Page 89 of Sweet Deception

Some believed he was cursed. Others thought he was a murderer. But the imperial court had given him an ultimatum, produce an heir or lose the throne.

I turned the page, already hooked.

His mother, desperate to secure his rule, found a dying female serf on the streets. Bruised, broken, left for dead. She had been discarded by her abusers, her body and spirit shattered.

The empress offered her a choice. freedom in exchange for marriage.

The serf agreed. If she was going to die, she would die an empress.

A knock suddenly came at the door, jolting me out of the story. I gritted my teeth in frustration. Who interrupts someone in the middle of a six-hundred-page book?

“Busy!” I yelled.

The door swung open anyway.

Gleb.

My irritation faded instantly, replaced by something softer. But before I could say anything, I noticed the figure standing behind him.

My breath caught. My fingers tightened around the book.

Maria. My sister.

My world tilted. I hadn’t seen her in months. I hadn’t thought I ever would again.

Chapter 19

ANNA

––––––––

“Anna...” Maria called my name with a broad smile, stepping closer.

My breath hitched. My chest pounded so hard it echoed in my ears. I’ve missed her. But too much has changed.

“Anna, aren’t you happy to see me?”

I blinked at her, trying to reconcile the girl I once knew with the woman standing in front of me. Her hair was styled differently, sleeker, more polished, but the way she fidgeted with her sleeve was the same. A nervous habit.

She’s hiding something.

I forced a smile. “I didn’t think I’d see you again.

Gleb’s voice cut through the moment. “We all need to talk.” His eyes flicked over Maria, assessing her, “I’ll be waiting at the dining table.” He turned and left without another word.

Maria frowned, her gaze flicking between me and the doorway he’d disappeared through. “Hey... what’s up with you? It’s been so long since we last saw each other, and you’re acting like this?”

“You knew Papa never wanted you to come here in the first place,” I said, my voice sharper than I intended. “That letter you left behind, about running away with your boyfriend because you didn’t want to marry Gleb... It was fake. You and Dad set me up. I was the sacrificial lamb, wasn’t I?”

She stepped closer and took my hands. “What have they done to you, Anna? You sound like you hate your own family now.”

I yanked my hands away. “Nobody did anything to me. Coming here just made me see the truth. Dad never loved me. Mom never did either. They let Elisabetta poison me for years, just so my legs would stay weak. And it wouldn’t even surprise me if Dad was behind the accident that paralyzed me in the first place.”

Maria’s expression tightened. “Who’s been telling you these things? Zoya? Gleb?” She gave a short, humorless laugh. “You’re really going to trust them over your own blood?”

“Elisabetta confessed,” I shot back.

She exhaled sharply, gripping my hand. “Anna, listen to yourself. Think. How do you know they didn’t force her to confess? You know what these people are capable of.”