Naively, I handed over the thing that matters most in the vain belief that my father would honor his word. That he would safeguard it.
Instead, he’s using it to control me.
What a fool I was, to trust this man. To fall for the fairy tale, despite every atom in my body screaming I should do otherwise.
Did you forget? There was a reason Mom hated him.
I thought, deep down, there might still be some sliver of paternal loyalty inside Linus’ soul. I see now how grave an error that was. He doesn’t give a shit about me. He doesn’t give a shit about anyone or anything except himself, his crown, and his legacy.
Ironically enough, it’s Octavia’s words I hear in this moment.
The only person Linus Lancaster serves is Linus Lancaster. You will find out for yourself just how little you matter to him, as soon as your interests stop aligning with his own.
She warned me this would happen, but I was either too stupid or too stubborn to listen to her. And as I sit there in my father’s office, feeling my careful plans fall to pieces, I nearly laugh at how artfully I have been outmaneuvered in this game we’re all playing.
It’s almost absurd: after today, the whole world thinks I’m royalty.
But I’m not a princess.
I’m a pawn.
Chapter Fifteen
I windup right back where I first started — sitting in the dark on a cold stone bench in a forgotten garden. My eyes are wet. My heart is empty.
At least it’s not raining this time.
I’ve come full circle in the span of a week.
God, has it truly only been a week?
Everything’s changed so fast, from the scope of my future right down to the color of my hair. It’s hard to believe ten days ago, I was a regular girl on my way to class. My biggest worries consisted of midterm grades and whether the cute guy in my pharmacology lecture was flirting with me or just being friendly when he asked to go over our notes together after class.
I had a best friend. I had a home. I had a career path.
And now… I have no one.
Nothing.
Just a title I don’t want and a bottomless abyss of anguish swirling inside me like a black hole.
The tears drip faster, even when I arch my neck to stare up at the stars. Halfheartedly, I pick out a few constellations as I shiver and shake in my pretty black dress.
Ten minutes go by.
I wait.
Twenty.
I wait.
Thirty.
Forty.
Fifty.
I wait.