The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 109

By the time I walked back to my dorm, the halls echoed with whispers that weren’t there.

“…loser without her wolf…”

“…faking it for attention…”

“…just another failed girl who thought she was something…”

My fists clenched. Sometimes the silence was worse than the words.

Inside my room, quiet swallowed me whole. I tossed my bag aside and pulled out my journal.

What am I without her? I scrawled, the pen pressing deep, marking the page beneath.

Mia rolled over, eyeing me.

I wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“Hey,” Mia said, pushing herself up. “You’ve been… off lately.” Her eyes flicked to the journal in my lap. “Want to talk about it?”

I snapped it shut. “Just tired.”

She frowned. “Tired? Liora, I’ve seen tired. You’ve been avoiding me, skipping class, skipping meals. After the dance I thought we’d be closer.”

I wasn’t even supposed to know you after the dance.

I forced a shrug. “Just things I’m working on.”

“Things,” she repeated. “Like what? Don’t give me the I’m fine act. I can tell you’re—”

“Mia.” My voice came out quieter than I expected, but it stopped her. “I’m fine.”

She studied me, weighing whether pushing would break me open or make me shut down further. Finally, she sighed and flopped back onto her mattress. “Fine. Keep being all mysterious. But if you start writing creepy poetry, I’m staging an intervention.”

I smirked. “Noted.”

Things were off between us, but at least she let me be. I owed her for that.

I opened my journal again, tracing the question I’d carved too deep into the page.

What am I without her?

I didn’t know. But I wasn’t going to find out. I’d get her back. The archives were waiting.

*

My temples throbbed, every blink heavier than the last. Nights without sleep, stubbornly pushing through, it was catching up to me.

I rubbed my eyes, sat up. Judging by the light, mid-afternoon. My body creaked as I dragged myself from the blankets, clutching the key tight in my fist.

One goal: library. Get in, find what I need, get out.

The library buzzed with quiet order—students hunched in chairs, librarians drifting between shelves. No sign of Professor Yulin. Looked like I was on my own.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify