Chapter five

Liora's POV

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, tears falling freely from my eyes, it was as though my life had shattered before my eyes.

Everything I dreamed of, everything I believed, it all ended in that moment.

Kaelen had chosen her.

He said her name so clearly… "Sapphira." He had no idea it wasn’t really her in that dress. He couldn’t see. He didn’t know he was picking the wrong person. But knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less.

I didn’t stop running until I reached home. My legs were shaking, my chest hurt, and I could barely breathe. I pushed the door open and slammed it shut behind me.

I fell to the floor.

The sobs came fast. I didn’t even try to hold them back. I held onto my chest and cried like my heart had been ripped out. My body curled on the cold floor as tears soaked my face.

I kept seeing her face.

That smile.

That cold, wicked smile Sapphira gave me when she took my mother’s dress. It played over and over in my head. She planned it all. She knew what she was doing. She stole what was mine and it worked.

Why did I ever believe I had a chance?

I thought the prince saw something in me. I thought maybe, for once, something in my life would go right. I thought I was special.

But I was wrong.

So wrong.

I was nothing. Just a stupid girl who believed in fairy tales. A stupid girl who thought someone like Kaelen could really choose her. I felt so small, so stupid for ever hoping.

My body shook harder as I cried. My hands pulled at the ends of the dress I now wore—the one Sapphira had left behind. It smelled like her. It reminded me of the humiliation. The fear. The shame.

"I should’ve never gone," I whispered through my sobs.

I kept thinking about how proud Sapphira must’ve felt standing next to him. Wearing my dress. Smiling at the crowd. Acting like she deserved it.

And no one knew what she did to me.

No one saw me.

No one ever sees me.

I was invisible, like always.

I laid there on the floor, crying until my throat was sore. The pain wouldn’t stop. It was heavy…. Deep…. Crushing.

Maybe I was never meant to be happy. Maybe some people just aren’t born for good things.

And maybe… I was one of them.

As I wallowed in my tears, I heard a knock on the door.

"Who the fuck could it be?" I muttered as I walked towards the door. It's definitely not my father as he wouldn't knock and would just come in.

I opened the door and found two hefty men at my doorstep, before I could say anymore words they bundled me into a sack.

I could barely breathe. They didn't say a word on their way like they were mute.

I had already accepted my fate when suddenly they stopped and dropped me on the floor. I wriggled my way out of the sack and found Sapphira standing before me.

"What do you want from me? You already have what you want what else do you want from me?" I asked, burning wth anger.

"Just one more thing, you don't do it and I kill your father," she sneered.

"Hmph," I mumbled thinking she was just buffing but that thought was quickly droven away as they brought my father who was tied up.

"Dad," I yelled but he didn't respond.

"He's unconscious but he will forever be if you don't do what I say," she said.

"Fine, what do you want?" I asked, my head hunged down in shame.

"I want you to sleep with the alpha and give birth to a heir for me," she revealed.

"What!" I exclaimed, my eyes widened in surprise.

"You don't have a choice," she said and walked away and they pulled me towards the direction she was headed. I turned back and looked at my father, I have to do this for him and even if I wasn't I didn't have a choice.

"But aren't supposed to bond with him today?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"You're not in the position of asking questions, just do as I say," she sneered glaring at me with those fiery eyes.

"What if I agree to this and he bonds with me and remembers me instead?" I thought in my head. I actually have a chance.

"I'll do it," I replied without thinking twice.

"Good," she said and kept walking while they dragged me after her.

Soon we reached the alpha's chamber, she sprinkled something on me again and I don't know what then pushed me into the room.

"Remember you're Sapphira," she whispered.

"Alpha, it's me Sapphira," I mumbled.

"I know," he replied.

"Come here," Kaelen said, his voice low, unfamiliar. It didn’t sound like the Kaelen I thought I knew the one who smiled at me beneath moonlight.

I stepped forward, trying to control the shaking in my hands.

He turned then, and when his eyes met mine, I paused. There was something flickering there. Confusion? Recognition?

No. I was imagining it. I had to be.

"You’re quiet," he said, walking toward me slowly.

"I’m just nervous," I replied, voice barely audible.

Kaelen smirked, closing the distance between us. "You’ve never been nervous before."

I forced a soft, breathy laugh, trying to imitate Sapphira's charm.

"Tonight feels… different."

He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

"It does," he said.

His hands were warm, his touch firm yet gentle.

He leaned in, lips grazing the side of my neck and I had to fight every instinct in my body not to flinch.

His lips found mine, slow at first, testing. I kissed him back, desperately, like a girl trying to prove something.

I closed my eyes and let it happen. Let his touch blur the lines between pain and longing, between lies and what I wished was real.

Maybe if I just held on tight enough… he would remember.

Maybe tonight could rewrite everything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I fluttered my eyes open, the bright sun piercing in through the window, I turned around and saw him holding unto me as he slept.

"I wish this could last forever," I mumbled.

Then I heard him shift.

I turned to look at him and saw him staring at me, but it looked different this time, like he could actually see me.

"You're not Sapphira?" He whispered.

"Your highness, you can see," I exclaimed joyfully.

"Yes I can," he replied like he just realized it.

Just then, the door bursted open and Sapphira ran into the room.

"Imposter," she yelled as she cried.

I came down from the bed wrapping the blankets around my body wondering what was happening.

"You're trying to steal my place," she uttered. "Your highness, I was with you all night long then I went out for some air and she came in to steal my place," she sobbed, her voice as gentle as a deer.

"What!" I exclaimed. "No she tried to steal my pla….."

"Silence," he thundered. "You're not Sapphira, you're not the one I chose, you tried to decieve me because I was blind but now I can see and I thereby banish you from this pack."

"Your highness no, you've got this all wrong, I'm the rightful one, I'm the one you made all those promises too please," I sobbed.

"Take her away," he ordered without casting another look at me.

The guards came and dragged me away.

"No, no, I'm the one who healed your wounds, I'm the one, no you can't do this," I cried and struggled as they dragged me away.

"Leave this pack and never return."