The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 356

Liora’s POV

Bianca’s sudden apology took me by complete surprise.

It also struck me as complete and utter bullshit.

I stared at her for a long time, not sure what to say. On one hand, it was almost impressive that she was going so far as to humiliate herself like this, but on the other, I knew it was fake, and that it was just another scheme of hers. Either she was trying to manipulate me or she was completely lying. Likely both of those things.

“A humble apology?” I asked, tossing my training gloves into my bag. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

Bianca looked up at me through her lashes. “I’m being serious.”

I folded my arms and studied her. Part of me expected her to start sneering at me, or perhaps even to laugh and admit that she was fucking with me.

Shockingly, she did neither of those things. She just kept looking at me imploringly, like a naughty puppy might look at its owner when it got into the trash.

Perhaps she was being sincere. To an extent. But there was still very likely some kind of ulterior motive when it came to Bianca; chances were that she had heard about my date with Callum last night, and she was just trying to look good in an attempt to win him back.

Well, I wasn’t buying it. I wasn’t going to play into Bianca’s schemes just because she was desperate and wanted to get her way in the end.

“Thanks for the apology,” I said, grabbing my bag, “but I don’t accept.”

Bianca’s mouth dropped open. A few bystanders murmured amongst themselves. I ignored all of them and walked away without looking back once.

I made my way to the locker room, where I turned on the shower as hot as it would go and stripped off my clothes. Stepping under the hot spray, I let out a small sigh of relief and pressed my hand into the tiles, watching as the water swirled around the drain and disappeared.

My heart thumped wildly. I pulled my head back and stared at her. “What are you talking about?” I whispered. There was no way she could know. I hadn’t told anyone other than Mia and Zane.

Wordlessly, Bianca reached up and behind her neck. She unclasped the pendant, which she had been wearing all this time without fail, and held it out to me. “This is yours,” she said. “And I’m sorry I took it from you.”

I snatched the pendant away before I could think twice, but still, I said nothing—neither confirmed nor denied my identity. But it seemed I didn’t need to, anyway. Bianca was looking at me with such certainty that I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she did truly know exactly who I was.

“You’re the true princess,” she said softly. She dropped to one knee, then the other, and stared at the floor. “The female Alpha. And I… I’ve been stealing your identity for months now.”

I stared down at her, my head spinning now as realization and uncertainty swirled together in my mind. So Bianca knew the truth—she knew that I was the princess.

What did that mean now? I was still wolfless, even as a female Alpha; she must know that, right? Would she try to challenge me? Get me out of the picture before the truth came out as some attempt to steal my identity for good?