Claimed by the Alpha, Desired by His Warrior

4: Villain In Everyone’s Eyes

MIREA

I couldn’t sleep, not after what happened. So, I simply stared at the half moon beyond the window, watching its pale light spill across the room.

Meanwhile, Calisto had already fallen asleep, as if our conversation had settled everything. As if saying he was sorry was enough to erase the ache still lodged in my chest.

The steady rhythm of his breathing filled the silence, and I hated it. Not because it was loud, but because it was peaceful.

While I felt like I was being torn apart from the inside, while my thoughts chased each other in endless circles, and while I kept replaying every word he had said, every cruel choice he had made, every moment I had spent wondering why I was never enough, he was sleeping soundly.

A bitter laugh threatened to escape me. Before I knew it, I was already removing his arm that was resting on my waist. Then, carefully, I pulled off the blanket as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

For a moment, I simply sat there.

The room was silent except for Calisto’s steady breathing behind me. It was strange how someone could sleep so peacefully after shattering another person’s heart.

Thinking about it, he might not be sleeping peacefully at all. Maybe the exhaustion of f*****g two women in one night had simply dragged him under.

I let out a weary sigh and turned to him, watching him sleep.

The moonlight spilled across his face, softening the sharp angles that usually made him look intimidating. Like this, he looked younger. Less like a crown prince burdened with responsibility and more like the man I had fallen in love with years ago.

For a brief moment, I hated myself for noticing, especially after everything that had happened tonight.

A part of me still looked at him and remembered why I loved him in the first place. Perhaps that was the cruelest part of all. After all, love wouldn’t disappear simply because someone hurt you.

If it did, life would be much easier.

I was about to reach for his blond hair, to caress it away from his face, but I stopped myself. Instead, I stood and reached for my shawl and draped it over my shoulders.

I needed to clear my head, or else I was going to suffocate in this room.

With that, I left our room and went downstairs, where I could hear the maids talking.

“Lady Nathalia and His Highness really looked good together,” one of the maids giggled. “Did you see how they held hands?”

Another maid laughed softly.

“Of course. Honestly, they look more like a royal couple than—” She stopped abruptly as soon as I deliberately made my steps louder.

“Y-Your Highness.” The fear in their voices was unmistakable as they stared at me.

A few moments ago, they had been gossiping freely. Now they looked as though they expected me to have them dragged away for disrespect.

Perhaps I should have been angry and reprimanded them, but the strange thing was that I wasn’t. After all, compared to hearing my husband calmly explain that he’d f**k his mistress, a few maids discussing how beautiful they looked together barely registered.

I just walked past them when I reached the bottom and stepped outside.

The moment the cool night air touched my skin, I felt some of the suffocating pressure in my chest ease. Not disappear since nothing could do that tonight. But at least out here, I could finally breathe better.

When my feet carried me through the pond, I sat on the bench and let out a sigh. Then, I closed my eyes, only for me to snap them open when I felt another presence.

“Who’s there?” I asked as I turned, but no one showed up.

The garden remained quiet except for the gentle rustling of leaves overhead and the soft sound of water moving through the pond. Then a figure stepped out from beneath the shadows of a large willow tree.

My eyes widened slightly.

“Nathalia?” I asked as I stood, wondering why she was wandering through the gardens at this hour. However, I froze when I realized something… Was she staying in our palace?

“Why are you here?” I composed myself, not wanting to reveal just how shocked I was by her presence.

“Good evening, Your Highness,” she said, her smile sweet as always. “I saw you earlier, so I thought I should follow you.”

She tucked her brown hair behind her ears, deliberately exposing her neck that was filled with hickeys.

I almost frowned, but my pride and years of royal training prevented even that small reaction from showing on my face. Instead, I simply looked at her.

“I see,” I smiled, watching as the smile on her face faded.

The confidence she’d approached me with moments ago seemed to waver. Perhaps she had expected anger or tears, for me to react to the marks on her neck, to the obvious display she’d made of them.

The problem was that I was too exhausted. Besides, my mother always said that women shouldn’t be pitted against each other because of one man.

A woman who spent her life fighting other women for a man’s attention had already lost something far more important than the man himself.

Her dignity, self-respect, and peace.

As a child, I never fully understood what she meant, but now, standing in a moonlit garden across from Nathalia, I finally did.

“Aren’t you exhausted? I heard from Calisto that he slept with you.” The question left my lips so casually that even I was surprised by how calm I sounded.

Nathalia, however, looked anything but calm. Her eyes widened instantly, and for a brief moment, genuine shock flashed across her face.

Clearly, that wasn’t the response she’d been expecting.

“You’re fine?” she asked, which made me chuckle.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I turned and sat back on the bench, staring at the reflection of the moon on the pond, “You’re his mistress.”

“You’re always confident, aren’t you?” Nathalia’s mask finally cracked. Not completely, but just enough for me to see the frustration hidden beneath the sweetness she usually wore so effortlessly.

It was almost refreshing. For the first time since she’d arrived, she sounded less like the gentle, understanding woman everyone adored and more like someone genuinely bothered.

“Let’s see how long that confidence lasts,” she said as she stood in front of me. I looked up at her, her hazel eyes glinting with a mix of irritation and determination.

I blinked, and just like that, out of nowhere, she began screaming. I flinched, especially when she stepped backward towards the pond.

At that moment, I realized what she was trying to do. Even though it was already late in the evening, a lot of servants and warriors in our palace pack were still awake. Surely, her scream would alarm everyone.

Imagining she intended to draw attention and frame me as a threat, I immediately stood and tried to stop her.

However, she smirked, and my stomach immediately dropped. The expression lasted only a fraction of a second, but it was enough to make me realize exactly what she intended to do.

My fingertips brushed against her hair as I instinctively reached forward, but Nathalia had already begun falling backward. The sound of water splashing echoed through the night as she disappeared into the pond.

Unfortunately, fate seemed determined to make things as difficult as possible.

Before I could make a decision, a warrior who had likely been patrolling nearby came sprinting across the garden. Without hesitation, he dove into the pond and rushed toward Nathalia as though she were drowning.

A bitter laugh almost escaped me. Of course, someone would arrive at exactly the wrong moment.

Within seconds, the warrior was helping Nathalia back onto the shore while more footsteps echoed from the direction of the palace. Servants, guards, and maids who had undoubtedly heard her scream began pouring into the garden.

Meanwhile, I remained standing near the bench, completely frozen. Not because I didn’t understand what had happened, but because I understood it perfectly.

The moment Nathalia lifted her head, her hair clinging to her face and dress, I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails dug into my palms. Especially when she looked directly at me with fake tears in her eyes.

“Y-Your Highness...” She sobbed, the trembling in her voice was so convincing that several servants immediately looked at me.

Nathalia then pressed her trembling fingers to her mouth, trying to appear even more vulnerable in front of the onlookers. It was clear she wanted them to think I had pushed her.

“I’m sorry.” The apology startled everyone, including me. “But, believe me… I never wanted to come between you and His Highness.”

I opened my mouth, intending to finally say something, anything, when a familiar voice suddenly cut through the crowd.

“What happened?” The question wasn’t loud, but it was enough for everyone to turn, including me.

Calisto walked across the garden dressed only in a robe and a hastily thrown-on coat, as though he’d rushed here the moment he heard the commotion.

Just then, his blue eyes immediately searched the scene before looking at Nathalia, like she was the only one that mattered.

At that moment, I knew I had just become a villain in everyone’s eyes.