I didn’t even get a chance to breathe before someone grabbed my arm.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmdAoE2ClGv
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0FowRmMPu7
“His Majesty requests your presence,” a guard said, like I’d just been invited for cake instead of after confessing to murder.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4LlnW6dfl
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Oh, sure. Totally normal post-manslaughter hangout.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHrBmBNwdg6
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The palace hallways blur past as they escort me. Gold ceilings. Velvet curtains. Way too much perfume in the air. Everything smells too clean for what just happened.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsMu4UmqHqv
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By the time we reach the King’s chambers, my stomach’s doing gymnastics.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYzTzBMliPw
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvJDap3QlL
The doors swing open with a heavy creak, and there he is — the King.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSpIK1zsGGZ
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He’s older than I remembered. Tired eyes, gray at the edges of his beard, but when he looks up and sees me… it’s like watching the sun break through smoke.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzniGyyGvi
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUShkmj4rv
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> “Ariana!”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEWN2jYpJm
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5ykB18IcK
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0JcRAkK7N
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQMxMW35DX
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2wGdk3xt4q
He rushes forward and before I can dodge, he hugs me. Full royal embrace. Armor and all.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGg8k14s3K
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ35CojWoqkv
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I freeze like someone hit pause on me.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVanRS1WVmG
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My brain short-circuits.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjnhW65o67
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Right. Hugs. With the guy who rules the kingdom. After a public murder. Totally fine.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpbhxe0Bry
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> “My dear, you’re safe,” he says, his voice soft but trembling. “When I heard what happened, I feared the worst. Thank the heavens you’re unharmed.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYY9GhQRWk
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He pulls back to look at me — and for a second, I see it. Real worry. Real love.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpcGpEVScPq
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And that’s almost worse.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4i2rqRNSc
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Because I didn’t do anything to earn it.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkNMxV8bd2
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The courtiers behind him stay silent.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQq4gCUjskV
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They bow. Whisper. Pretend not to see the mess.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqNAbprej0
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tuHJEPKlb
No one mentions Clara’s name. Not once.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cJZJlL14b
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Like she never existed.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKWIJQi1Jvu
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> “You must rest,” the King says gently. “The court will handle the details. You’ve suffered enough.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmzlumOiYh
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I nod because what else can I do?160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2Vvm8Iowy
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZAYo6i2TE
If I open my mouth, sarcasm will leak out and ruin my life.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoF7XiPfz6U
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvZtKLF7HkX
So I just say,160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgL0oCrCii8
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXQsbOhxnOT
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR8HyuiLX7q
> “Yes, Father.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx73Jrq4adn
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He smiles — relieved, maybe even proud — and calls for the maids to take me to my chambers.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQdDLq0COQ
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---160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNGdQ04mbL
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The walk back feels longer. Quieter.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3uMY4CH6mh
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When they finally leave me alone, I collapse onto the bed.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfPFzCm7dt
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The silk sheets swallow me whole, and for the first time in hours, I let myself breathe.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiS4pLPaQx7
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> “So,” I whisper to the empty room,160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3lLDGHYJyu
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LmW2n3V64
“confessed to murder, adopted by the King, promoted to favorite daughter. 10/10 quest rewards.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpw3bT2dLwZ
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCaIF4UqPJW
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160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlK3udszCrZ
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I laugh a little — that weird kind of laugh that sounds dangerously close to crying.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDy7EoGy5E
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPB33lcdL7v
Then I pull the covers up to my chin and stare at the ceiling.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6L5EzX1rF9
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxWhGOBpfa
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> “I’m so screwed.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQKZsvHN3u
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The gold chandeliers flicker overhead.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWCdON5EwaN
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Somewhere outside, the bells toll faintly, like the world’s trying to remind me what time it is.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkBMVEO1vG
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But I already know.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCc03E0LmKH
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It’s the hour when fate stops pretending to be fair.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ65azJnSG2i
1234 copyright protection156ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mLIsb7KO5 尼I close my eyes, but his face won’t leave me alone.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTweQCsKzWR
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Those blue eyes — calm even with a sword over his neck.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiywRDopNE2
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Like he wasn’t scared of dying.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjTyIrZXB4v
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Like he’d already done it before.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4prPtXuNNK
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And that smile… no, not even a smile — more like quiet acceptance.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXCGhtADER
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa1mM2iEAXI
The kind that says, “I told you this would happen.”160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hUo0ldJQT
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I don’t even know his name.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6bvYZzMcF
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But when I think about him, my chest tightens, like I’m remembering someone I already lost.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlv39E3IGCF
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Which makes no sense, because I’m supposed to be me. Lily. The girl who fell into a cursed fantasy soap opera.160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpMBdMLRco
160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyOXxFUZtW
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So why does it hurt like it’s not the first time?160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlFcnLTPbdp
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160Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fFvJlNZEC

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