Chaos
1075 Words
Chapter Fifteen
Music and laughter still echoed through the grand banquet hall, but beneath the glittering chandeliers, tension coiled like a snake ready to strike.
Fredrick’s gaze never left Camila.
When he saw her withdraw quietly toward the moonlit balcony, something within him snapped. Without a word to his newly wedded wife, he stepped away from the high table and followed her, his footsteps quick and desperate.
Cold night air greeted them as Camila leaned against the stone railing, the silver glow of the moon casting a calm, cruel beauty over her face.
“Camila…” he called, voice thick with regret. “Please, hear me out.”
She did not even turn fully to face him. Her eyes flicked toward him with disdain so sharp it could cut glass.
“What audacity,” she said coldly. “To abandon your wife on her wedding night just to chase after the woman you helped destroy. Is this how a prince behaves, or have you always been this pitiful?”
His hands clenched. “I never wanted this marriage. You know that. I was deceived, manipulated—”
“Silence.” Her voice cracked like thunder.
“You were not deceived, Fredrick. You were weak. A gullible foolish man who let sweet lies guide his sword. You chose to believe her over the woman who stood by you. You chose comfort over truth.”
His eyes filled with torment. “Camila, I was confused, I thought you had changed—”
“You thought,” she scoffed bitterly. “You thought, but never once did you ask. Never once did you trust me. And now you stand before me, married to my sister, speaking of regret? How convenient.”
He stepped closer. “I only want you to know that you are the only woman I have ever truly loved.”
Her lips curled into a cruel, beautiful smile.
“Love?” she whispered. “Do not insult me with that word. A man who loves does not trade his fiancée for ambition. A man who loves does not allow slander to replace loyalty.”
She moved past him, brushing his shoulder as though he were nothing but dust.
“Return to your bride, Your Highness,” Camila said icily. “And pray you never fall for another trick, for next time… you may not survive it.”
---
Inside the Hall
Camila re-entered the banquet with her spine straight and her pride blazing. But her path was abruptly blocked.
Lyanna.
The queen’s smile was tight, her eyes glittering with barely restrained fury.
“What did my husband want with you?” she demanded. “You seem quite eager to lure married men away, sister.”
Camila laughed softly, a sound filled with pure contempt.
“Your husband followed me, Lyanna. That alone should tell you all you need to know.”
Lyanna’s nails dug into her palms. “I am the queen now. You will address me with respect. Stop throwing yourself at a man who is no longer yours.”
Camila stepped closer, her gaze sharp and unforgiving.
“Queen?” she whispered, voice dripping with heat. “You wear a crown stitched with desperation. Every breath you take is soaked in fear that he will look at me the way he never looks at you.”
Lyanna trembled. “You dare—”
“You are insecure,” Camila cut in, her tone fierce and unyielding. “You always have been. You stole what was never meant for you, and now you cling to it like a starving woman guarding scraps. Tell me, Lyanna… does he even touch you with love? Or does he close his eyes and whisper my name?”
A collective gasp rippled through the hall.
Lyanna’s vision darkened.
With a shaky, furious hand, she seized a champagne glass and slammed it against the edge of the table. The crystal shattered, shards glinting wickedly in her grip.
“DIE!” she shrieked, eyes blazing with madness as she lunged forward.
The glass tore through the air — but Camila raised her arm just in time. The shard sliced into her skin, blood blooming crimson against her pale flesh.
Pain hissed from her lips, yet she did not scream.
“Enough!”
A powerful voice thundered through the hall.
Duke Adrian surged forward, his presence commanding like a storm. He grabbed Lyanna and wrenched her away from Camila with brutal force.
Then, before the stunned nobles could breathe, he swept Camila into his arms, holding her as though she were made of crystal.
“Touch her again,” he growled, voice laced with lethal promise, “and you will discover what true punishment means.”
Gasps exploded across the hall.
Camila stared up at him, stunned, blood trailing down her wrist.
Duke Adrian’s eyes softened only for her. “You are hurt…” he murmured.
He turned sharply to the crowd, his voice rising with authority.
“Let it be known to everyone present — Camila Everhart is my fiancée. From this moment onward, she is under my protection. Anyone who lays a hand on her will pay dearly.”
The royal guards hesitated, unsure.
Adrian’s gaze turned to them coldly. “Capture Lady Lyanna at once.”
Shock rippled through the hall like wildfire.
Fredrick stepped forward, horrified. “Duke Adrian, you overstep your boundaries! Mind yourself!”
Adrian’s eyes were ice.
“Even the Emperor does not dare oppose me when it concerns what is mine.”
Silence fell.
Camila whimpered softly, the pain finally reaching her. “Duke… it hurts…”
All anger vanished from his face.
“I have you,” he said gently, tightening his hold.
Without sparing another glance, he turned and strode from the hall, carrying her as if she were his most treasured possession.
---
Behind them, chaos erupted.
Whispers burst like sparks.
“Did you see that?”
“Lyanna tried to kill her own sister!”
“She stole Camila’s fiancé and still tried to end her life!”
“What disgrace for a queen…”
Lyanna stood restrained, breathing heavily, eyes wide with fury and humiliation, while Fredrick remained frozen — a prince drowning in the ruins of his own choices.
The music had stopped.
The celebration had shattered.
And in its place, scandal, shame, and a storm that would shake the empire to its very core now reigned supreme.
- Writer
