Chapter 43

[ 1,100 words ]

{Third Person}

At the head of the banquet, Alexander rose from his seat, clearly ready to leave.

Without sparing anyone a glance, he stepped down from the elevated platform, his expression cold and unreadable. The servants along his path instinctively lowered their heads as he walked past, his presence alone enough to command silence.

However, just as he was about to leave, someone stepped into his path.

Alexander frowned slightly, his gaze sharpening in displeasure as he wondered who dared to block his way.

But when the young woman before him lifted her head after a curtsy, he recognized her immediately. She was the same lady he had caught Amara staring at during the banquet yesterday.

Lila, momentarily smitten by his devilishly handsome features at such close range, quickly composed herself and bowed her head again.

“Forgive me for intruding, Your Highness,” she said smoothly. “My name is Lila Caldwell… Amara’s sister.”

Alexander said nothing. He simply clasped his hands behind his back and watched her.

Seeing that his mood did not seem too bad, and that he neither responded nor walked away, Lila took it as an opportunity to proceed with her plan. After all, she had been patiently waiting for a moment like this.

She curtsied again and spoke, “I would like to use this opportunity to apologize on my sister’s behalf for disrespecting you. She has been… rather improper, consistently looking at her past lover during the welcome banquet held yesterday and tonight.”

This caught Alexander’s attention. His eyes narrowed slightly, and in his mind, he had a question.

’What sort of apology is this supposed to be?’

Meanwhile, Lila rejoiced inwardly when she noticed the subtle change in his expression. She quickly pushed further, determined to sour his mood and turn his anger toward Amara.

With a tone laced in false concern, she continued, “It seems she hasn’t gotten over him. She has even been upset with me for finding comfort with him after she left.”

The more Alexander listened, the clearer her intentions became. His gaze briefly dropped and caught sight of the diamond ring on her middle finger, and in that moment, he realized that she was engaged to the very man Amara had once been involved with.

Now, everything made sense to him—Amara’s agitation, her repeated glances, and the tension he had noticed yesterday and today.

Although disgust flickered in his eyes, Alexander remained composed.

Lila, however, was disappointed. She had expected a stronger reaction from him.

From what she had witnessed the night before, she believed he was someone who would easily lose his temper. That was why she had deliberately tried to provoke him, hoping he would lash out at Amara.

But now, seeing him remain calm, she reassured herself inwardly, ’No man will tolerate such a thing. Even if you don’t react here, you will surely do so in private.’

Finally, Alexander broke his silence. “So, you are seeing your sister’s leftover?” he asked casually.

Lila froze, completely taken aback. For a moment, she could not respond, her carefully maintained composure slipping as she tried to process his words.

“I… I… It’s not…” she stammered, attempting to explain herself, but the words wouldn’t come out properly.

Alexander’s lips slightly curved into a faint smile. “I really admire your courageous attempt to scheme, using me.”

Lila’s face paled instantly as realization struck her. He had seen through everything. Before she could recover, his expression hardened.

“Get out.”

Lila hesitated for a second, confused, but his gaze turned even colder.

“Move,” he said, his voice dropping dangerously, “unless you want your corpse to accompany your parents back to your kingdom.”

That was enough.

Lila quickly stepped aside, her heart racing as she lowered her head. Alexander cast her one last cold glance before walking past her and leaving without another word.

She remained still for a few moments before finally lifting her head. Her breathing was uneven as she placed a hand on her chest, trying to steady herself after the fear she had just experienced.

“There is no way that bitch will survive under his roof for a month,” she muttered under her breath.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Amara had already reached Torin.

Standing in front of him now, so close after everything that had happened, her emotions surged violently within her.

Her hand itched to slap him, but she forced herself to remain composed.

Torin was briefly surprised to see her approach him, but he quickly masked it and looked at her with a cold expression.

“What have you come to me for?” he asked.

Amara let out a soft scoff at his reaction, though the sound felt hollow even to her own ears.

She forced her expression to remain steady, swallowing the ache rising in her chest before it could show on her face. Then, without wasting another second, she got straight to the point.

“How long have you and Lila been together?”

Torin frowned immediately, his gaze sharpening with mild irritation. “How is that any of your business?”

Amara’s fingers curled slightly at her sides, her nails pressing into her palms as she struggled to keep her composure intact.

“My parents told me you’re engaged,” she said, her voice tight despite her effort to keep it calm. “And I’ve only been gone for a month, so that—”

“Why does that matter?” Torin cut in smoothly, his tone dismissive. “Love doesn’t waste time.”

The words hit her harder than she anticipated. She blinked, caught off guard, as a sharp pain twisted in her chest. Then Torin exhaled lightly, as though he was the one inconvenienced, and shook his head.

“You are still the same,” he said, his voice lowering, taking on that familiar tone he used when he wanted to sound reasonable, almost gentle, but there was something sharp underneath it now.

“Always slow to understand things. Always needing everything spelled out for you.”

Amara felt the sting immediately.

Then, he stepped a little closer, his gaze settling on her with a faint trace of disappointment, as though she had somehow failed him.

“Do you even realize how exhausting that was?” he continued. “Being with you… always waiting for you to catch up, to understand, to grow into something more.”

Her throat tightened. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“You think I left you,” he went on, his voice softening further, almost pitying now, “but the truth is… you were never really there to begin with. You were just… convenient. Easy. Someone who didn’t question much.”

Each word was like a blade, carefully placed, measured and intentional.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.