The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 433

“Callum.” I fell into his embrace and sobbed. “C-Callum, h-he—”

“Liora.”

Belinda’s voice came from behind us. Pulling back, we both turned. She was standing at the garden entrance, her hands folded in front of her with a patient smile on her face. Her eyes flicked between us.

“The King has asked that you and your guest keep your socializing supervised from now on,” she said. Her eyes glimmered. “I would be happy to act as chaperone, of course.”

Callum’s hands dropped from my arms. “Chaperone?” he mouthed.

I shook my head and gave Callum a loaded glance. He seemed to understand, and stepped back. I shot Belinda a withering glare that didn’t seem to impact her at all, then picked up my skirt and walked away with what remained of my dignity.

I made it to my bedroom, at least, before I fell apart completely. I shut the door and flung myself onto my bed. I grabbed a pillow and cried into it.

Ambrose. My father wanted me to marry Ambrose.

The thought made my stomach turn over. I pressed my face further into the pillow and tried to breathe through it, and eventually, at some point, the crying wore me out completely and I fell asleep on top of the covers still in my gown.

I woke to the soft sound of the bedroom door opening.

The room was dark, the palace having gone quiet around me, nothing but the sound of crickets outside the window. I lifted my head, groggy and swollen-eyed, and made out a figure in the doorway.

“It’s me,” Callum said quietly.

I sat up. “How did you get in here?”

He pushed the door shut behind him. “It wasn’t easy. I’ve been waiting for that woman to go to bed for two hours.”

Despite everything, something in me loosened.

He crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed, and I moved over to make room. In the dark, I could see him looking at me, taking in my face, the ruined eye makeup and the pillow creases.

“I have my ways,” he said. He reached over and pulled me toward him, and I let him, tucking myself against his side. His arm came around my shoulders, and I sank into him, shutting my eyes.

I exhaled slowly against his shirt. “My father isn’t himself,” I said. “It’s like talking to a stranger. He just stood there while I was crying and didn’t even care. He always cares.”

Callum didn’t respond to that, but I knew he was working through it just as much as I was.

“Don’t leave tonight,” I said. I curled my fingers in his shirt and looked up at him imploringly.

“I’m not going anywhere. Rest.”

Nodding, I shut my eyes. His hand slowly rubbed circles on my back, and his heartbeat was even under my ear, and although my mind was racing, I felt calm in his arms.

Eventually, somehow, I drifted off again.

This time, my dreams were full of falcons and circling wolves, and I was caught in the middle of it all with my mouth taped shut and my hands tied behind my back.