The Betrayed Princess Rising (Lylah and Ezra) novel Chapter 87

Lylah’s POV

Finished

I had barely stepped into my office and set my laptop on the desk when Iris descended on me like a frantic

sparrow.

“You said you haven’t checked your results? Lylah, how could you?” she demanded. “Check it now. The deadline passed fifteen minutes ago! They must have sent everything already!”

Her excitement and anxiety buzzed around me, prickling against my skin.

“Okay, okay,” I murmured.

Truthfully, after dinner with Ezra last night, the world beyond him had faded into a blur. The results had slipped my mind entirely.

Now, as I sat down, my fingers hovered over the keyboard, suddenly heavy. Behind me, Iris leaned so close I could feel she was holding her breath.

I clicked.

“What in the actual fuck?!” Iris’s curse tore through the room.

I stared at the screen, a massive red notice filled the display.

REJECTED.

My mind was blank.

“How could this happen?” Iris choked. “Your requirements were perfect! You even had Professor Clark as your supervisor. This has to be a mistake!”

But I wasn’t looking at the rejection anymore,

I was looking at the timestamp. Sent one minute before the deadline.

One minute.

“No, Iris.” I rose to my feet. “This isn’t a mistake. They made me wait on purpose to deliver this at the end.”

“Where are you going?” she asked, scrambling after me as I headed for the door.

“The reviewer. I’ll ask for clarity.”

“But the reviewer is the Vale team!” Her eyes widened. “Wait. I’m coming with you. I’m not letting you face

them alone.”

The Modern Healing building loomed cold and sterile, its glass walls reflecting fluorescent light like the eyes of a predator.

Selestine paced inside me as we walked down the corridor toward the laboratory room.

1/3

1:25 pm

Chapter 87

The lab door was open.

340

Finished

Inside, only two figures occupied the room. And one of them was the very person I had come to find.

“Lylah must be crying right now,” Alexander said, his voice dripping with smug satisfaction. “Tell me, Cora. Did I do the perfect job?”

My fingers moved on instinct.

I slipped my phone from my pocket and started recording.

“More than perfect, Alex” Cora replied sweetly, her hand sliding over his arm. “But I am worried. My sister has an ugly temper, what if she comes to you?”

He laughed.

“Just let her. She has no power here,” he said. “And honestly, did she really think I’m a fool not to notice she forged Professor Grimwood’s signature?” He scoffed. “That old man has disappeared. There’s no way he’d waste his time supervising a lowly junior assistant. At least now she’ll bury that pathetic dream of joining our project.”

My wolf snarled.

“I bet she’s clueless right now,” Cora said.

“Not really.” My voice cut through the room like a blade.

They both spun toward me.

Alexander recovered first. His lips curled in disgust as he strode forward.

“Hey, leech,” he sneered. “Who said you could come in here? Get out.” Then he saw the phone in my hand. His expression darkened instantly.

“Damn it! Were you recording us? Playing dirty now?”

I tilted my head.

“Pot calling the kettle black, Alexander.”

His face flushed, anger and humiliation warring beneath his skin. His wolf flickered in his eyes, aura pressing outward as he tried to force mine into submission.

It didn’t work.

“Listen carefully,” he said, his voice dropping into something colder. “I told you before. You’re nothing but a lowly, adopted, ungrateful stray. So don’t dream of ever belonging among us.”

I ended the recording slowly, meeting his gaze.

“So this is how your team maintains its standards?” I let out a small, humorless scoff. “How disappointing. I thought Vale students were chosen for their intelligence, not insecurity.”

213

1:25 pm

Chapter 87

Finished

“Shut your mouth,” he snarled. And stepped closer, “Give me your phone. Delete the damn video.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify