Page 59 of Alpha's Exiled Mate
He studied me, his gaze deep and searching, then nodded slowly, his expression softening with understanding, though a trace of disappointment lingered in his eyes. “I understand,” he said, his voice gentle, steady, a promise in itself. “I won’t push you, Lilia. I’ll never force you into anything you’re not ready for.”
He reached out, his fingers brushing my cheek with a touch so light it ached, a gesture filled with love and restraint. “I’ll wait,” he said, his amber eyes warm with unwavering resolve. “As long as it takes, I’ll wait. You’re worth every moment, every year, my lifetime it takes to prove I’m worthy of your trust.”
I looked into his eyes, the amber depths glowing with sincerity, with a love that made my chest tighten, and yet my fears held firm. My defenses, shattered by the battle, by his sacrifice, by the kiss that had rekindled everything, were rebuilding, brick by fragile brick.
Could I trust him? Could I truly believe his love was real, that Anna wasn’t just a piece in his desperate game to break the curse?
I knew the hardest choice was yet to come—to decide whether I could risk my soul, and my daughter’s life, on the man who’d once been my everything, and shattered me five years ago.
Chapter 19
Lilia
I strolled along the paths of the royal garden, lost in my thoughts, reflecting on the intimate moment with Perock in the forest yesterday.
From a distance, the sound of urgent arguing broke through my reverie.
“Please, Your Majesty, you must return to the palace!” a young woman pleaded, her voice trembling with urgency. “If the king finds out, there’ll be consequences!”
I looked toward the source of the noise and saw a young woman dressed in a maid’s uniform—it was Susie, the maid who had been kind to me when I was “Viossi.” She was trying to reason with a woman dressed in lavish attire, who clearly wasn’t having it and was brushing off her hand.
That face was all too familiar to me.
Viossi.
Five years had passed, and her features were still as delicate as ever, but her eyes now held a much darker, more sinister edge.
“Let go of me, you wretch!” Viossi screeched. “I want to see this so-called Princess of Fellinger for myself and find out what’s so special about her that Perock would do so much for her!”
I stood my ground, maintaining the graceful composure expected of a Fellinger princess. Viossi didn’t know my true identity, and that was a good thing.
Viossi spotted me almost instantly, her eyes blazing with unmistakable jealousy. She broke free from Susie’s attempts to hold her back, striding toward me with purpose in every step. “So, it’s you!” she exclaimed, her voice sharp and accusing. “The Fellinger princess who’s driven Perock out of his mind!” Her words carried a mix of resentment and disbelief, as if my very presence was an insult she couldn’t bear. I could feel the weight of her gaze, piercing and hostile, as she closed the distance between us, clearly intent on confronting me head-on.
I raised an eyebrow, keeping my tone calm. “Your Majesty, you seem quite agitated. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Don’t play coy with me!” Viossi spat venomously. “For you, he ordered the construction of a fifty-acre ‘Fellinger Garden’! And as if that wasn’t enough, he’s building a palace embedded with fifty thousand gems! What kind of spell have you cast on him?”
So that’s what this was about. I wasn’t surprised—any woman would struggle to accept her husband going to such extravagant lengths for another woman.
Susie hurriedly bowed to me. “Your Highness of Fellinger, I’m so sorry for the disturbance. I’ll take the Queen back immediately.”
“No!” Viossi sharply yanked her hand away from Susie and slapped her hard across the face. “You wretch! How dare you order me around?!”
Susie stumbled back, her cheek instantly swelling red, but she kept her head lowered, not daring to resist. Watching this scene, a familiar anger surged in my chest.
How many times had I, like Susie, been humiliated by Viossi’s unreasonable tantrums?
But now, I wouldn’t let her have her way any longer.
“Enough.” I said coldly, stepping forward to shield Susie. “Your Majesty, please maintain your dignity.”
Viossi sneered. “Look at this, the noble princess standing up for a lowly maid. What a touching scene. Who do you think you are? Some foolish woman from a backwater country!”
Perhaps the changes in me over the past five years were too drastic, as Viossi failed to recognize that I was the slave girl who had once swapped identities with her.
I tilted my chin slightly, my gaze sharp as a blade. “Whose origins are truly lowly remains to be debated. At the very least, my country does not condone the casual mistreatment of servants.”
Viossi’s face turned ashen. “You! How dare you speak to me like this? I am the queen of this nation!”
