The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 24

The Betrayed Princess Rising

Chapter 24

Lylah’s POV

“Cora!” I screamed.

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She answered by dragging the razor acrow her own thigh, the blade slicing clean through flesh and the

flawless silk of her dress.

“Lylah please! don’t ruin my dress!” She whimpered theatrically, but her lips curved in sick satisfaction

The truth slammed into me then, cold and precise.

I met her gaze without blinking. The chill in my eyes mirrored the ice settling in my chest.

“Is that all?” I asked quietly when she stopped. “If you want Rowan to believe I hurt you, that won’t be enough. You should add more.”

Cora scoffed. “This is plenty. Enough for him and for you to blame yourself for daring to show up here.”

“No.”

I moved faster than I thought.

In a blur, I wrenched the razor from her hand and slashed it across her dress again. Fabric tore with a vicious sound, the gray silk splitting wide and ruined beyond repair.

Cora’s scream was shrill, piercing,

“How dare you!”

The door burst open before she could say more.

“What happened?” Rowan’s voice thundered into the room.

Our eyes locked for a heartbeat–then his gaze dropped to the blade still clenched in my hand.

“Oh, Selene!” Rosella rushed to Cora’s side at once. “Look at Lady Cora’s dress!” She rounded on me, outrage painted across her face. “Lylah, how could you do this? You cut her dress?!”

Tears shimmered in Cora’s eyes, appearing as if summoned on command. She staggered toward Rowan.

“Alpha..” Her voice trembled, fragile. “I only wanted to help Lylah prepare, to case her nerves. I never meant to offend her, but she thought I was scolding her.. and she lashed out.”

“How disgraceful,” Gavriel muttered. “Ungrateful, as always.”

Rowan didn’t respond immediately.

His gaze swept over Cora’s torn dress–then froze on the thin line of blood on her thigh.

“Alpha… it hurts,” she whispered. “Will it scar?”

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Chapter 24

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He didn’t answer her.

His attention was entirely on me now.

His pupils flared, molten gold flooding the dark as his aura surged outward. The air thickened, pressed down on my shoulders, the unmistakable weight of an Alpha asserting dominance.

“Explain,” Rowan commanded. “I want the truth.”

I lifted my chin, unbowed. “You already heard it.”

I didn’t beg. I didn’t plead.

For the first time, there was no guilt clawing at my chest–no instinct urging me to submit.

“You disappoint me,” Rowan said coldly.

Then he turned away.

He gathered Cora into his arms with infuriating care and carried her from the room without another glance at me.

Gavriel stared after them, shock flickering across his face.

Even he–who had always watched me with thinly veiled hunger–looked unsettled, as if he couldn’t believe I had dared cross that line.

“You’ve made a grave mistake,” he said sharply. “Why are you still standing there? Go after them. Apologize to Lady Cora if you want to keep your place-”

“Save your concern, Beta Gavriel,” I cut in, my voice edged with quiet scorn. “There’s someone who needs it far more.”

Gasps rippled through the boutique attendants who had gathered at the doorway.

I said nothing else.

I walked past them and out into the fading light of dusk.

Thanks to Cora, I was finally free to do what mattered.

I hailed a taxi and turned my back on the boutique, setting my course for Rowan’s estate.

“Tiara, I reached out through the link. T’m ready. Any obstacles on your end?”

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