---- Chapter 10 Hardin POV: | woke up the next day with a clarity that was both terrifying and absolute. My memory was a shattered mirror, reflecting only fragments of a life | didn't recognize. But one image remained whole, pristine. Athena. | knew, with a certainty that resonated in my bones, that finding her was the only thing that mattered. The rest was just noise. The blonde woman, Carina, entered the room carrying a bowl of soup. She smiled at me, a hopeful, tremulous thing. "Hardin, | brought you something to eat." | knocked the bowl from her hands. "Get out." She flinched as the hot liquid splashed onto her arm, but she persisted, trying to touch my face. "Hardin, please. You're just confused. You love me." | recoiled from her touch as if I' d been burned. "Don't touch me," | snarled, my voice laced with a fury | didn't know | possessed. The bowl shattered on the floor. She recoiled, her arm red and blistering. "I'm your fiancée!" she shrieked, tears of frustration streaming down her face. "We ---- were supposed to be married!" "No," | said, my voice dangerously soft. "You told me yesterday she left. You told me she was gone." My eyes narrowed, a cold suspicion taking root. "Did you do something to her? Did you make her leave?" Her fingers went rigid. She bit her lip, her eyes darting away from mine. "Of course not! It was her choice." Acold, venomous rage, unlike anything | had ever felt, coiled in my gut. "You're lying." | imagined her hands on Athena. Her words driving her away. The thought made me see red. | pointed a trembling finger at the door. "Get two of my security detail in here," | commanded to the nurse who had rushed in at the sound of the crash. "And bring me a bucket of that filthy mop water from the janitor's closet." Carina' s face went pale. "Hardin, what are you doing?" she stammered, backing away until her back hit the wall. The guards entered, their faces impassive. One held a bucket of sloshing, gray water. "Hold her down," | ordered, my voice like ice. "And make her drink it." Her eyes widened in terror. "No! Please, Hardin, don't do this!" she sobbed, shrinking against the wall. She looked at me, her expression a mixture of fear and a deep, simmering hatred. ---- "You'll regret this! You'll both regret this!" The guards grabbed her. She fought, but it was useless. They forced her to her knees, pried her mouth open, and began to pour the foul water down her throat. She choked and gagged, her body convulsing. The sight of her degradation brought me no satisfaction, only a cold, hollow certainty. "Stop," | said, my voice flat. | closed my eyes, the image of Athena's gentle face the only thing | could see. "Throw her out." The guards dragged the sputtering, drenched woman from my room and deposited her in the hallway. | heard the shocked murmurs of the hospital staff, but | felt nothing. Her last words echoed in my mind. You'll both regret this. A shiver of unease traced its way down my spine. Arthur entered moments later, his face carefully blank as he stepped around the puddle on the floor. He handed me a thick file. "Sir. The information you requested. Everything that happened in the three weeks leading up to your... second accident." My breath hitched. | took the folder, my hands unsteady. This was it. The key to finding her. The key to understanding why she left. | opened it, and the world as | knew it came to a screeching, brutal end. Title: A Princess? No! I'm the Female General! In "A Princess? No! I'm the Female General!" by CrushReel, Adela Taylor, a noble family's daughter, disguises herself as her brother to secure their Duke title by joining the army. Despite facing obstacles, she achieves remarkable success. However, upon her triumphant return, her brother betrays her, setting off a chain of events that will test her resolve and reveal hidden truths. This captivating novel delves into themes of secrets, reincarnation, revenge, murder, and drama. Adela's journey from deception to betrayal is filled with intrigue and suspense as she navigates through a world where power dynamics and family loyalties collide. What sets this story apart is its strong female lead who defies expectations and challenges societal norms in a quest for justice and redemption. Experience the riveting tale of Adela Taylor online at CrushReel and witness the transformation of a princess into a formidable female general.