The Rejected Principessa Returns novel Chapter 81

#Chapter 6

Maybe Alexander really did love Lila to death.

Even though she’d abandoned him at his lowest, he still rushed to her side the moment she needed help. He still defended her, cherished her, forgave her.

Unlike me.

I’d spent everything, my youth, my pride, my heart, just to stay by his side.

And in the end, all I got was an illusion of happiness I’d built for myself.

At least I was dead now. I didn’t have to lie to myself anymore.

All those years of so-called companionship… I’d just been stealing time that was never meant to be mine.

The manager’s words left Alexander silent.

Even when Lila turned pale at the sight of my body, he didn’t notice.

Since that incident, this was the first time Alexander had completely ignored Lila.

A flicker of resentment flashed across Lila’s face before she forced herself into his arms again.

“Alexander,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “you don’t actually believe this is Grace, do you? You threw her into the mountains for a whole week once and she didn’t die. How could a little drop ride kill her?”

Her words hit him like a shot of adrenaline.

His eyes darkened, sharp and vicious.

He waved a hand, and his bodyguards pinned the park manager to the ground.

“Exactly,” he sneered. “A woman that toxic doesn’t die that easily. She must’ve planned this whole thing with you, trying to fake her death so I’ll let her go.”

At his signal, the guards started beating the man.

No matter how hard they hit, the manager only cried out in pain, swearing over and over that the body on the ground really was me.

Watching it all, I felt a pang of guilt. I’d dragged him into this.

Then I looked back at Alexander, and laughed bitterly.

[Alexander, what are you doing? I’m right here. Right in front of you.]

When the manager was half-dead and still refused to change his story, Alexander finally told them to stop.

“Take the body to the hospital,” he ordered coldly. “When the test results come back and prove this thing isn’t # Chapter 6

Grace, we’ll see what you have to say then.”

The manager lay bleeding on the floor, trembling as he pulled a flash drive from his pocket.

“Sir,” he rasped, “please watch this. You’ll understand I wasn’t lying.”

My body was taken to the hospital.

Alexander and Lila went home.

It was as if nothing had happened.

They tangled together on my bed.

But Alexander wasn’t gentle that night.

Gone was the tender man who used to whisper love into her ear. What replaced him was a beast, rough and desperate, taking out every ounce of his rage on her trembling body. Not even her tears could make him stop.

“Lila,” he panted, voice rough and low, “everything that happened to Grace was her own damn fault. You’re the only one who matters. Without you, I would’ve died at eighteen. I still remember what you told me back then. Say it again for me, okay?”

His eyes, full of anticipation, turned toward Lila.

Lila froze, her eyes darting away. “It’s been so long… who remembers things like that?”

Alexander cupped her face, kissed her hard. “I remember. You said as long as we’re alive, things will get

better, that you’d always stay by my side.”

The next sound that came from her throat was half a cry, half a moan.

Hearing those familiar words felt like a thunderclap. I stood there, stunned, staring at it all.

So that’s how it was!

Only at this moment did I finally understand where all of Alexander’s favoritism toward Lila came from.

I laughed and cried at the same time, tears streaming endlessly down my face.

Alexander, I can’t wait to see your face when you finally learn the truth.

Later that night, he sat alone in the study, staring at his laptop.

The flash drive the manager had given him was still plugged in.

The cursor hovered over the file, moving back and forth, again and again.

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His expression grew darker, more restless. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to open it.

He slammed his fist on the desk.

“Grace, you goddamn woman! When the test results come back, I’ll make you pay for this!”

Unease clawed at him, and he smoked on the balcony till dawn.

The next morning, the hospital called.

By the time he arrived, his childhood friend, Ethan Carter, greeted him with a hard punch to the face.

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