The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 112

My outfit? Impeccable. Black training gear that hugged just right, still cute enough for photos. Glossy high ponytail swishing with every turn. Rose-tinted lip gloss catching the light. Strength doesn’t have to be sweaty.

A few girls volunteered. They’d regret it.

The whistle blew, and I flowed like silk—grapples to pivots, mock throws that still slammed my opponents onto the mat with satisfying thuds. No wolf form needed. A quick turn, a clean wrist sweep, disarmed. Every move deliberate, precise—and yes, photogenic.

I smiled through it all, like the Moon Goddess herself was choreographing me.

And then I heard it.

“Bianca’s gotten a lot stronger.”

“True, I doubted her before, but she’s pretty good.”

Pretty good?

“Yeah, but didn’t Liora stop her once?”

The words cut clean through the praise in my head. Still—even now—they compared me to her. As if she had anything left I wasn’t better at. Nothing.

I stood slowly, fight already won. I didn’t need to look to know the voices came from two girls in the back, whispering just loud enough for me to hear.

My smile tightened, jaw aching with the effort.

Oh, sweethearts. You want to test me?

Later, during the demos, the universe handed me a gift: one of those little whispering darlings just happened to be my partner.

Perfect.

I made sure the crowd had a front-row view. She stepped forward, hesitant, clumsy, arms lifted like she was bracing for a hug instead of a spar. Her strike came slow. Weak.

I caught her wrist, spun her with a clean counter, and let her own momentum send her hard onto the mat—a little harder than necessary.

She yelped. Music.

I crouched beside her, smile sugar-sweet. “Oops,” I said, dripping mock concern. “Guess not everyone’s cut out for this.”

The crowd laughed—some nervous, some too eager—and I drank it in like champagne, warm and fizzy in my chest.

But the taste faded faster than I liked.

The whispers clung to me, threading through the laughter like smoke.

Maybe they weren’t just jealousy. Maybe they were starting to doubt me.

Maybe… they wondered if the Moon Goddess had really chosen me.

The thought hit like a stone in my gut.

No.

Absolutely not.

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