The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 456

Liora’s POV

“Attention all students: please gather in the quad. The royal cavalcade has arrived.”

The moment the PA system turned off, Callum and I looked at each other. The panic I saw in his face was mirrored in my own. I shot to my feet, even though it made fresh pain shoot up my injured leg.

“Shit,” we said at the same time.

I looked in the full-length mirror that was sitting nearby. At the torn, dirty gown I was wearing, which looked just as ridiculous next to Callum’s equally-ruined suit. I bit my lip.

“What should we do?” I asked.

Callum looked like he wanted to say something snarky, the air between us still buzzing with tension from our conversation. But he took a breath, calming himself, and said, “We should probably go down there.”

My stomach sank a little. This felt like a trap, but mandatory was mandatory. I could already hear doors opening and closing as students started to leave their rooms, murmuring amongst themselves.

“Okay,” I said. “But stay hidden. Maybe it would be better if we split up.”

Callum’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “I guess I should go change,” he said.

“Yeah. Me too.”

He turned as if to leave, then stopped, glancing at me. “Can we finish this conversation later?”

I wanted to ask what there even was to finish—clearly, Callum thought that I should prioritize our relationship and desires over an entire fucking kingdom, over my inheritance, as if that had ever been feasible before and was definitely not feasible at all now—but I controlled myself.

“Yeah,” I said softly. “We can.”

Callum hesitated for another moment, then turned to leave again. Before he could, I grabbed his hand, making him pause.

“I do love you,” I murmured, squeezing his hand. “Please don’t get that confused.”

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