The sun dipped low, casting golden hues across the modest cottage Aliana called home. She sat on the porch, watching her daughter, Penny, chase butterflies in the meadow. Her little girl was the only bright spot in a life that had been overshadowed by heartbreak.

It had been eight years since that fateful summer. Aliana had been young, carefree, and in love with a charming stranger who swept into her life like a storm. He spoke of dreams and adventure, and for a while, she believed in them. She never imagined he’d leave without a word, much less that he was the king.

When she discovered the truth, the betrayal cut deeper than she thought possible. She had tried to move on, to focus on raising Liana. But sometimes, on quiet nights, she’d wonder if he ever thought of her—of them.

One afternoon, as Aliana prepared dinner, a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She wiped her hands on her apron and opened it to find Master Gilles, the royal chef, standing there with a wide grin.

“Good evening, Aliana,” he said, holding out a gilded envelope. “I’ve come with an invitation to the Winter Solstice Ball. The king himself has decreed that all in the kingdom are welcome.”

Aliana blinked, momentarily stunned. A royal ball? She hadn’t set foot near the castle since… him.

“I don’t think it’s my kind of affair,” she said cautiously, glancing at Liana, who peeked out from behind her skirts.

“Nonsense,” Gilles said with a wave of his hand. “You’ll come, won’t you, little miss?” He knelt, offering Liana a conspiratorial smile. “The castle is like a fairy tale—just wait till you see the chandeliers!”

Penny’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Can we go, Mama? Please?”

Aliana hesitated, but the hopeful look in her daughter’s eyes melted her resolve. “All right,” she said softly. “We’ll go.”

**~~°°~~°**

The ballroom sparkled with opulence, the grand chandeliers casting a golden glow over the sea of elegant guests. Laughter and music filled the air, but Aliana felt out of place, a shadow among the dazzling nobility.

Nearby, Penny was happily indulging herself at the dessert table, her cheeks puffed with cakes and sweets. Aliana had warned her, " you'll upset your stomach if you eat too much, sweetheart ," but Penny had simply giggled, her blue eyes alight with mischief, and darted off to grab another tart.

Aliana sighed, tugging at the fabric of her dress—a light red gown with fake gold embellishments, chosen specifically to avoid attention. She didn’t belong here, not anymore. But she was wrong to think she could go unnoticed.

“Aliana?”

The voice was sharp, unmistakable, and entirely unwelcome. She turned slowly, her heart sinking as she came face-to-face with her sister, Queen Leyora.

The queen stood tall and imposing, her brown-red hair styled perfectly to frame her hazel eyes. They were the only feature the sisters shared, but where Aliana’s gaze held warmth, Leyora’s was cold and calculating.

“Let me guess—you’re here to beg for money?” Leyora’s tone was mocking, her painted lips curling into a smirk.

Aliana clenched her fists, forcing herself to remain calm. “No, Your Majesty,” she replied, her voice steady but laced with quiet defiance. “Some of us don’t base every decision on wealth.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though it took every ounce of restraint.

The words stung more than they should have, stirring memories Aliana had worked hard to bury. She and Leyora were daughters of the noble Lefra family—once proud, now tainted by betrayal. Aliana had been their eldest, expected to secure the family’s fortune through marriage. But everything had unraveled the moment her pregnancy was discovered.

The Lefras had been ready to sell her to the king, unaware that the man she was in love with—the man who had promised her the world—was the king himself. When her condition came to light, the family turned on her, disowning her and arranging instead for Leyora to take her place.

Leyora hadn’t hesitated to accept, eager for the crown and the power it would bring. But for Aliana, the betrayal had cut deeper than any wound. Not only had her family abandoned her, but the man she loved—the father of her child—had done nothing to stop it. He hadn’t fought for her, for them. That, more than anything, was what had shattered her heart.

“I can’t believe you’re still bitter,” Leyora said, her voice pulling Aliana back to the present. “It’s been eight years, sister. You should thank me, really. I gave you the freedom you always claimed to want.”

Aliana stared at her, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. “Freedom? Is that what you call being cast out and left to fend for myself with a child to raise alone?” Her voice was quiet, but the words carried weight.

Leyora shrugged, feigning indifference, but her eyes flickered with something unspoken. Before either of them could say more, a familiar figure entered the room, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Aliana’s breath caught. It was him. The king. Her daughter’s father.

She turned away quickly, her heart pounding. She couldn’t face him—not here, not now. But fate had a cruel sense of humor.

Across the room, Penny—her mouth still full of cake—had wandered too close to the king, bumping into him with all the grace of a seven-year-old.

“I’m so sorry, mister!” Penny chirped, looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

The king crouched to her level, a warm smile on his face as he steadied her. “No harm done, little one. What’s your name?”

“Penny!” she said proudly, beaming at him. “What’s yours?”

The king chuckled. “You can call me… James.”

Aliana froze, watching the scene unfold with a mix of panic and disbelief. Neither Penny nor the king had any idea who the other was. This was bad really bad.

Penny was absolutely enchanted, her small hands gesturing excitedly as she chatted away to the man she thought was just a kind stranger. Aliana watched from the edge of the ballroom, her heart breaking as her daughter smiled so brightly, so full of joy. 'if only things had been different' Aliana thought, clenching her fists. 'This could have been Penny's life. A life with her father'

Her impulse was to rush over, grab Penny’s hand, and pull her away from the king, to shield her from the painful truth that lingered between them. But she couldn’t—not when it would mean exposing herself to him. Not when the king was right there, his gaze so kind, so unaware.

