Chapter 1
'Keep going! Keep going! Fuck...'
I could see dark strands of Melanie's hair sticking to her head as she rode my fiancé. Her hips moved at a faster pace as he swore again and closed his eyes in ecstasy. The sound shattered whatever was left of me. He shuddered, gripping the sheets, and then went limp. Melanie slid her way off him, a cool smirk ironed to her face.
"I could tell you enjoyed that," she preened. I was just behind the door, unable to move. How could they do this to me?! My fiancé, the man I loved...and my best friend. He didn't open his eyes.
"Was it that obvious?" he asked. "I haven't had a f**k like that in months. We can do this every day when we're married."
When we're married...I thought I was going to be sick. He was leaving me for her...I wanted to hurt them both but I was frozen. I wanted to run away. Melanie let out a tinkling laugh. I knew she was faking it. I knew so much about Melanie Villiers. Her favourite colour, her worse fears, her wildest dreams. I knew she wanted to be a mermaid when she was five and only stopped when her mother called her a little freak. I knew she was clever and occasionally vicious, but she had a warm heart. No. She didn't have a heart at all.
"Princess Melanie," she said, trying out the name. "I like the sound of it, don't you?"
Lucas grunted as he lifted himself up, beads of sweat dripping down his face into his sky blue eyes. I used to gaze into them as he made promises to me. We used to speak about the future and about the children we would have. I would laugh at his terrible jokes and bring him lemon cakes because they were his favourite. I thought I knew him as well as I knew Melanie.
"There won't be anymore Princesss Yasmine," he said, and I didn't want to hear anymore. Even as Melanie bent down to kiss him, I softly crept away from the door and wandered down the hall back to my rooms.
As I approached the door to my room, two men with swords strapped to their sides stopped me from entering. They looked uncomfortable, unable to meet my gaze.
"Princess Yasmine, you're under arrest for treason," the one on the left said and shock ripped through me again. The cuffs burned with cold as they put them on my wrists.
Five days later:
"Do you have any last words, Duchess?"
I kept my gaze on Prince Lucas, the former love of my life. He sat on a wooden throne behind the baying crowd. His mouth was hard line and he looked at me with dead eyes. His blonde hair shone like gold in the sunlight of the afternoon.
"I'm innocent of any crime," I said loudly, and the crowd burst into whispers. They forced me to my knees, and the gleaming blade of the axe twisted my stomach into knots. I was going to die. Oh god, I was going to die! Just before the blindfold thrust me into a world of black I saw Lucas brush something from his eyes. Melanie was nowhere to be seen, probably getting ready to be the official princess.
I didn't even feel the cut until after it was done. I was floating away into black clouds, wondering how I could have been so wrong...
