Married to my enemy

Three:Everything she wanted

Lina’s POV

The morning after the ball, I discovered something strange.

The palace was quieter when you stopped caring who was looking for you.

For three years, I had measured my days by Megan’s presence.

A glance across the breakfast table.

A passing conversation in the corridor.

The rare occasion when he entered my chambers and spoke to me without anger in his voice.

I had collected those moments like scraps of warmth in winter, convincing myself that if I gathered enough of them, they might someday become love.

They never did.

So that morning, I chose not to look for him.

It was harder than I expected.

I spent most of the day in the palace gardens, seated beneath the shade of an old willow tree with a book resting unopened in my lap. The words blurred together every time I tried to read them.

My mind kept returning to the night before.

Are you calling her a liar?

Not, What happened?

Not, Where were you?

I had spent years making excuses for Megan.

He had been hurt before our marriage.

He had never wanted this arrangement.

He was simply loyal to the woman he believed Elena to be.

But there was only so long you could explain someone’s cruelty before you had to admit it was simply cruelty.

I closed the book.

“Princess Lina.”

My shoulders stiffened.

I knew that voice.

I looked up slowly.

Elena stood a few steps away, dressed in a pale gown that looked almost white beneath the afternoon sun.

Of course.

“Elena.”

She smiled sweetly.

“May I sit with you?”

“No.”

Her smile froze.

It lasted only a second, but I noticed.

Then she laughed softly.

“You’re still upset about last night.”

“I’m not upset.”

It was the truth.

Anger required energy, and I had given enough of mine to people who did not deserve it.

Elena walked closer anyway.

“I wanted to apologize.”

I looked at her.

“For what?”

Her delicate expression became troubled.

“For causing a misunderstanding between you and Megan.”

A laugh slipped from my lips.

“A misunderstanding?”

She blinked at me.

“Yes.”

“You told my husband I threatened you.”

Her cheeks paled slightly.

“I was frightened. Perhaps I misunderstood your intentions.”

There was something almost impressive about how easily she lied.

I wondered how many times she had practiced that innocent expression. How many people had seen those wide, gentle eyes and immediately decided she could never be capable of cruelty.

I had once been one of them.

“You should be more careful,” I said.

Elena’s smile faded.

“With what?”

“The lies you tell.”

For the first time, the sweetness left her face completely.

The garden was empty.

No nobles watched us.

No servants lingered nearby.

And suddenly, Elena no longer had a reason to pretend.

“You’ve changed,” she said quietly.

“So everyone keeps telling me.”

Her gaze narrowed.

“You used to cry when Megan was angry with you.”

My fingers tightened around my book.

She had seen that.

Of course she had.

Elena had always been watching.

“I suppose I’ve run out of tears.”

Something cold flickered in her eyes.

“That’s a shame.”

I stood.

The movement brought us nearly face-to-face.

“Was there something else you wanted, Elena?”

For a moment, she said nothing.

Then she smiled.

But this smile was different.

There was no kindness in it.

“You should leave him.”

I stared at her.

“Megan?”

“Who else?”

A breeze moved through the garden, carrying the scent of roses between us.

I should have been shocked.

Instead, I felt strangely calm.

“Why?”

Elena looked toward the palace.

Toward the towers that belonged to Megan’s family.

To the kingdom she dreamed of ruling.

“Because you know he doesn’t love you.”

Her words were meant to hurt.

They did.

But pain was familiar. I knew how to survive it.

“And you believe he loves you?”

Her smile widened.

“I don’t have to believe it.”

I swallowed.

There had been rumors, of course. Whispers that Megan had loved Elena before his marriage to me. I had never asked him if they were true.

Perhaps I had been too afraid of the answer.

Elena stepped closer.

“He would have chosen me if he had been given the chance.”

“Then why are you still here?”

That made her expression sharpen.

I continued before she could answer.

“If you’re so certain of his love, why do you need me gone?”

For the first time, Elena looked angry.

There she was.

Not the saint.

Not the gentle woman who donated to orphanages and cried whenever someone raised their voice.

Just Elena.

A woman who wanted something badly enough to destroy anyone standing in her way.

“You don’t understand,” she whispered.

“No. But I’m sure you’re going to explain.”

Her eyes moved over my face.

Then she spoke so quietly that I almost missed it.

“I want everything.”

The words settled heavily between us.

I tilted my head.

“Everything?”

“Megan’s heart.”

Her gaze shifted toward the palace.

“And everything that comes with it.”

The throne.

She didn’t have to say it.

I understood.

For the first time, a small piece of the puzzle fell into place.

Elena didn’t simply want Megan.

She wanted what he represented.

Power.

A crown.

A kingdom.

I almost smiled.

“You should be careful who you say that to.”

Elena laughed softly.

“And who would believe you?”

The answer came quickly.

No one.

No one would believe the villain princess over the kingdom’s beloved martyr.

She knew it.

I knew it.

That was what made her dangerous.

She stepped closer until there was barely any space between us.

“Megan believes me, Lina.”

Her voice was soft.

“So does everyone else.”

My heart ached.

Not because she was telling me something I didn’t know.

But because I had spent so long hoping it wasn’t true.

“You can stay here,” Elena continued. “You can wear his name and sit beside him at dinners. But you will never have his heart.”

I looked into her eyes.

“And you think that’s enough to make me leave?”

“No.”

Her smile returned.

“I think eventually, I’ll make you want to.”

For a moment, I said nothing.

The old Lina would have been afraid.

She would have gone to her room and cried.

She would have wondered what she could do differently.

But Elena had made a mistake.

She thought my heartbreak had weakened me.

She didn’t understand that there came a point when a person had nothing left to lose.

I stepped around her.

“You’re right about one thing.”

Elena turned.

“What?”

I looked back at her.

“Megan’s heart isn’t mine.”

The words hurt to say.

But they also felt like freedom.

Her smile began to return.

Then I continued.

“And neither is yours.”

For the first time, Elena’s expression faltered.

I walked away before she could answer.

Behind me, I heard her voice.

“Lina.”

I stopped but didn’t turn around.

“Stay away from him.”

I smiled to myself.

Not because the warning frightened me.

But because it finally made something clear.

Elena was afraid.

Not of me.

Of losing control.

I continued walking through the garden, leaving her alone beneath the willow tree.

For three years, I had fought to be loved.

Perhaps now it was time to fight for something far more important.

Myself.

And if Elena wanted everything from me—

She would soon learn that I was no longer willing to give anything away.