Chapter 2

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.

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