On our fifth wedding anniversary, I was five months pregnant when our royal carriage crashed into a mountain gorge. My father and mother were traveling with me to the capital for the celebration. Without warning, the wheels broke loose. The carriage tipped over and rolled down the rocky slope before crashing into the freezing river below. When the royal guards pulled me onto the riverbank, my dress was covered in blood and mud. My vision blurred, but I could still see Corin running toward me. Corin of House Sterling. The Crown Prince. My husband. The man I had loved since I was eighteen. I clutched his sleeve with the little strength left in my fingers. Pain tore through my stomach, leaving me struggling to breathe. "Corin..." I gasped, coughing up blood. "My parents... save my parents! Someone tampered with the carriage. You have to punish whoever did this!" His eyes were red with tears as he bent down and pressed his forehead against mine. "Hold on, Aurelia," he whispered, his voice shaking. "Justice will be served. I swear I will make everything right. Please, stay alive." Darkness swallowed me before the guards carried me into the royal healing room. When I began to wake, the strong smell of herbs and burning sage filled the room. My body felt empty, weighed down by a deep cold. I kept my eyes closed because I was too weak to lift my eyelids. Then I heard Corin speaking outside the thin silk curtain. "Your Highness," Kade, his trusted commander, said in a low, nervous voice. "Lord and Lady Valerius... the healers said their bleeding could have been stopped. They might have survived. Why did you order the guards to leave them behind in the gorge?" I stopped breathing. The cold inside me seemed to spread through my whole body. Corin answered without a moment's delay. His voice was quiet, steady, and free of emotion. "Because they recognized the rider who cut the carriage harness," Corin said. "They saw Vivienne's face. If Aurelia's parents lived to testify before the High Council, Vivienne would be hanged for treason. I had no choice." "But if Lady Aurelia learns the truth..." Kade whispered, his voice filled with fear. "Sir, House Valerius funds our entire royal army. If she finds out, the consequences will be terrible." "She will never know," Corin replied sharply. "I have already placed her personal seal on the accident report. The crash has been blamed on a broken axle caused by the storm. Take the document to the Council archives now. Make sure no one investigates this again." A loud ringing filled my ears. Vivienne. Lady Vivienne McCray was Corin's childhood love. The woman who had broken his heart, abandoned him when his claim to the throne was weak, and fled the kingdom. Now she has returned. And to save her from the gallows, Corin had ordered the healers to leave my mother and father to die in the dirt. The two people who had welcomed him into their family like a son. The family whose wealth had helped him secure his crown. Before I could fully understand what I had heard, the heavy curtain moved aside. Footsteps approached my bed. Then the Chief Chirurgeon spoke in a low, troubled voice. "Your Highness, the Princess lost a great deal of blood. But the child's heartbeat was still strong when we pulled her from the river. If we end the pregnancy now with the bitterroot draught, would that not be too cruel? She has only just lost her parents." I held my breath beneath the sheets, waiting for Corin to shout in anger. I waited for him to defend our child. Instead, Corin gently touched my hair and stroked my forehead with a tenderness that made my stomach turn. "Do it," Corin ordered in a quiet voice. "Now is the best time. Everyone will believe the crash killed the child. No one will suspect anything." "Your Highness..." the old healer whispered. "I promised Vivienne years ago she would be the only woman to carry my firstborn," Corin said without shame. "She has returned to me, and she asked me to keep my promise. I will not refuse her." "And the Princess?" the healer asked. "Aurelia will remain my Crown Princess," Corin replied, as though he were offering me a great kindness. "She will never know the difference. She will mourn, and I will stay by her side to comfort her." The healer sighed heavily before speaking again. "The carriage crash has already injured her body, Highness. If we end the pregnancy with this draught before she recovers, the damage will be permanent. She will never conceive again." Corin showed no sign of concern. His fingers continued to stroke my cheek. "That does not matter," he said calmly. "When Vivienne gives birth, we will let Aurelia raise the child as the official royal heir. She will have someone to care for her. The baby and I will look after her for the rest of her life." The wooden door clicked shut as Corin and the healer left the room. Alone in the darkness, I slowly opened my eyes. Tears ran down my cheeks, but my chest felt hard and cold. Five years of devotion. Five years of using my family's wealth, ships, and armies to secure Corin's throne while he whispered sweet lies to me. All along, he had been willing to destroy everything I loved for Vivienne. I wiped the tears from my face. Pain stabbed through my stomach, but the hatred burning inside me was stronger. I forced myself out of bed, ignoring the sharp pain in my body, and reached for the small bell on the bedside table. My personal steward, Julian, entered at once. His face turned pale when he saw me sitting up. "My Lady," he whispered, hurrying to my side. "You should not be moving." "Julian," I said, my voice calm despite the pain. "Send a secret raven to our port city. Recall every merchant fleet carrying Valerius grain. Withdraw our gold from the royal treasury within five days. Move everything across the eastern border." Julian stared at me in shock. "My Lady, the Prince's coronation is next month. If House Valerius withdraws its funds now, the Crown will go bankrupt. The kingdom's debts will crush him. What will you tell Prince Corin?" I met his gaze without blinking. My tears had stopped, and my decision was clear. "I owe that murderer nothing," I replied coldly. "Prepare the royal severance decree. I am taking back my name, my fortune, and my life." Just then, the door creaked open behind us. "Aurelia?" Corin called in his gentle voice as he stepped into the room. "Who are you talking to?"

Julian bowed his head, stepped back, and left the room without another word. Corin approached my bed with a steaming silver cup in his hands. The dark herbal tea gave off a strong, bitter smell. He placed the cup on the wooden table beside my bed, then sat on the edge of the mattress. His face held an expression of deep sorrow and care. "Julian shouldn't be tiring you, my love," Corin said softly. "You need your strength after such a terrible crash." I stared at him, feeling cold from head to toe. "My parents, Corin. Have you heard anything from the gorge?" His face fell as though the question had wounded him. He reached for my hands and held them between his warm palms. "The guards have returned, Aurelia," he replied, his voice breaking. "I'm so sorry. The healers did everything they could, but your father and mother didn't survive. Their injuries were too severe. They died before the guards could bring them to the capital." A heavy pain settled in my chest. I had heard him tell Kade the same lie only minutes earlier, but hearing him repeat the words to my face made my head spin. My parents had died alone on the wet stones, abandoned on his orders. The thought tore through me, leaving me struggling to breathe. My chest rose and fell as tears slipped down my cheeks. I did not need to pretend to be heartbroken. My grief was real, even if the man before me was the cause. "They're gone?" I whispered, my voice breaking. "Both of them?" "I know, my heart. I know," Corin murmured. He pulled me against his chest and held me close as I shook with grief and anger. He stroked my hair while I cried, playing the part of a loving husband. "Let your tears out. I'm here for you. We'll face this pain together." His warmth made my skin crawl. This was the man who had allowed my parents to die to protect his mistress. I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and make him pay for every lie. Instead, I kept my fists pressed against his tunic and let him believe grief had left me too weak to fight back. After a while, Corin eased me against the pillows. He picked up the silver cup and blew across the surface of the dark tea. "You need to drink this," he said, bringing the cup closer to my lips. "The head chirurgeon prepared it himself. The herbs will stop the internal bleeding and ease the pain in your body." I stared into the black liquid. This was the bitter drink he had ordered to kill our unborn child. Wolfsbane and winter root, mixed together to end the life growing inside me, all because he wanted Vivienne's future baby to inherit the throne without a rival. "Is our baby safe?" I asked, looking into his eyes. My voice shook as I spoke. "Corin, please tell me our child is alive." For a brief moment, he hesitated. Then his face settled into a calm, gentle expression. "The healers are doing everything possible to save the baby," he replied smoothly. "You need to drink every drop, Aurelia. Do it for our child. Please." He stared into my eyes while asking me to swallow poison. He wanted me to believe the drink would save the very life he had ordered it to destroy. My stomach twisted with disgust. If I refused, he would definitely find a way for me to drink this. I was surrounded by his guards, trapped inside his palace, and still too weak to fight them. I had no way to protect myself yet. I reached for the silver cup with trembling hands. "I'll drink it," I whispered. Relief spread across Corin's face, and he gave me a small smile. "Good girl," he said. "Drink it all." I raised the cup to my lips and let a small amount touch my tongue. The bitter taste filled my mouth, burning the back of my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended to swallow. Then I began coughing hard, tilting the cup so half the liquid spilled onto the thick wool blanket. "Aurelia!" Corin exclaimed as he took the cup from my hands. He placed it on the table and helped me sit up so I could cough into my sleeve. "I'm sorry," I gasped, wiping my mouth. I prayed the small amount I had swallowed would not harm me or my baby. "The taste is awful. My throat burns." "It's medicine, my love," Corin replied. He pulled the blanket up to my chin, covering the wet patch. "Lie down and rest. You need to recover." An hour later, the chirurgeon returned to check my condition. I kept my eyes closed and pretended to sleep as he approached the bed. His fingers pressed against my wrist while he checked my pulse. Then he examined my lower abdomen with gentle hands. "Your Highness," the chirurgeon said after a moment, his voice heavy with concern. "The child's pulse has faded. I'm sorry, but the baby is gone." Corin released a long breath. He walked to my bedside and waited until I slowly opened my eyes. He took my hand, his face pale and his eyes filled with tears. Every part of his expression showed sorrow, but I knew none of it was real. "Aurelia," he began, his voice breaking. "I don't know how to tell you this. The herbs couldn't save the baby after the crash. We lost our child." His words struck me with fresh pain. I had known he was lying, but hearing the chirurgeon confirm the death of my five-month-old baby growing inside of me shattered something inside me. A scream rose from my chest before I could stop it. "No!" I cried, clutching my stomach as fresh blood spread across the linen sheets. "No, Corin! Not my baby! Please, not my baby too!" I sobbed until I struggled to breathe, twisting against the pillows as the pain overwhelmed me. Corin held me in place and whispered empty words into my ear. He kept telling me how much he loved me and how we would get through the loss together. I buried my face against his shoulder so he would not see my eyes. My tears were real, and so was my grief. But beneath the pain, I held on to one clear thought. He had taken my parents. He had taken my child. Just wait, Corin, I thought as he held me and rocked me gently. Before this month ends, I will take your kingdom.

