All Chapters of Their Precious Girl, Their Disposable Daughter: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The wine hit my eyes before I saw Adrian’s hand move.I recoiled. One heel caught in my skirt, and the edge of the cake stand struck my temple as I fell. Porcelain shattered beneath me. Ten tiers of white icing and sugared flowers slid down my dress.For a moment, all I could hear was a thin, high ringing.I looked for Caleb.It was an old habit. Whenever something hurt, I used to look for him first.He took half a step toward me.Then Adrian said, “Look at her. Still trying to make us feel sorry for her.”Caleb stopped.“Celeste could have died tonight, Evie.” His voice was flat. “Was calling me really necessary? Or did you just need another way to hurt her?”Something warm ran down the side of my face. I touched it, then stared at the red on my fingers.Deep inside me, I reached for my wolf.Nothing answered.My father had sealed her away three days ago, using the authority of an Alpha over his own pack. Until I confessed to what I had done to Celeste, he had said, I would have no ri

I learned too late what the marriage was really for.There had been only one surviving heir in each of the last three generations of Blackwood Alphas. Adrian’s family wanted a Luna healthy enough to carry the next.My parents couldn’t bear to put Celeste through a dangerous pregnancy.Then they found me.Blackthorn would get its heir. Silvercrest would keep its alliance. Celeste would keep the people who loved her.There had been a place for me after all. Just not the one I had imagined.Even Caleb had chosen her.His father was the Ashfords’ groundskeeper. We had grown up together, slipping through the same back doors, flinching at the same sharp little voice.Once, Celeste had made him kneel in the gravel to find an earring she hadn’t lost.That evening, he held my hand behind the potting shed and told me he would make something of himself. He would earn his place in the guard, rise through the ranks, become someone no one could order to his knees.“Then she’ll never touch you again,

Three days later, the council clerk asked Adrian what title should appear beside Evelyn’s name.He had come to collect a statement. His pen hovered over the form.“Luna of Blackthorn,” Adrian said.The clerk glanced at the unfinished ceremonial register on the desk.“The ceremony wasn’t completed.”Adrian looked at the empty line where his oath should have been recorded.“Evelyn Ashford, then.”It was the first correction of many.The council refused his request to question Celeste himself. He was a witness, the clerk explained, and his conduct at the wedding was also under review.Adrian almost reminded him whom he was speaking to.Instead, he sat down.“What do you need to know?”“Start with the glass.”Across the estate, Caleb was packing his office. He had been suspended pending the inquiry. His replacement stood outside while he emptied the drawers, checking each item against a list.In the bottom drawer, beneath old patrol schedules, he found a folded request for a transfer. Evel

Her mother found the notebook while looking for a photograph.The council wanted one for the public notice clearing Evelyn's name. There were hundreds of pictures of Celeste in the family archive: birthdays, school performances, summer visits to the lake.There were four of Evelyn.In three, she stood at the edge of a group. In the fourth, taken at the engagement dinner, she was looking down.Mrs. Ashford remembered telling her to lift her chin. She could not remember asking whether she was happy.The notebook lay beneath a stack of seating plans.At first, she thought it contained more preparation for the wedding. The opening pages listed pack names, dietary requirements, and the correct titles for visiting officials.Then the handwriting changed. It became quicker, less careful.Ask about the evening course. Check whether the bus still runs after nine.An address followed, then a list of fees.Evelyn had wanted to study bookkeeping.Her mother turned the page.There were calculations

Six months after the wedding, Blackthorn's new leader ordered an audit of the old alliance agreement.The marriage clause occupied less than a page.Evelyn's name had been inserted above a line that originally named Celeste. Beneath it were provisions for succession, residence, and the children expected from the union.There was no record of anyone asking Evelyn what she wanted if the marriage failed.The agreement was dissolved. Trade and border protection were negotiated separately, in meetings attended by people who had not been promised to one another as part of the settlement.Adrian received a copy through the prison administration.He read it at the narrow table in his room, then asked to make an addition to his property declaration. Evelyn's unpaid wages and the savings found in her drawer were already protected. He wanted every wedding gift addressed to her returned to her estate rather than absorbed into his family's holdings.The administrator checked the list.“Her executor