Page 136 of Hawthorne

“Are you listening to me?”

“Huh?” I finally answer, unsure how long I’ve been lost inside my brain.

“We need to pack and set everything to head to Livia.”No.

No fucking way I’m leaving Gamia.

Ignoring my mother, I let my arse fall back down on the leather chair behind my desk with a deep sigh.

There is no way I will live anywhere else other than this manor. It’s not a modern, sleek place, but Camilla’s personality is shining through every single detail and decoration.

When I got here, she was adamant about reassembling some things and changing some decorations and while I faked being unbothered…Secretly, I loved it. She tried to make it my home as well.

And in return, I took hers.

All the white wooden carved family frames were replaced with darker wood, which were less sculpted and more minimalist. It is one of the few modern touches in these old, mostly wooden-covered walls and floors. The shelves are still filled with the same books, the only difference is they no longer have those bright decorative boxes. They’re less filled with clutter, and the only decorations are a couple of nineteenth-century ceramic sculptures.

This is my home, even if it’s hollow without her. She’s everywhere, and it’s all I have left.

“Show some enthusiasm!” My mother snickers. “This is the happiest moment of my life! You’re about to be king!”

I scoff. Like that’s something to be excited about. Everyone knows it’s more of a prison than anything else.

A gilded cage is still a cage.

“Is he, though?” Edgar asks, his familiar taunting tone audible.

What?

“What are you on about? Don’t be ridiculous!”

What the fuck does he mean?

“Well…” he trails off, shrugging his shoulders.

The blonde woman on the TV is still talking about the king’s death, repeating the words that were given by the royal statement, claiming he was surrounded by peace and all his loved ones, is cut short by the royal trumpets.

The camera man quickly moves the camera from his coworker to the balcony where all official announcements are made. The Livian Palace shows up in a blurry shade until it focuses.

What the fuck is going on?

I ask myself, standing up and inclining my body forward, hands splayed on the desk’s shiny wood, trying to get a better look at the image.

This is not how things work. Usually, there are at least a few mourning days before any other announcements are made. Even if the heir already knows what’s expected of him…and that makes this all the weirder. I should have been notified already, even if I will only be proclaimed in a few weeks and coronated a year from now.

“What?” My mother rushes closer to the TV. “They only do this when they are about to announce the heir. I wasn’t warned about this. Is that child still alive? Was I lied to?”

Bloody Christ, can she even listen to herself? If that kid survived, then good. How can a mother of two kids say that about a baby?

The cruel words that leave her mouth, I never once thought I’d be able to hate my mother, but I’ve been further away from it.

Then, the trumpets sound once more, and the entire entourage comes out. All of them dressed in the famous red uniform.A serious announcement...

Lastly, the announcer comes out, placing himself exactly in the middle, in front of the microphone, and clears his throat.

We all stop moving inside the office. Maybe we even stop breathing.

To be honest, the entire country must have stopped due to this.

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