Chapter 26 +15 BONUS "Zane," I purred, stepping into his path, one hand resting lightly on my hip, the silk of my sleeve catching in the breeze like a banner. He looked up, gave me that half-smirk of his, the kind that made lesser girls forget how to think straight, and then, he kept walking. Right past me. Didn't even slow. I turned, mildly amused, mildly intrigued, watching his retreating back with the kind of patient curiosity reserved for unsolved puzzles or challenging prey. There was something infuriatingly smooth about the way he moved, as if he knew exactly what I had been thinking, and didn't feel the need to offer a single ounce of attention unless it pleased him. He paused at the edge of the path, glanced over his shoulder, and said, "You're not going to get me just because you're bored, Bianca. I'm not Callum." And then he was gone. Just like that. Which was, admittedly, rude. But not particularly devastating. Alright, so what if Zane didn't bite? So what if he thought himself above the charm I used like second nature? I had Callum. Callum, who not only adored me but spent like it was a declaration of love, sending gifts like offerings to a goddess, which, frankly, was appropriate. Silks, custom-blended perfume oils, rare chocolate flown in from the eastern border. I dropped three of the boxes off with a passing maid before I even made it back to my room. Not because I didn't like them, but because I had too many things already, and it was the gesture that counted, not the clutter. Zane might've walked away, but Callum stayed. 2/3 TID BUNUS That was what mattered. That was proof. Later that night, when the mood struck, I called Callum. My voice was sugar-soaked and perfectly smooth, the kind of voice you curl into like warm velvet and don't question why. Like I said, things have been great the past two days, just gifts and adoration, like he was trying to win me over all over again. I loved it. I told him how excited I was for the future, for what Royal Line would grant us once the marriage was finalized, how much stronger both our names would be, how unstoppable we'd be together. I reminded him, sweetly, that destiny had chosen us and the Goddess mistakes, and that the kingdom was just waiting for us to say yes. There was a pause. Not the usual tired kind, not distracted, not even frustrated. This one was sharper. "And yet," Callum bit low through the phone. "What are we doing Bianca?" I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden chill. "Huh? What do you- "I did as you asked. All of it. Every request." His voice slipped low, "And yet, you play around like I'm some toy." "Callum, I-" "Why did you refuse our union?" 3/3 Chapter 28 +15 BONUS Chapter 26 Callum There was something almost impressive about the way Bianca's confidence collapsed when the script seem to run out. She tried to speak. I could see it now, her mouth opened once, then again, but the words didn't come. Maybe she was trying to remember which lie she'd last used, or maybe she simply hadn't anticipated that I might be done entertaining her performances. I waited. Briefly. "I've hurt my bonded mate for you," I said finally, and the words felt heavier than I expected, like they had been waiting in the back of my throat for too long. "I broke something sacred. For you. And this is how you treat the pack's bond that has been arranged since we were kids." Still, nothing. I paced my dorm, not threatening, just deliberate. "Do you have any idea what you have done with this little stunt? My father chewed me out, said I'd embarrassed the entire family. I tried everything to make it right. I thought maybe it was just a request you made before I cast Liora aside-but then I did. I went through with it. I cut her off. I backed you, I stood beside you, I showered you with everything I could offer for days... and still, nothing. You act like everything is fine, like none of it matters." I exhaled slowly, the tension rising in my chest. "I've had enough of this-enough of your capriciousness. If you keep playing this game, forget the union. I don't care how far your bloodline goes back. It won't mean a thing if you can't carry it with the dignity your title demands." I heard something thick in the silence of the line. Maybe panic. Maybe disbelief. She wasn't 1/3 Chapter 26 used to ultimatums, more used to bending them. And at one point, I had let her. +15 BONUS But now, even as we fight over a future promised to us, all I find myself thinking of is Liora. Not out of guilt, though there was plenty of that, but because when I'd stood with her, even in silence, there was no act. There was no angle with her. She hadn't begged to be chosen. She hadn't needed to remind me of her worth. She had simply existed in a space I hadn't realized I was already leaning toward. The image of her walking away replayed in my mind as my hand squeezed the phone. "I-no, see I didn't. Er, well, I was trying to-" Bianca started, but even she didn't believe it. Her voice caught halfway through the sentence and dissolved into nothing. "No," I said, keeping my voice even. "You were playing around with you're power, like usual." I didn't let her cut in. "I'm not here to be won. And I don't need a wife to build something worth following. I can strengthen the pack without a crown ceremony, and without your games." I swore I heard the phone on her line crack. "You have until the end of the week." I finished, "If you want this to continue, give me an honest reason of why you did this. Not a polished one. Not what your advisors would say. Just you. Otherwise, I'll walk. And this time, I won't look back." Liora There was something almost peaceful about waking up without worrying about a bond. No obligations. No Callum. Just quiet. 2/3 The kind of quiet I used to imagine back when everything felt too loud, when lineage felt like a curse, and my identity was something I had to wear like armor even when I wished I could shed it. Now, with no union weighing over my head, with no royal attachments clinging to me like thorns disguised as roses, I was finally getting a taste of something like freedom. And it was...nice. Sure that ache was still there, but the sun was out, and that was enough for today. I went to class. I sat near the window. I listened to lectures about pack economics and governance theory and didn't once have to think about Callum, our 'forbidden' love, or what people would whisper behind our backs. I ate lunch with Mia beneath the pear trees on the west lawn, where the breeze tasted sweet and the air didn't feel heavy with judgment. We shared snacks. She read something in her textbook loud, it was an odd fact about worms, and for the first time in longer than I cared to admit, I laughed. Everything was simple again. For a few days. Days where I let myself believe this new life could stretch into something more permanent. Sure, I had failed to find love bu ng up new goals. 3/3