The Rejected Mate And The Royal Lie

Chapter2

Chapter 2

Stefan:

She wasn’t supposed to look like that.

She was not supposed to stand like that and she was not to be as confident as she was.

I expected someone defeated. Humiliated. A shadow of her sister. A substitute that I would be easily overshadowing, that I could easily push aside without her talking back at me, without her giving me more difficulties than I wanted to deal with.

Instead, Andrea Sullivan walked up the palace steps like she was coming to war, chin high, eyes blazing, spine straight despite the whispers trailing behind her.

They said she was the replacement.

They said she was weak.

They were wrong.

They were either blind or they just chose not to tell me the reality of things.

I kept my expression cold, unreadable. I had perfected the act, stone-faced, stiff, cruel when needed. Which was the easier option for me to be dealing with? It was the way that I could keep others away from me. I’d spent the past two years cultivating this persona; the broken prince, the bitter cripple, the king’s disappointment. The one person who would not cause him any trouble, who would not challenge him for his position.

It kept me alive. It kept them out of my way. It kept him out of my sight.

But the moment Andrea stepped out of that ridiculous silver gown and looked me straight in the eye… I felt something stir. Not the mate bond, I’d suppressed that long ago. It was not a feeling that I would be having. It was not a bond that I wanted to believe in. But this was something sharper. Warier. Like she wasn’t just here to survive this arrangement, she was here to burn it down.

Good luck with that.

“Don’t get comfortable, bride,” I murmured, keeping my voice low enough for only her to hear. “You won’t be staying long. I assume you didn’t bring too many things. Wouldn’t want packing to be difficult.”

She didn’t flinch.

Instead, she smiled, a tight, sharp thing that shouldn’t have affected me, but did. The Weather Channel looked at me, made me frown as feeling stirred inside of me, one that I did not want to acknowledge.

"Good. I never liked being caged anyway," she replied coolly. "You needn't worry. I’m sure your mates will be more than happy to help me pack. That is, if I choose to pack at all. I could always walk out and buy better things."

My lips twitched. Just barely. She was quick. She had her responses ready and she was more than just willing to throw them at me.

I turned and walked into the palace without another word, but her footsteps followed mine like a challenge, echoing through the marble corridor. Not hesitant. Not desperate. Solid.

She wasn’t like the others. She was not going to reach, and I knew that for a fact, but I needed to push her away from me. I needed her to be cast aside, for her to step back, to know her limits.

Inside, the guards snapped to attention, the staff bowed, and the air turned colder with every step we took. That was my doing. I made sure of it. Fear was more effective than affection in this place. The court devoured weakness. My uncle, the king, taught me that well enough. He taught me what I was to ignore those that surrounded me to proceed with pretending that they did not exist. To make sure that I stood invisible, that he was the center of all the power and detention.

At the grand staircase, I stopped and turned to face her. She had paused a step below me, yet somehow still felt like an equal.

“I assume your room is ready?” I asked one of the maids without looking at her.

“Yes, Your Highness. The east wing, as instructed.”

“Good. Escort Lady Andrea to her chambers,” I said. “And remind her that this isn’t a honeymoon.”

Andrea raised a brow. “What would you call it then? As far as I am concerned, I'm supposed to be your bride and this is supposed to be a honeymoon. And though you did not want me walking down that altar after you rejected me, I still did, and you still said yes, just as I did.”

“It is an obligation,” I said flatly. “One neither of us wanted. And you're going to have to live with it one way or the other. Whether or not I rejected you or said yes does not make a difference. It does not change who you are.”

Her smile didn’t fade. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve always been good at making the best out of terrible situations. Rejection or not. So it does not really make a difference. Not anymore.”

Then she turned and walked off without waiting for dismissal.

I watched her go.

Laura, it's not anymore played in my mind a little longer than necessary. I just kept my eyes on her, waiting, watching in silence for a moment.

That fire in her eyes...

It wasn’t just defiance. It was purpose. Rage. Control.

She was furious, and whatever it was that she was bothered by, she was trying her best not to take it out on me. Or maybe she was taking it out on me. Regardless, I need to put her in place when the time came.

I’d seen that kind of fire once before…

In the mirror.

This marriage was supposed to be a smokescreen. A distraction for the court while I continued working in the shadows. I’d made it clear from the start; I didn’t want a mate. Didn’t need a Luna. I already had someone pretending to fill that role, Ava, who knew her place in this game and played it well. The woman who knew what it was to put herself in place when she needed to, to step back when she had to. The woman that my uncle wanted nothing more than to push away.

And the woman that he now was going to believe was going to be cast out, yet Andrea was going to cause me a little trouble, that was for sure.

For she…

She wasn’t playing at all.

She did not know what this game was about.

She wasn’t a pawn.

She might just be the queen who flips the whole board.

And I needed to decide, fast, whether to push her out…

Or bring her in.

But just as I was walking towards my chamber, as I was stopped by my uncle's voice.

“I heard that you rejected your bride at the wedding before you chose to say your vows.” He's out from behind me. I looked at him for a moment before turning to face him, giving him a slow, careful, and practiced bow. “I do know that your decision has a lot to do with Ava, but Ava is not fit to be in court and I think that you know that very well. It is time for you to choose a bride who is fit to be in court, who is fit to rule by your side, to stand as a wife, not as a mistress, not as a mate, and most definitely not as a weakness that can be used against you.”

“I have said my vows as instructed.” I said, keeping my eyes low, showing him that I was still the disabled nephew that he could easily control. “And it is only a matter of time before even Ava is cast out. But at first, I'm going to need to settle things my way. We chose to agree to this marriage.”

“Who you sleep with, this not concern me, be it Ava or all the women that are within the palace and pack.” He said, smirking at me. “All that interests me is you remembering your role and the two of you. You're bright and yourself remembering that you're a public figure. As you may know, you represent me and the royal family.”

“You needn't worry, Your Grace.”

“Good, you may be dismissed…”