The Crown Prince's Forbidden Chef

e I was supposed to marry the man I l

gainst my wrists. The mirror reflected a girl I barely recognized,the gentle Annabelle Hale, the obedient da

the worst part. The worst part was the cold smile behind my stepmother's eyes, the way m

da's voice sounded sweet, yet every word dripped venom. "You w

ough my heart scre

into a smug smile. "It's almost as if the gods themselves

mplying when she made that statement. I had always known they wanted to replace me, to take everything

ness of his smile,was my only anchor and my only escape from this family if I had married him. Tomorrow

t path outside my quarter, rehearsing my wedding vows in my mind and the next th

creamed...my voice swa

arely carried over the s

hes whipped my face, dirt scratched my skin. My gown was torn,

breath hot on my ear. His grip on me felt like hot iron. "

.I was alone. My stepmother had orchestrated this. Clara had smiled while they

y beside us, jagged rocks waiting to welcome anyone who fal

e man holding me. My heel caught a rock as I

amed, but it

me, whipping my hair around my face. My hands clawed at the air, the ground, r

g hard, then something liquid and soft trailin

swallowed

-

up to n

the cold bite of stone beneath my hands. My head throbbed, my

felt like lead. Panic rose i

into focus: the sharply edge cliff below, the forest

were

listening to the rapid, shallow rhythm of my heart. Each

I was sti

e was no

aked across my skin, and my body screamed in pain. My heart ached,not just from the fall, but from betr

I regarded as my own sister,could take my place, so that my o

f the storm, the sting of the wind, and th

ed into the darkness, "Eliam

eness, to tell him I was alive, but even as I

ended on that cliff. Somewhere

ing, broken, and alone, at the me

w... I wou

e would be no one left to

skin, a strong sensation hit me like someone whose head was hit by iron, my

dyin

my h

colla