The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 133

Liora’s POV

I slipped into my father’s apartment, still wearing my stained, damp dress from the ceremony that I never got to attend. The wet fabric had gone cold against my skin, making me shiver; or maybe it was just the summons that was sending a chill down my spine.

My father was waiting for me in the small study of his apartment. His eyes locked onto me the moment I stepped into the room, and the fiery anger that I saw there made my spine stiffen on instinct.

But it was the man standing beside him that really made my nerves tingle.

It was the janitor from yesterday.

Not Jessica in disguise, but a short man in a janitor’s uniform. With his hat off, I could see his features more clearly; brown hair, blue eyes, and the kind of rugged face that screamed “royal guard”.

Shit. The janitor was my father’s doing, wasn’t it? It had never been Jessica in disguise or a random creepy employee, but rather the undercover bodyguard that my father had promised he wouldn’t assign to me.

“Liora,” my father said, leaning forward with his knuckles planted hard on top of his desk. “Just before the ceremony, I received word from my agent that you were still involved with the drama regarding those other three students. I had hoped that he was wrong, but now I know it was true.”

I pulled my head back and looked at the janitor. “Involved with the drama?” I blurted out. “I didn’t do anything.”

My father held the vial of Wolf’s Edge up. “Rather than reporting this to me immediately, you went on your own adventure.” He nodded toward my ankle. “Hurting yourself in the process, it seems.”

“I hurt myself in an attempt to get away from the strange man who was following me.” I lifted my chin and leveled my father with an angry glare. “You said you wouldn’t—”

“I couldn’t trust you, Liora. I had to do what I thought was best, and it seems I was correct in that decision. Why didn’t you bring this to me sooner, rather than allowing Mr. Alder to drag your name even further through the mud at the ceremony?”

My jaw clenched. I wanted to say that it was Callum’s fault; he had taken the vial from me, claiming to handle it himself, but he had lied to the principal about everything.

Ass.

But I didn’t say that. I didn’t even want to say it out loud; it made me too angry.

My father took my silence for guilt and sighed, straightening. “I can’t believe you’re still deigning to engage in this whole thing. It’s unbecoming of a princess.”

“And what am I supposed to do, then?” I muttered.

“Exactly what I’ve been telling you to do: reveal your identity. Put all of these rumors to bed. Leave this school and return to the palace, where you belong. We’ll find a way to restore your wolf once you’re home, safe, and with all this nonsense behind you.”

“You know I can’t do that,” I retorted. “If I reveal myself now, then everyone will know that the Princess is wolfless. If you think my name being dragged through the mud is bad now, imagine what it’ll be like when it’s no longer ‘Belrose’, but rather your daughter.”

My father pursed his lips, but I held his gaze. “You know I’m right,” I said.

“Perhaps you are. But I’d rather you come home, regardless of the consequences.”

I thought about that for a moment; admittedly, returning to the palace, where my advisors and servants and tutors and guards could handle everything for me just as they always had done, had crossed my mind multiple times.

I could go home, back to my old life, and never have to deal with any of these people again.

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