དཔཔལ་་་པ Chapter 23 And when I was finally able to breath again, I pulled the velvet box from my pocket. I stared at the earrings and let the silence stretch between us one last time before I stepped out onto the balcony. The wind was cold, bitong, and I let it numb me as I let the box drop over the edge. I didn't watch it fall. The moment I stepped back inside, I tapped my temple, fingers steady even as the last tear slid down my cheek. "Annul it," I said quietly. "I want the engagement broken." There was a pause. Then my father's voice, low and knowing filled my ears: "Understood." Callum Bianca was still speaking when I realized I wasn't listening. She was saying something about how well that went, her tone light and satisfied, the sound of it laced with a sugarcoated confidence that felt so wrong for the momment. Her hand lingered on my arm like it belonged there, like it had always belonged there, and for a moment I thought if I just leaned into it, if I closed the door on everything I was feeling, maybe I could learn to find solace in it. But my eyes weren't on her. They were following the curve of the corridor, past the ivy- framed stone archway, watching the quiet, unhurried retreat of a girl I had just shattered with a few words. But Liora didn't walk like someone who'd been defeated. She walked like someone who had decided not to waste a second more of herself on people who couldn't see her worth. There was something in the way her shoulders squared that made my chest tighten. I could still feel the sting of her slap on my face, not because of the 1/3 Chapter 23 +15 BONUS pain but because of what it meant. She had put hope into me. And I had dismantled that trust with a sentence I didn't even believe when I said it. Bianca noticed where my eyes laid. Her words faltered, just slightly, and when I finally looked at her again, her smile had dulled at the edges, tightened into something more forced. She followed my gaze toward the direction Liora had gone and pulled her hand back, adjusting the sleeve of her coat as if nothing had happened. "Oh come on, you're awfully quiet," she said, the smile returning a beat too late, like she was trying to get me to laugh. "Just tired," I replied, which wasn't a lie, though it wasn't the full truth either. This all felt so hollow. She tilted her head, searching my expression for something I wasn't offering. Whatever she found, it didn't please her. Before the silence could stretch into something unbearable, a voice sliced through it with the sharpness of someone who enjoyed being inconvenient. "Wow," he said, strolling into the courtyard like he had all the time in the world, "I really thought I was just passing through, but this is better than lunch theater." Bianca's posture stiffened immediately. She disliked Zane almost as much as Zane enjoyed being disliked. Zane gave her the briefest glance, then turned his attention to me, and whatever amusement flickered across his face didn't quite reach his eyes. "You really did it, huh?" he said. "Cut the cord. Chose the crown." I didn't respond. "Must feel good," he added, circling us. "Having it all. Power. Prestige. The princess." 2/3 070 Chapter 23 "There's a line, Zane," Bianca said sharply, her voice brittle. +15 BONUS Zane raised a brow at her and shrugged like he couldn't be bothered to respect it. "Relax, Your Grace. I'm not here to steal your thunder. I'm just surprised he looks this miserable after getting thing he supposedly wanted." aw, but I still didn't speak. There was no point in arguing with Zane when he is kind of mood. And worse than that, I couldn't even disagree with him. Thad done the right thing. I had chosen duty over desire. Logic over feeling. I had picked the girl who aligned with my future, with my father's vision, with everything I was supposed to be building toward. Liora had no claim to that life. She didn't want it, and if I was honest, she didn't belong in it. Not with her secrets. Not with her stubborn pride and sharp tongue and the way she looked at me like I was someone she could love if only I'd stop trying to be perfect. And yet. The image of her walking away wouldn't leave my mind. It lingered like smoke after a fire. Only then did my phone vibrate, calling my attention. The screen lit up with a single message from my father, a single picture attached to the message. An official document sent to my father from one pack to another, titled: Union annulled by direct request of the Female Alpha of The House of Royals. 3/3