in our past life, about how he should have never brought me home, had only been spoken in anger. Perhaps this time, he would still take me back.The hope had barely surfaced before it was crushed.Dorian's gaze swept over Portia's pale face at his side. He tightened his grip on the pendant and struck me hard across the cheek.Half my face went numb. His voice was freezing."You dared to steal something that belongs to my sister?"If I hadn't caught you today, would you have kept this pendant and used it to cling to us?"His eyes were razor-sharp, but when he turned and tossed the pendant to Portia, they softened into something warm a

Chapter 3

After that, I had wrecked the welcoming banquet they threw for Portia and destroyed every betrothal gift Lucian prepared for her.Portia, heartbroken, had locked herself away. The next day, she was found dead from poisoning.Every piece of evidence pointed to me. The farewell letter she left behind only cemented what Dorian and Lucian already believed: that I was vicious and cruel, too jealous to let Portia live.They did not punish me. They simply never looked at me again.Lucian left for a monastery outside the city. Dorian requested a post on the frontier and never came back.For the next 30 years, I raised my children and managed the household alone. My dark hair turned white. When I finally lay dying, they came back to see me one last time.Through the haze, I heard Dorian's voice, heavy with regret."We should have left things as they were. We never should have brought you home."Lucian said nothing, but his sigh cut through me like a blade.I died that day, filled with

Chapter 4

Dorian tossed me to the guards without a backward glance and turned toward Portia. As I was shoved into a carriage, I caught one last glimpse through the falling curtain of Dorian gently helping Portia into his.The road was rough, and the carriage jolted the entire way. My throat was still dry and mute from where he had pressed the nerve.All I could do was watch through the gap as Portia and Dorian talked and laughed together, the sight settling in my chest like something cold.I knew Portia had not brought me along out of pity.Sure enough, from the moment we entered the household, the cruelty never stopped. In the space of half a month, she had knocked over scalding tea onto my hands more times than I could count, watching the blisters rise without a flicker of remorse.She had even made me kneel in the snow until dawn for no reason other than spite.Dorian and Lucian never once intervened.During that time, Lucian sent Portia a gift, an entire case of pearls worth three tim

Chapter 5

The stench hit me. I recoiled on instinct, but a servant boy pinned my shoulders down and held me in place. Another servant upended the slop over my head, and my vision blurred."She actually thought the young miss brought her back to feed and clothe her.”"Everyone knows it wasn't kindness. She just wanted to make her life worse.”"Besides, the young miss promised us a bonus for every day we make her miserable!"The servants laughed without a care in the world. However, it did not last long. Their laughter cut off the moment Dorian and Lucian appeared in the doorway.Their dark and ivory robes stood out sharply in the dim kitchen. Dorian's face had gone rigid. His gaze swept over the state of me, then landed on the servant who had dumped the slop. His voice was flat and cold."Drag her out and beat her to death."The servant dropped to her knees with a thud. Portia materialized from somewhere behind them, eyes already brimming, and caught Dorian's sleeve."It's my fault. I did

Chapter 6

The moment the word left my mouth, the air in the banquet hall seemed to freeze.Dorian shoved to his feet and crossed the room in long strides. The hem of his dark robe swept the edge of a table as he passed, sending cups clattering together.He seized my wrist, and his grip was so fierce I thought my bones would crack. Those eyes, cold by nature, now burned with open fury."How can you be this shameless?"The shout rang in my ears, and I winced through the pain. When I met his gaze, disappointment and a bitter, seething frustration bled from every line of his face."Do you have any idea what kind of man the Duke is? Everyone in the capital knows he goes through women the way he goes through wine. Not a single one has lasted more than seven days!"Even if he takes a passing fancy to you, the best you'll ever get is a spot as his mistress. You'd really throw yourself away like that and follow him?"He stared at me as though agreeing would make me the lowest creature alive, someo

Chapter 7

The banquet carried on. The guests quickly forgot the interruption, and the rest of the evening was filled with nothing but congratulations for Portia.Only Dorian and Lucian, seated at the head table, let their gazes drift toward me again and again.When the last guest departed, I followed Duke Prescott toward the front gate. My fingers had just touched the carriage curtain when someone seized my wrist from behind.I turned. Two figures stood in the falling snow.Dorian's dark cloak was covered in white. Snowflakes had caught along his temples and melted into droplets from the heat of his agitation. Lucian had lost the composure he had carried through the banquet. Something tangled and unreadable churned behind his eyes.Without thinking, I looked past them. Portia was nowhere in sight. They must have kept her inside so she would not be upset by this scene.I took in their grim expressions and let a thin, mocking smile pull at the corner of my mouth."Does the General still int

Chapter 8

Dorian and Lucian both froze where they stood. Their lips moved as though they still had something to say, but Duke Prescott's warm voice reached me first."Liora."I turned at once and walked quickly toward his outstretched hand. The moment his fingers closed firmly around mine, the warmth of his palm chased the cold from my fingertips.It chased away the last trace of longing I had carried for anything behind me.I did not look back. I climbed into the carriage, stepped over the piled snow on the running board, and let the curtain fall. The two figures standing frozen in the snow disappeared from sight.The carriage rolled over the snow and left Dorian and Lucian far behind.Dorian clenched his fists. His body was rigid beneath his dark cloak. Lucian took a step forward on instinct, ready to follow, but Dorian seized his wrist and pulled him back."If she won't accept our goodwill, let her go."His voice was ice, but something unsteady flickered behind his eyes, a disquiet he

Chapter 9

After the scandal, the late King had issued a decree in his fury. Every member of the peerage, regardless of sex, was to be marked on the arm at birth as proof of their virtue.Duke Prescott had spent years living as a well-known wastrel and libertine. How could his mark still be there?He seemed to read the question on my face. A hint of self-consciousness crept into his expression, but his voice was low and steady."The Crown Princess's household used to hold enormous power. While my uncle was alive, he saw my mother's family as a threat. If I hadn't put on the act of a useless rake, they would have treated me as a target. I might not have survived."He raised his eyes to mine, and there was nothing in them but sincerity."I've been in love with you since the moment I saw you at that banquet in our past life."I'm showing you this because I don't want you to misunderstand me. I don't want you to think I brought you along on a whim."The new King has taken the throne. I stand w

Chapter 10

In this life, they had poured everything into making amends with Portia and had never thought to assign the shadow guards to me. That was precisely why the guards had been free to conduct a thorough investigation and uncover what had been hiding in plain sight.They knew their shadow guards were meticulous. Anything they reported could be trusted without question.However, that stubborn thread of attachment to what they believed Portia had meant to them in their past life made the truth almost impossible to swallow.Dorian waved a hand, his voice heavy. "Investigate further. Verify every detail. I want no room for doubt."Lucian said nothing, but the slight dip of his head signaled agreement. His fingers traced the edge of the desk without thought, and the weight pressing down on him felt like stone.After the shadow guard withdrew, Portia sent a servant to invite them for an outing in the city. On any other day, they would have agreed without hesitation. Tonight, with the shadow

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