Chapter 5 5

Pearl Gem Morning sun bath the chamber. Food and water came, delivered by court ladies with stone-cold faces, but never him. No warmth. No knock at the door. No golden eyes waiting on the veranda. Each hour stretched longer than the last. What I thought was a miracle, his proposal, his affection, twisted itself into something colder. Harsher. A cruel game I never saw coming. His Highness disappeared from my life completely. Then, on the third night, a maid came. "His Highness is ready to see you." My heart suddenly leapt, wild with hope.

I rushed out immediately, not thinking, not breathing, already rehearsing forgiveness for whatever excuse he might give. The rain fell gently on stone when I stepped into the veranda. And there he was. Kade King Majesty. Still magnificent. Still heartbreakingly beautiful. But different. His eyes, once a place of comfort, now held no warmth. Only distance. Only storm. "Your job is done here, Omega," He said coldly, tossing a wad of moon coins at my feet. "You should go now. Your family needs you." I froze. I couldn't even speak. Before I could ask him why, before I could beg for an explanation... she came. Drizzel Uriah. Radiant in the rain. She walked straight into his arms like she had always belonged there. And then... she kissed him Like I had never existed. That was the moment everything shattered. The return after a month... it wasn't for love. It was a setup. The Luna Queen's words... they were true. Royce's warnings... they were true. The love of his life... it was always Drizzel. I was brought here to make her jealous, to bring them together. Nothing more. Everything I believed in... the smiles, the touches, the words... I see it now. All lies. I stood frozen, heart racing as he walked away with her beside him, their silhouettes fading into the rain and there something inside me cracked. It wasn't just grief. No. It was the kind of grief that changes your shape. My soul twisted beneath the weight of it. I felt my heart shrunk at it. I walked out of the Noble's Wall on foot. Ignoring the royal car sent for me. Each step heavier than the last. Rain soaked my skin, but the tears refused to fall. I told myself it was my fault, not his. I was the one who dared to dream above my place. That was my only crime. As I neared the Omega ghetto, a convoy of castle guards passed me. Odd. I thought inwardly. They never came to our parts. What had brought them here? The answer came too soon when I saw a crowd stood before my father's house. Why? Panic took over as I forced myself forward. My heart galloping. Every breath a prayer. I stepped into the living room, and the air vanished from my lungs. There she was. My mother. Broken. Battered. Covered in her own blood. Gasping for breath. Why? What happened? I dropped beside her, my hands trembling, scalding tears burning behind my eyes. Bright sat beside her, clutching her right hand like it could keep her alive. My father sat on the floor, completely helpless. "What happened? Why is she... why is she like this?" No one answered. My mother turned her face to me, smiled faintly through the pain, and took my hand. Her blood smeared across my skin. She turned to Bright next, giving him the same smile. Then... she went still. Limp. Gone. "Mom?" I called out, voice a whisper. "Mother?" I looked to Bright, panicking. "We should call the doctor... now." "Yes!" He sprang up, dazed, panicked, and ran out. But then we heard it. Noise outside. My father who had fallen quiet beside my mother rose and stepped out. Another noise followed, louder this time, and then Royce burst through the door. "Pearl!" He gasped, urgency in his voice. "Come outside. It's Bright." "Bright? My brother?" I rushed out, my heart still raw, only to see them. The Royal castle guards. They had Bright by the arm like a criminal. Like a traitor. Like a murderer. He was neither. "In the name of His Majesty," A guard read aloud the royal decree in his clutch, "this young Omega is found guilty of disrespecting the name of the Future King by daring to think of him as a brother-in-law. For this, he is sentenced to life imprisonment." My mind couldn't make sense of the words. Life imprisonment? Because Bright believed I might marry the King? "Gem!" Bright cried, reaching for me as they dragged him away. I reached for him too, but chaos exploded behind me. My father collapsed. An Omega's heart can only bear so much before it breaks. I stood there. Soaked. Paralyzed. Useless. The grief came again, curling around my ribs, choking me. No sound. Just ache. That word, love, had ruined me. In less than three days, it had stolen everything. While I waited in the castle for a man who never meant to love me... My family was being destroyed. My mother tortured to death. My brother imprisoned and now My father collapsed, fading fast. And Kade King... he knew. He knew and He let it happen. He stood by silently while his mother did what she promised and worse. "Pearl!" Royce's voice broke through the storm of it all. "Your family needs you. Get yourself together." And that was it. I got myself together. For five years, I lived. I buried my mother with my own hands. I watched my father slip into coma, his soul trapped somewhere I couldn't reach. I watched Bright, shackled, caged, sent to the shackle keeps like a beast. Gone. And I lived with it. Alone. The only one who stayed... was Royce, My best friend. That was how I survived. I lived with grief for five lonely years. Until now. When fate came again. Cruel as ever. This time, it whispered a final sentence. I have only ninety days left to live. How much more pain must a single soul endure? How much more cruel could the world possibly be?