The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 38

Bianca

Let me set the scene.

The cafeteria was too bright. Like, migraine bright. Like, who–approved–these–light–fixtures bright. The tables were buzzing with chatter, metal trays clattered every five seconds, and the air smelled like perfectly cooked meat and desperation.

I sat in my usual seat–the center table, of course, perfect view of the doors, under the skylight so my hair basically glowed like a halo. And it seemed like everyone appreciated the effort I put in. Do you know how hard it is to maintain golden highlights in a school where the showers have minerals? I had to buy a

specific shower head attachment. Ugh.

Anyway, I wasn’t listening to my friends‘ conversation. Jessica was sayig something about shoes. Or maybe boys. Or maybe both. I was too busy replaying the stupid, horrible, gut–wrenching convo I overheard Callum have with his parents.

“She passed, and you couldn’t stomach it.”

Callum said it. About her. Her.

Like Liora deserves respect or something.

Ugh. I swear, I would never understand his weird little fascination with someone so… plain.

She’s not even cute! She’s scary–looking, always scowling, like she’s auditioning to be a gargoyle. And when she fights? She flexes like a bear.

Totally gross.

Unladylike, at best.

My hand curled around my glass of citrus water like I was about to strangle it.

So why her?

Liora Belrose–respectable?

I nearly choked on a grape.

“Hey, Bianca. Seriously, what’s up with you today?” Jessica asked, nudging my shoulder like we were friends or somemthing.

I blinked slowly, tilting my head. “I’m sorry, excuse me?”

“You’ve been grinding your teeth for five minutes,” she said, gesturing at my plate, “and you’re stabbing

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Chapter 38

your salad like it slept with your boyfriend.”

“Because it did,” I snapped. Then sighed, hand to my temple. “No. Sorry. It’s Callum.”

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“Oooh,” she sang, way too loud for someone with nothing useful to say. “What’d our prince do this time? I mean, for someone half the academy wanted to court, he’s kind of a serial two–timer.”

I shot her a look sharp enough to cut through her plastic lunch tray. She flinched, instantly retreating to push peas around her plate.

“Ah, not that it’s your fault or his,” she backpedaled quickly. “That Liora girl is just… ugh, she’s such a nuisance.”

Another girl chimed in, one we ate with daily, though I’d never bothered to learn her name. “Liora? You mean that wolfless freak? She wrecked me in hand–to–hand last week. So embarrassing. I hate her!”

Jessica nodded like a bobblehead. “Right? And now everyone’s acting like she’s some big hero. Please. She has to be fake. Like… a prank or some bizarre student experiment.”

“Maybe she’s a plant from the lower class,” someone else offered, rolling her eyes. “A social experiment to see how long it takes before one of us snaps.”

“She’s wolfless,” another sneered. “We don’t even have to do anything. She’ll ruin herself eventually.”

Jessica crossed her arms, voice low with fake concern. “We could ignore her. But it’s hard when she’s out here spreading her weeds and leeching off the Alpha Female’s man. I mean–she was in the garden. With Callum. Late last night. I saw them.”

Record scratch.

My fork froze mid–air.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Jessica’s eyes widened. “Wait, I thought you knew? Yeah, I saw them. Like, just the two of them. She jumped out of a window to meet him. Isn’t that… illegal?”

I stood up so fast my chair squealed across the floor. Every eye within a five–table radius turned to me.

I smiled sweetly and gathered my tray like a princess collecting her flowers. “If you’ll excuse me, I have something urgent to take care of.”

I walked calmly out of the cafeteria.

Well. I stomped. Elegantly. Like a swan with a vendetta.

My nails dragged along the wall as I strutted, thoughts buzzing like static.

So even after his parents‘ threats–my threats–after everything weighing on his precious shoulders,

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Callum was still entertaining her.

After everything I’ve done for us, she was still standing.

Still smug.

Still in the way.

Alright.

She wanted to play this game? Fine. I invented the game. She wanted to flirt with Callum? She wanted to crawl up from the gutters and pretend like she belonged in my world? Cute.

Looks like you don’t just throw away a rotting peach. You need to let it sit on the windowsill where everyone can smell it.

I pulled out my phone and began typing furiously. If Liora wanted to ruin my perfect life, then I would go straight to the root–end her at the source.

She wasn’t the only one who knew how to keep secrets.

I was deep in my plan when I turned the corner and slammed right into the two people I least wanted to

see.

Liora. And her emotional support stray, Mia.

Ugh, it was like seeing two wolfless roaches.

Liora blinked at me. Calm. Always calm. I hated it.

Mia flinched the second our eyes met. She always did. Pathetic.

I smiled, no teeth. “Aww. Out for another stroll? This time roomie bonding time?”

Liora’s eyes narrowed on me as Mia shrank a little, bowing her had to me. “Hello Female Alpha…We were just going back to our dorm.”

I fake–pouted. “So sweet. Tell me, Mia, does it ever get tiring being her little shadow? I mean, you were the sad story of the year before she showed up. Now you’re basically background noise.”

“Back off, Bianca,” Liora said, clear and relaxed, like a knife in a silk glove.

“Oh please,” I laughed. “I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking. You hang off her like a wet scarf, hoping someone will forget about your trainwreck of a family. What was it again? A gambling uncle? A bankrupt wolfless mother? Oh wait, no, it was a breakdown at a dinner party that got her blacklisted-”

“Shut up,” Mia whispered.

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

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“I said shut up.‘

Liora stepped slightly in front of her, like she thought she could intimidate me with her sad little boots

and righteous anger.

“How noble,” I muttered. “Pretending to be a hero doesn’t change the fact you’re still not one of us. You

can steal Callum’s attention, sure. But you’ll never be a real princess.”

Liora tilted her head. “Funny. You keep calling yourself one, but I’ve yet to see a crown.”

I stared.

Then slapped the air.

I would have hit her–I meant to–but she caught my wrist like it was nothing. Barely blinked. Her fingers locked around mine with a grip that didn’t match that soft, blank face.

“You never learn,” Liora said calmly. “You just keep proving my point.”

I yanked my arm back with a snarl, rubbing the sting from my wrist. “Every time you walk away without punishment,” I hissed, “you just make things worse. We have rules. Order. And you’re getting too close to breaking it.”

“Must be a weak system if I’m the one shaking it,” she said.

“Please,” I spun on my heel before they could see the flush in my face… or the sting in my eyes. “You’re a nobody. More like a tick on a wolf’s back. You’re the only one with something to prove.”

I could feel her smirk behind me, “Kettle calling the pot black.”

She thought she won something today?

Please.

The storm hadn’t even started yet.