The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 209

“Bianca came through!” he called as he pulled out a roast ham that was glistening with buttery sauce, making my mouth water. “Our equinox dinner is saved! The King sent a feast!”

A little while later, I found myself leaning against the wall in the common room with a plastic cup of hot cider in my hand, watching as everyone milled around. The room was alive again with the sounds of laughter and cheer.

I couldn’t help but smile, even if Bianca was there, standing in the middle of the room and taking all of the credit. She had shown up a few minutes ago, looking only briefly stunned by the surprise feast before she immediately claimed that it was all her doing.

But at least the equinox was saved—tonight could be a small but bright spot on an otherwise dark couple of weeks. That was all that mattered to me right now.

“Hey.” Callum suddenly appeared beside me, holding a half-finished plate of ham and mashed potatoes. “Did you eat yet?”

I nodded, even though that was a lie. I wanted to make sure everyone got something to eat first, especially the wolfless, so I had opted just for the cider.

He narrowed his eyes at me as if seeing right through me. Then, wordlessly, he speared a green bean on his fork and held it out toward me.

I froze. “What are you doing?”

“You need to eat,” he said. His voice was low. Calm. It made my knees turn to jelly. “I could practically hear your stomach growling from across the room just now.”

I hesitated, not sure what to do. I thought he might be messing with me, but he wasn’t. He just stood there, waiting for me to take the green bean.

Finally, I did. I held his gaze, even as my cheeks warmed, as I opened my mouth. He placed the fork on my tongue, and I closed my lips around it, pulling away. The green bean was hot and buttery, and I chewed slowly, shutting my eyes.

“How did you do it?” he asked suddenly.

Oh. My stomach sank a little. He was talking about the sugar baby scandal.

I swallowed hard. “You’re mistaken.” The words tasted like ash on my tongue, completely blotting out the sweetness of the green bean. “This was all Bianca’s doing. Not mine.”

Callum stared at me with that knowing look. He didn’t fully believe me. Maybe he thought I really was the King’s sugar baby, or maybe he just thought that there was more to the story than I was letting on, which there was.

But I didn’t tell him the truth. I couldn’t. And to his credit, he didn’t press. To be fair, he didn’t have a chance to—because the common room door suddenly swung open, and Mr. Alder strode into the room.

The principal stood there for a moment, eyes scanning the festivities around him. There was something cold and angry in his gaze. No one except for Callum and I even noticed his presence, too busy eating, laughing, and dancing along to the music.

It didn’t last long, though. Alder strode across the room and grabbed the cord to the speaker, pulling it out of the wall entirely.