The Rejected Principessa Returns novel Chapter 85

Chapter 1

I was the only daughter of the commander of the Capitol Hill military circles, the true heiress the Caldwell

family had searched for twenty years to find.

I wasn’t brought home until I was five years old. But the adopted daughter, Isabella, felt I had stolen the

affection that was rightfully hers and subjected me to endless harassment.

My brother, James, always said she had been spoiled since childhood, used to getting her way, and that I should be the bigger person.

Seeing she was an orphan with no one else to rely on, I bit my tongue and endured it.

That all changed on the day of my debutante ball. My father had his subordinates select outstanding officers

from several major commands for me to choose a fiancé from by lottery.

But James deliberately switched the lottery urn, forcing me to publicly draw the worst possible match.

The worst match corresponded to an old officer stationed at the border, who had already been crippled and

disfigured during a mission.

A wave of shocked murmurs swept the hall, quickly cresting into open derision. Mocking whispers and

stifled laughter rose around me like a-tide, each wave washing another piece of my composure away.I stood

frozen in place, my eyes burning with unshed tears.

James, however, tried to comfort me with a patronizing tone.

“Hey, don’t blame me. Anyway, Bella had her heart set on that Wrangler, and you took it. Long story short, I

owed her one.”

“Our precious Bella was heartbroken. Someone had to take the fall to cheer her up, and you drew the short

straw.”

“Relax, ‘as the commander’s only daughter. We wouldn’t actually make you marry some old cripple.”

I looked into his eyes, saw the blatant favoritism he held for Isabella, and felt my heart shatter.

So, in his eyes, the dignity of his own blood sister was worth less than a single complaint from that

impostor.

The moment James finished speaking, I turned to stone, my blood running cold.

The guests below whispered amongst themselves, a dense murmur of gossip.

James cleared his throat loudly, then raised his voice, trying to salvage the situation.

“My sister’s hand slipped just now! The draw doesn’t count. We’ll do it again.”

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As he spoke, he shot a discreet glance toward Lucas Reed.

Lucas was my childhood friend, the one I had most hoped to draw today.

I instinctively looked up at him.

He was leaning casually against a pillar, his forest-green dress uniform accentuating his tall,

broad-shouldered, and narrow-waisted frame. The features beneath the brim of his service cap were as handsome as a painting.

Noticing my gaze, a flicker of coldness passed through his eyes before he straightened up and spoke in a

clear, resonant voice.

“The lottery was supposed to be fair. How can you just change the results after the fact?”

“The daughter of a General, going back on her word in front of everyone?”

His words struck a nerve far deeper than pride. A wave of cold dread washed through me, my heart sinking

as my hands fisted in my skirt, the silk crushing beneath my white-knuckled grip.A chorus of agreement

immediately rose around him.

“Major Reed is right! You can’t just change the lottery results!”

“General Caldwell has always valued integrity. Are we making an exception today?”

Seeing the situation spiral further out of control, James’s face darkened. He pointed a finger at Lucas, his

voice laced with anger.

“You… you grew up with Eleanor! Back in the Fort McNair quarters, you swore you’d only ever marry her!”

“How can you say something like that now?”

Peals of laughter immediately rose from the crowd, someone shouting out a taunt.

“Isn’t it obvious? The Major’s heart belongs to someone else!”

“Just yesterday, someone saw him accompanying Miss Isabella Caldwell shopping for jewelry. The bags were piled high, looked like he wanted to buy the whole store for her!”

“Rumor is his family forced him to come today. He never wanted to be chosen in the first place.”

So that was how it was.

I slowly lowered my lashes, forcing the moisture back from my eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped

forward.

I picked up the microphone. My voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to every corner of the ballroom.

“Who says it doesn’t count?”

“I drew the lot. It’s fate. I accept this engagement.”

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James whirled around to stare at me, his voice sharp and frantic.

“Eleanor, have you lost your mind?”

“You’re the General’s daughter! You can’t actually marry that old cripple!”

I turned my head to look at him, my eyes already rimmed with red.

There was a time when he was the brother who would shield me from every storm.

But now, all because of Isabella’s offhand comment about a stupid Jeep, he had personally pushed me into

the abyss at the most important celebration of my life.

The corner of my mouth twitched into a faint, cold smile.

“James, isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”

“Now that I’m marrying some old man, your precious Isabella should be happy, right?”

James stared blankly for a second, his brow furrowing tightly.

“You’re still blaming Isabella? You were the one who messed up first! The way she acted today was just…”

I stopped listening to the rest of his excuses. I just turned, lifted the hem of my gown, and descended the

stairs, one deliberate step at a time.

The guests stepped back, parting a path for me.

Their gazes, curious, pitying, scornful-landed on me like countless tiny needles, pricking my skin.

As I passed Lucas, he suddenly spoke my name, stopping me.

His tone held a note of presumptuous advice.

“Eleanor, don’t throw your life away just to spite me. Don’t actually marry someone like that.”

He took half a step closer, his voice softening as if he genuinely cared.

“We grew up together. I’ve always seen you as my little sister… I’ll help you find a suitable match from a proper family later.”

I looked back at him, a sarcastic smile twisting my lips.

“Your little sister?”

Lucas faltered, a flash of guilt in his eyes.

My gaze sharpened like a blade, locking directly onto his.

“Lucas, if you had the guts to admit you’ve changed, I might still respect you for having some backbone!”

My words struck a nerve. The blood drained from his face, and his lips parted as if to speak, but no sound

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came out. He looked away, unable to meet my scorching gaze, the silence between us more damning than any reply.I didn’t linger. I walked straight past Lucas, the fabric of my gown lightly brushing against his polished combat boots, heading toward the figure in the wheelchair seated in the corner of the ballroom.

The buzz of conversation in the room vanished instantly. The air itself seemed to freeze.

James leaned over the second-floor railing, almost hanging halfway over it, shouting urgently, “Eleanor Caldwell! Get a grip! Stop this childish nonsense!”

Lucas remained rooted to the spot, his jaw tight, his expression filled with icy fury.

In that moment, every eye was fixed on me.

I bent down slightly, meeting the gaze of the man whose face was half-covered by a silver-gray mask.

His hands resting on the wheelchair’s armrests were covered in scars. A thin wool blanket lay over his legs.

“Will you… marry me?”

The man in the wheelchair’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily. The single eye not concealed by the mask

suddenly blazed with an intense light.

He spoke, his voice clear and steady. “You won’t regret it?”

“I won’t regret it.”

“Good. Then I’ll marry you.”

James charged down the stairs but was stopped on the last few steps by Lucas’s outstretched arm.

“Going over there now is exactly what she wants.”

“What do you mean?”

Lucas gave a cold laugh, his eyes fixed intently on my retreating back. “She’s just throwing a tantrum. There’s

no way she’d actually marry a cripple…”

I heard their hushed, tense argument behind me but didn’t look back. I simply extended my hand to the man

in the wheelchair.

His palm was rough but warm, and it firmly enveloped my fingertips.

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