d he bet

backward, desperate to grasp at moments that once held meaning. The laughter. The soft promises. Humble beginnings woven wit

ed to look like they weren't trying at all. Fate, as it turned out, was a little obnoxious. He'd seen

mo

r favorite snacks, a little plush panda she never admitted she loved. He'd been everythi

d

ggest mistake

ng. "I should've listened to my gut... stuck to my

d, eyes unfocused. "Did he even cry for me?" she whisper

dy knew t

rse he

someone close. Maybe someone who'd known. Her stomach churned at the thought. What if some

ke her

sm was better than despair. It was the only th

cked again when she t

long silences. The disappointment that simmered under every conversation. But she'd loved them.

er under

heart they couldn't control. And they tried-oh, how they tried-to pr

en her escape. Her rebellion. Her freedom. For the

y'd been rig

fiancé, she cor

hing they'd ever

jolted her from the

rap. The

awake?" came a voice, gent

nked, sitti

e weren't her sheets. And that v

r, it's time

e again.

name

neath her. Her bones felt too heavy for this body, like her soul hadn't f

oft-toned uniform that whispered of nobility and decorum. Her hon

lady," the maid

her brain caught up. "Good

tongue with unset

w did she

o-back. Everything was hazy-flashes of a life not hers, names she

y?" Gloria asked, he

, mortified by her hesitation. God, I

ia said, gliding toward the in

ientation. The walls felt too tall, the ceilings painted wit

name? How do I kno

hreatened to crush her. Hers-and October's. Isabel's

, a quiet concern tightening h

ber said automatically.

something for it

nk y

ess for today," Gloria added. "Shall

d it. "No, thank you. I can manage.

ietly respectful, and

as she reached for the hem of her nightgown, slowly peeling it away. The bath's

r bones. Her muscles fi

st things

tual f**k i

e tiled wall across from

embered

ed the cold, the panic, the fading. And now...

face was softer, her skin paler, her eyes a d

omeon

asted like sorrow and secrets. What kind of life had s

his be a fever dream. Let me wake up in a hospital, hooked up t

uch

was

possibly, t

ewoman with abandonment issues, family t

Just

kingdom to save. A war to stop.

ut a brok

his the plot

e marble walls, and she cov

ss, or a noble lady, or whatever tragic heroine O

he wasn't going to lie down an

hispered, "Alright, October. Let's