Two days passed in a blur of silence. The royal doctors changed my bloodstained sheets, left bitter medicine by my bedside, and whispered among themselves about the Crown Princess who had lost her unborn child in a single afternoon. Through everything, I said nothing. I ate enough to keep my strength and waited for the right moment. On the third morning, Corin entered my room. He wore his royal riding clothes and smelled faintly of sweet lilac perfume. The scent was unfamiliar. I had never owned such perfume. "Aurelia," Corin said softly as he sat beside my bed. He gave me the same gentle smile he had worn for years, the smile which once made me believe I was loved. "The doctor says you are getting stronger. You have no idea how relieved I am." I gave him no answer. I kept my face empty and my voice weak. "Julian brought the morning reports from my family's estates. The Crown's grain stores need fresh supplies before winter arrives. There is also a royal land document waiting for your signature." I reached beneath my pillow and pulled out a folded sheet of parchment. The document had nothing to do with land. Hidden beneath long, dull paragraphs about trade and property was an ancient High Royal Covenant of Severance. Under the laws of our kingdom, once the Crown Prince and Crown Princess signed the decree, their marriage ended at once. All lands given as dowry, private funds, and family titles would return to the bride's family. Corin gave a small laugh as he took the parchment from me. "You should not trouble yourself with trade matters while you are still recovering, love. Leave the accounts to Julian." He opened the top of the parchment and dipped a quill into the inkpot on the bedside table. Before the tip touched the paper, the brass bell outside my room rang. A royal guard knocked once before entering with a small silver tray. A folded note lay on the tray, sealed with violet wax. "A message from the guest pavilion, Your Highness," the guard said, keeping his eyes lowered. Corin's hand jerked. He tried to hide the tray behind his body, but he moved too slowly. I saw the mark pressed into the wax. Two crossed lilies. It was Lady Vivienne McCray's personal crest. Three days ago, I would have questioned him. I would have demanded to know why another woman's message mattered more than his grieving wife. I would have asked how long he had been lying to me. Now, I looked at him with tired eyes and gently touched his sleeve. "Please sign the document before you leave, Your Highness," I whispered. "The grain ships cannot leave the northern port without your signature." He glanced toward the door. His face tightened, and for a moment, the loving husband disappeared. "Aurelia, I have an urgent matter of state to attend to," Corin replied, his voice growing sharp. "I will read the document tonight when I return." I kept hold of his sleeve and placed the parchment firmly on the small desk across my lap. "It needs your signature now," I said quietly, keeping my eyes on his collar. "The couriers leave at noon." Corin sighed in annoyance. Without reading a single line, he signed his name at the bottom of the parchment. He then pressed his royal seal into the warm wax at the edge. "There," he said coldly as he tossed the quill back into the inkstand. He did not even look at me before turning toward the door. "You have become far too demanding lately, Aurelia. Such behavior does not suit a princess. Learn to remember your place. I will not dine with you tonight." "Yes, Your Highness," I replied, lowering my head. He hurried down the stone hallway without looking back. The door had barely closed when Julian stepped out from behind the thick curtains near the window. He took the signed parchment and checked the fresh ink and royal seal. "The seal is genuine, My Lady," Julian whispered, struggling to hide his shock. "The Crown Prince has officially ended the marriage and given up all claims to the Valerius estate. Under High Law, the decree is binding." "Take the document to the High Archon at once," I ordered, my voice firm and cold. "Have him register it in the royal vault before sunset. Corin must not learn about the decree until our ships have left the harbor." "Understood, My Lady." Julian bowed deeply. Before he could leave, a servant girl hurried into the room and curtsied. She carried a wooden box covered in black lacquer. "A delivery for the Crown Princess," she said nervously. "A page from the guest wing left it for you." Julian accepted the box and lifted the brass latch. His face twisted with disgust when he saw the contents. Inside lay several small painted portraits and a bundle of letters tied with lavender silk. I held out my hand, and Julian passed the box to me without a word. The portraits showed Corin and Vivienne together. In one, they rode side by side through sunlit orchards in the eastern duchy. The portrait even had dates on them, dated months ago, during the same period when Corin claimed to be inspecting the southern border. Another showed them in a private banquet hall. Corin kissed her neck while she laughed and held a golden goblet. Beneath the portraits lay a handwritten note. The writing was sharp and neat. Did you think his promises belonged to you, little merchant girl? Five years ago, I gave him up so your gold could pay for his army. Now his throne is secure, and I have returned to claim what was always mine. Consider your dead parents and the nameless child in your womb my gifts to you. Step aside, or you will be the next to be buried. I stared at the words. The note brought no tears to my eyes. My hands stayed still. The pain inside me had gone beyond grief. Whatever love I had left for Corin died with the child I had carried. I folded the note, placed it back inside the box, and raised my eyes to Julian. "Tell the dockmasters to double the loading shifts," I ordered. "We leave this kingdom in forty-eight hours."