Leyora, always sharp, noticed the silent agony in Aliana’s posture and smirked. “Now that I think about it,” she said, her voice laced with mock curiosity, “you and His Highness had a little past, didn’t you? I almost forgot.”

Aliana’s stomach tightened, but she couldn’t bring herself to respond. Her silence only seemed to amuse her sister further.

Leyora leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a cruel whisper. “Where’s your little bastard, anyway?”

The words stung, but Aliana didn’t flinch. “She’s not a bastard,” Aliana replied, her voice icy as she finally turned her gaze to meet Leyora’s. “I never married, hence I never cheated.”

Leyora laughed, the sound like daggers. “That doesn’t make it any better, does it?” she sneered. “And it’s a *she*?” The queen’s eyes glittered with something almost malicious. “How wonderful. Poor girl must be unfortunate, having a naïve mother who was deceived by a stranger, and now she doesn’t even have a father. How pitiful.”

Aliana felt as though the breath had been knocked from her lungs. The words were harsh, yes, but they weren’t wrong. She had been naïve, so trusting, believing in the man who had swept her off her feet, and when the truth came crashing down, it shattered her in ways she hadn’t even begun to understand.

Penny’s laughter rang through the air, a sweet sound that only deepened Aliana’s heartache. ' This isn't her fault,' she reminded herself. 'She never asked for this. She deserves so much more... More than I could give her.'

Aliana turned her face away from Leyora’s cruel grin, her throat tightening with the weight of her regrets. She couldn’t come back at the truth. Not now, not when it hurt so much to face it.

Leyora’s voice cut through her thoughts, the queen's expression smug. “It’s almost poetic, really,” she said with a flourish. “You, with your fantasies, and now your daughter, with no father to claim her. You’re both quite the tragic pair, aren’t you?”

Aliana's heart sank as she watched Penny's joyful chatter continue, unaware of the storm swirling around her. Every laugh, every innocent question from her daughter felt like a silent reminder that it was all her fault. Penny would never know the love of a father, never know what it was like to grow up in a family that could protect and cherish her. Instead, she would grow up with a mother who had foolishly trusted a man who had never been who he said he was.

*I failed you,* Aliana thought, her chest aching with the weight of her guilt. Penny deserved more than this, more than her own mistakes. But all Aliana could do was stand there, frozen, knowing that no matter how much she wished for a different life, she couldn’t rewrite the past.

The air outside was crisp and cool, a sharp contrast to the warmth and noise of the ball. Aliana leaned against the stone railing of the balcony, her fingers gripping the edge tightly. Her mind raced with fears she couldn’t silence.

'What if Penny tells him my name? What if he realizes the truth?'

The thought sent a chill down her spine. She knew the law—he had every right to claim Penny as his child, to take her away. What could she do against the power of a king? And what would Penny’s life be like in the palace, raised by strangers, torn away from the only world she knew?

Aliana’s breath hitched, and she closed her eyes, fighting the wave of panic that threatened to overwhelm her. She didn’t know what to do. For now, she could only leave it in God’s hands.

Inside the ballroom, Penny was blissfully unaware of her mother’s turmoil. She was having the time of her life chatting with “Mr. James,” her favorite new friend.

“You enjoy sweet things, I see,” James said, his blue eyes gleaming with amusement. They were the same shade as Penny’s—clear, bright, and full of life. His blond hair caught the light, giving him an almost golden glow.

“Yes!” Penny replied enthusiastically, her cheeks still sticky with sugar. “But I can’t eat too much. Mommy says I’ll upset my tummy, and I *really* don’t want that!”

James chuckled, crouching slightly to meet her gaze. “Your mommy sounds very smart,” he said warmly.

“She is!” Penny declared with pride. “My mommy is the best mommy in the whole world!”

James smiled at her enthusiasm. “Really? Is your mommy here?”

“Huh? Of course, she is!” Penny said, her tone almost incredulous. “I wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t!”

The king laughed at her logic. “You’re right, of course. My apologies. But where is she?”

Penny scanned the crowd and spotted Aliana standing outside on the balcony. Her little hand shot up, pointing eagerly. “There she is!” she said brightly.

James followed her gaze, his eyes landing on the figure of a woman in a light red dress standing just beyond the window. Her back was to him, and her face was turned away, hidden in the shadows of the night. Something about her felt familiar, a tug in his memory that he couldn’t place.

Curiosity stirred within him, and he took a step toward the window, intent on seeing her face. But before he could move further, a firm hand landed on his shoulder.

“Your Highness,” a man said, bowing slightly. “The high lords would like to see you.”

James hesitated, his eyes lingering on the woman outside. She hadn’t moved, her posture tense as if she were holding herself together. There was something about her presence that gnawed at him.

Reluctantly, he nodded to the man. “Of course,” he said, glancing down at Penny with a soft smile.

“Your Highness?” Penny asked, tilting her head curiously. “Are you a king?”

James froze for a moment, then chuckled, a bit awkwardly. “...Something like that,” he said with a wink. “Until we meet again, little one.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Penny to shrug and return to her sweets, completely unfazed.

~~~~**°~~~~°~~~~°**

Outside, Aliana exhaled shakily, her heart pounding. She hadn’t realized how close she’d been to disaster. For now, she was safe. Thanks to God