Chapter Twelve: The Morning After
1013 Words
ANGEL’S POV
I didn’t sleep, not even a little. I just lay there. My eyes were opened. I was thinking, trying to ignore everything that wouldn’t leave me alone.
The bond, his presence and her words, It all stayed heavy. Even when the room went quiet. Even when the night has passed.
At some point, the sky started to change.
Soft light slipping through the curtains. We were already there in the morning. I turned slightly, staring at it. It didn’t feel like a new day. It felt like everything just continued.
Nothing reset, nothing got better. I slowly sat up, my body felt tired, but my mind wasn’t.
It was still running, still replaying. I glanced around the room he wasn’t there. I didn’t know when he left, or if he even slept. But somehow… I wasn’t surprised. I swung my legs off the bed.
The floor felt cold, I stood up slowly, taking a breath. Then another, trying to steady myself.
“This is your life now,” I whispered.
The words didn’t feel real.
But they didn’t feel wrong either.
I walked toward the door, paused. Then opened it. The hallway was already alive. Not loud, but busy, servants moving, guards standing. People were talking in low voices. The moment I stepped out, it changed.
Not completely, but enough. The movement slowed, the voices dropped, eyes turned. I felt it immediately, that shift, that attention. My chest tightened slightly. I stepped forward anyway, keeping my head straight, trying not to react. But I could hear it. The whispers.
“She’s the one.”
“That’s her?”
“Alpha’s mate…”
“An Omega?”
I swallowed.
My fingers curled slightly at my side. I kept walking, each step steady, even when it didn’t feel like it.
A maid passed me, she bowed slightly.
“My lady.”
I paused.
The word hit again, same as last night. Still didn’t feel right, still didn’t feel like me. I gave a small nod, and nothing more.
Then I continued walking, everywhere I went, eyes followed, some curious, some surprised.
Some… not kind.
I could feel it, that quiet judgment, that disbelief. Like I didn’t belong here, like I was out of place, and maybe I was.
I didn’t even know where I was going. I just kept moving, trying to find somewhere that didn’t feel like that.
But the palace was too big, too open, too full.
I turned a corner and stopped. She was there.
Emerald.
Standing with two maids beside her. Dressed perfectly like always, like nothing had happened, like last night didn’t exist. But the moment her eyes met mine, I knew it did.
The maids went quiet and immediately stepped back slightly.
Like they understood something I didn’t, or maybe something I did.
I felt it again, that same look. Calm, sharp and controlled. My chest tightened, I didn’t move. Neither did she. For a second, it was just the two of us standing there. No words, no sound,
Just that tension, then she smiled, soft, and polite.
The kind that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Good morning,” she said.
Her voice was smooth, like nothing was wrong.
I nodded slightly.
“Morning.”
My voice came out steady, even though I didn’t feel it.
Her gaze moved over me slowly, taking everything in, not rushed, not careless, like she was studying something. Then she stepped closer, the maids stood back. Of course, they did.
“You seem comfortable,” she said.
I frowned slightly.
“I just woke up.” I said.
She gave a small hum.
“Of course.”
Silence again, but not empty, never empty with her.
“I hope you slept well,” she added.
I held her gaze.
“I didn’t.”
Her lips curved slightly.
“Understandable.”
That word again, like she knew everything, like she was waiting for it.
I didn’t respond.
Because I didn’t want to give her anything. Not my thoughts, not my feelings.
She tilted her head slightly, then glanced around at the hallway, at the people watching.
Then back at me.
“You’re getting attention,” she said quietly.
“I noticed.”
“It won’t all be kind.”
I swallowed.
“I didn’t expect it to be.”
Her eyes held mine for a second longer, and then
“They don’t accept it easily,” she said.
Her tone softer now.
Almost like advice. But it didn’t feel like help.
It felt like a reminder, a warning.
“I didn’t ask them to,” I replied.
She smiled again.
That same calm smile.
“No,” she said. “You didn’t.”
Then she stepped just a little closer, lowering her voice.“But you’re here anyway.”
My chest tightened. I didn’t respond, because she wasn’t wrong, and that made it worse.
She straightened again, back to normal.
Like nothing happened.
Like the moment didn’t matter.
“Breakfast is being served,” she said.
“You should come.”
I blinked slightly.
Was that… an invitation?
Or something else?
“I’m not hungry,” I said.
She didn’t react.
Just nodded once.
“As you wish.”
Then she turned, walking away slowly. The maids followed immediately. No hesitation, no questions and just like that, she was gone.
But the feeling stayed. I stood there for a moment. Breathing slowly, trying to understand what just happened, but it wasn’t clear. Not fully, only one thing was, she wasn’t done.
Not even close, and now it wasn’t just about him. It was about this place too. These people, this life, I looked around again. The whispers hadn’t stopped, they just got quieter.
More carefully, I exhaled slowly, then turned, walking in the opposite direction. I didn’t know where I was going.
I just knew I couldn’t stay there, not standing, not being watched like that, not feeling like I didn’t belong. Because if I stayed too long I might start believing it. And I didn’t want that, not yet, not ever.
- Writer
