Page 27 of Alpha's Exiled Mate

“Just a little dizzy,” I lied, forcing a smile. “I might need some air.”

“Shall I come with you?”

“No, thank you,” I said quickly, too quickly. His eyes narrowed, searching mine, and I feared he’d sense my unease. But he nodded, relenting.

“Take a guard,” he said firmly.

Outside the noisy hall, I gulped the cool night air, my heart still racing. I turned to the guard trailing me. “Please wait over there,” I said. “I need a moment alone.”

He nodded and retreated. When he was out of sight, I hurried deeper into the gardens, my slippered feet silent on the stone path, until a voice stopped me cold.

“You’ve settled into your role quite well, Lilia.”

I spun around. “Lord Thornfield.”

He emerged from the shadows, one eyebrow arched mockingly. “Should I bow to our princess?”

His sarcasm stung, but I held my ground. “No need,” I said, my voice steady. “You’re my father.”

The words slipped out, bold and defiant, shocking even me. His eyes widened, surprise flickering before his face hardened.

“Getting comfortable as a princess, aren't you?” he said, his tone icy.

My breath hitched, the weight of his disdain pressing against my chest, but I refused to look away.

“Your dance with His Highness was… striking,” he continued, stepping closer. “You play the noblewoman well, Lilia. But don’t forget who you are—a stand-in, a tool.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” I said, struggling to keep my voice even.

“Really?” He advanced, his presence looming. “Don’t get any ideas, girl. Perock only ever loved one woman—Sophia.”

My heart lurched. “Sophia?”

“His first love,” Thornfield said, his voice cutting. “They grew up together, betrothed since childhood. When she left him for a lesser noble, Perock nearly died of grief—five days without food or water, wasting away. He’s never opened his heart ever since.”

Five days? The depth of his love for her shook me, a chasm I couldn’t hope to cross. My wolf whimpered, sensing my pain.

“Even after her betrayal,” Thornfield went on, relentless, “he still cares for her. Do you understand? You think you can compare to her? A fraud? A substitute?”

His words were a vise around my heart, squeezing until I could barely breathe. “Don’t let a few kind glances fool you, Lilia,” he sneered. “You’re nothing to him.”

“Remember your duty,” he warned, his voice final. “Play your role, nothing more. Reach for more, and you’ll only humiliate yourself.”

Then he released my arm and quickly disappeared around the corner, leaving me standing there, feeling dizzy and nauseous.

Was Perock’s tenderness toward me merely because I happened to please him? When he looked at me, was he actually thinking of Sophia?

I walked back toward the banquet hall, each step heavy, the world around me blurred and unsteady. At a corridor’s turn, I froze. Perock stood with a beautiful woman, her face streaked with tears, her golden hair catching the torchlight. His expression—raw, unguarded, pained—told me everything.

She was Sophia.

In that moment, my world stood still.

Chapter 9

Lilia

I stood in the shadows, like a stone statue, unable to move. Time seemed to freeze, the world narrowing to just the two people at the end of the corridor ahead—Perock and that beautiful golden-haired woman. Tears streamed down her face, her delicate makeup slightly smudged by the tears, yet it did nothing to diminish her beauty. Perock’s expression—it was a look I had never seen before, a mix of pain and tenderness intertwined.