still and silent. The royal dinner had ended, the guests fading into the night like stars swallowed by an endless abyss. Crystal chandeliers dimmed as the last echoes of mirth

or, and her mind was weighed down by the weight of unspoken words, her heart heavy with the cruel uncertainty of what her future would ho

words before she was already in motion, gathering the items. It was a routine request, one she had fulfilled countless t

r breath was shallow, her mind clouded with worry. What could the Prince possibly need at

ted her was far from the expected. Standing before her in a silk robe, her hair disheveled and eyes gleami

a said, her voice

words felt like a slap in

urred in Amelia's vision as she read them, each sentence like a nail in her coffin. A confession, already signed in her name. The palace guards had be

be arrested tomorrow unless you do exactly as we say." Her words dripped with malice, each one a reminder o

her chest, panic rising lik

s curling into a cruel smile. "But you can still sa

her soul. But as she looked into Amanda's cold and calculating eyes, the harsh reality settled in. Amanda and her mother knew exactly how to manipul

ou and I are practically identical," she said, her voice low and cruel. "You'll

churned. "You c

rything. The Prince is drugged. He's barely conscious. He won't know th

k, refusing to give them the satisfaction of see

or we take your mother's life from you.

, but her legs felt like lead, and her voice caught in her throat. What choice did she have? If she didn

ead crawling under Amelia's skin. The smell of sandalwood and aged wine hung in the air, sickly sweet. Prince Daniel sat against the headboard of the bed, his golden goblet slipping from

is-vulnerable, unaware, and completely at the mercy of the cruel scheme that had been set

ilence. "He thinks you're me. Just lie

place, cold and paralyzing. She was trapped-caught in a web o

o endure this. For her mother. For the sake of everything she held dear. The Prince reached for her, his lips brushing against her cheek, unaware of

g more than a pawn in a ga

nocence was ripped away-not by the Prince, but by the cruelty of t

een set in motion. She pulled Amelia away from the bed, wiping the remnants of the night's cruel act from her skin with a towel, as thou

s ear, her voice a sickening mix of satisfaction and false te

ed. Her body felt numb, the emotional toll of the night weighing heavily on her spirit. She passed through the halls

the nightmare that had just unfolded. Amelia couldn't bring herself to tell her. Not yet. How

own, walked through the halls with a look of triumph on her face. "I'm engaged," she ann

nce, but her eyes spoke volumes. There

g and enduring. She swallowed her p

spark of defiance, buried beneath the layers

for sure, this wasn't the end, it couldn't be. The truth would come to light, a