Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 11 - Chapitre 16

(Ciara POV)From that moment forward, Alicent deliberately made me attend to her every need. She made me carry her clothes, prepare her baths and arrange her jewelry for the wedding. Alicent reduced me to the point of being her maid like others. I cleaned her room, fetched her warm food which she threw on the floor. She made me stand beside her during fittings of her wedding gowns. “How does it look? I think the neckline isn’t deep enough to catch Thomas’s attention.” Alicent tried to get a reaction from me. Sometimes she would drop something simply so I would have to bend down and retrieve it. Sometimes she would spill food on her dress and blame me for not being careful. Thomas saw all of it but he said nothing. It wasn’t like I had any expectations from him, I knew he wouldn’t protect me. My nanny was still under Alicent's control. And now I had Mia to think about too. The little girl had become my friend far more quickly than I had expected. She worked in the kitchen, and wh

(Ciara POV)The screams.The memories I had spent years trying to bury. I could feel the restraints around my wrists again. Whatever happened in the hall had triggered those nightmares.I could hear the guards.I could feel the pain.My breathing became frantic while I was crouching on the floor holding my chest. “No...”I tried to move.I couldn't.“Please...”The first blow struck my shoulder. I screamed. Another hit landed against my back and I fell. My hands scraped against the floor as I tried to crawl away. “Please!”The word tore from my throat. “Please stop!”The figure laughed and I covered my head. The blows continued then someone grabbed my hair and forced my face upward.“You're a murderer.”I shook my head. “No.”“You killed her.”“No!”“I didn't!”The nightmare tightened around me and my wolf yelled in my head, she used her dormant powers to calm my trauma. My vision became blurry and eventually blackened out.My body fell on the floor with a thud, I didn't faint but I

(Ciara POV)I thought I had already learned what it meant to have my heart broken.I had been imprisoned for five years for a crime I didn't commit. I had watched the people I loved turn their backs on me. I had lost my freedom, my family, my reputation, and the future I had once imagined for myself. I had believed there was nothing now that could hurt me.I was wrong.Standing in the middle of the royal hall, watching Thomas take Alicent's hand, shattered me in a way I had no right to admit.The wedding hall glittered, noble families had arrived in their expensive clothes. Flowers covered the pillars, and the royal crest hung proudly behind the altar. Everything was beautiful except what was happening before me.Thomas stood at the altar dressed in ceremonial white and gold. Alicent stood beside him as his bride, the place where I was supposed to be. The woman I hated, who had destroyed my life. The woman who had killed my best friend over a quarrel.My eyes remained fixed on thei