The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 309

Chapter 309

3rd Person’s POV

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Finished

When Lylah returned to the penthouse, a restless energy clung to her, bright and electric beneath her skin. So the moment her gaze landed on Ezra-lounging with infuriating ease in one of the armchairs-she crossed the room without hesitation.

Her fist struck his shoulder, then his chest. Light blows. Harmless.

Ezra laughed, the sound low and warm, catching her wrists with effortless strength before she could land another. “So this is the welcome my Luna gives me after an entire day apart?”

Her eyes flashed, her wolf stirring just beneath the surface. “I figured it out.” Her voice came quick, breath uneven with agitation. “That restaurant-the one with the absurdly low prices, the one that doesn’t make sense-that’s yours. You built it. You run it!”

Ezra said nothing.

“That place runs at a loss,” she pressed, stepping closer, her presence pushing against his like a rising tide. “You don’t need it. It doesn’t even benefit you. So why?” Her voice cracked with something deeper than anger. “Why would you do something like that for my sake?”

Silence stretched between them, thick and deliberate.

Then Ezra exhaled, his gaze settling on her with a quiet intensity.

‘To make sure you eat properly.”

Lylah faltered. “W-what?”

His voice dropped, deeper now, carrying the weight of something long decided. “Do you remember our agreement?”

Her wolf stilled.

‘We said two years,” he continued. “After that, we walk away into dur separate lives. Ending our ties.”

The air shifted, colder somehow.

“If that day came,” Ezra went on, his grip tightening ever so slightly around her hands, “you wouldn’t let me come near you again. I know you, Lylah.”

Something sharp flickered through her chest.

“So tell me, how else was I supposed to make sure you took care of yourself?”

Her lips parted, but no words came.

“I can order food,” she said finally, though the argument sounded fragile even to her own ears.

Ezra’s expression didn’t change. “And trust that it’s always prepared properly? Does it meet the standards

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Chapter 309

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Finished

your body needs?” His tone was calm, but firm. “Over time, that kind of neglect catches up. I won’t allow

that.”

Understanding dawned slowly-and with it, something far heavier. “And so you built that? A business that will drain your resources for years. Decades, even?”

Ezra’s answer was quiet. “It’s the least I could do.”

The least.

The words lingered between them, heavier than they had any right to be.

Parting. Two years. A contract that was never meant to last.

Back then, Lylah had told herself that when the time came, Ezra would walk away without looking back. That she would fade into nothing more than a distant memory within the Alpha’s world.

But now…

Now she saw the truth.

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That same fear had rooted itself inside him far deeper than she had ever imagined. Deep enough that he had already begun preparing a future for her-taking steps ahead, building something that would outlast their bond… just to care for her from a distance.

The realization twisted painfully in her chest.

All this time, she thought she was the only one quietly bracing for the end.

She was wrong.

“I don’t like that plan,” Lylah said suddenly, her voice unsteady but firm.

Her hands pressed against him as she climbed onto his lap, closing the distance between them as if she could erase every word they had ever said about parting.

“You’re wrong, Ezra. Very wrong. I would never shut you out. I’d still let you come near me whenever you wanted. So whatever plan you had with that restaurant…” her tone gentler now, but no less resolute, “let it go.”

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