The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 45

Liora

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“So, princess,” Zane said, his mouth half–full of stale candy. “Tell me, what’s going on between you and

Callum?”

I nearly choked on the gummy wedged between my teeth.

Princess?

There’s no way he knew. No way he’d figured out who I really was… right?

My head snapped toward him, panic flaring, but he was busy sorting through the gummies in his palm, frowning like he’d just found a yellow one and lost all faith in humanity.

Ah. Right. Just another one of Zane’s stupid nicknames. Classic.

I rolled the hardened candy around on my tongue, trying to soften it. There was still food stuck in my hair, my

book bag was MIA, and–just in case I forgot that everything sucked–a group of girls shouted from across the

quad.

“Trying to snag another heir?! Ha! What a used–up wolfless! He doesn’t want you!”

“Ew! Gross! Callum doesn’t either!” another one added before they all dissolved into laughter and strutted off.

Zane gave a low whistle and glanced my way. “You gonna take that?”

“Yep,” I said, nodding. “Can’t exactly beat up an entire school.”

“Well-”

“No.”

The grass was warm beneath me, still clinging to the heat from earlier. I leaned back against the knotted trunk

of the tree, knees tucked up, chin resting on them, and tried not to glare at the world. That took too much

energy.

Zane settled in next to me, pushing his mess of hair out of his face with a tilt of his head.

“You know,” he said, tossing his hood back. “I’m still waiting. Can’t help if I don’t know. I mean, I’m getting

old but your presence is, like, emotionally heavy today. It’s weighing down my joints.”

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Chapter 45

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I didn’t answer. Mostly because I was still chewing a questionable gummy bear from his hoodie pocket stash. The flavor was somewhere between peach and lint.

Zane tilted his head at me, watching my blank stare like I was a science project that hadn’t moved in a while.

“You’re chewing aggressively. Something tells me it’s not the candy’s fault.”

I sighed through my nose. “It is stale. Like really stale.”

“So Callum, then.”

My jaw clenched so hard I nearly fused a tooth to my molar.

Zane lifted both hands like I’d pulled a dagger on him. “Okay, okay, noted. But also… duh. I’m not blind, Liora. I

saw the paper ball barrage earlier. And the dumped notebooks. And I heard-”

“You heard what?” I snapped.

His tone shifted, lower, more curious. “There’s been buzz. Rumors. Stuff I didn’t believe at first, about you and

Callum that night. But now… I’m wondering if maybe I should’ve. Is it true?”

I rolled my eyes. “Is what true? That we went on a walk?”

“Well… some people are saying it was a lot more than just a stroll under the stars.”

“Ugh,” I groaned. “All we did was talk. Is that suddenly illegal now?”

“No,” Zane said, drawing the word out. “But it is a little scandalous when you’re fated mates, he’s betrothed to

someone else, you’re wolfless, he’s an heir, and you two look at each other like you want to rip each other’s

clothes off-“.

“Stop!” I raised a hand, face burning. “Not even remotely true.”

“Then enlighten me.” He flashed that smug grin. “Give me the real story.”

“Fine,” I said flatly, snatching another gummy from his hoodie pocket. “Let me catch you up.

>>

I kept it quick. Sharp. Matter–of–fact. Still, I made sure he understood that nothing happened. Nothing.

Zane didn’t interrupt. Just leaned back on his elbows, staring up at the canopy with a pinched brow and his

mouth slightly open like he was fighting the urge to react too fast.

When I finished, he blew out a low whistle and sat back up. “Wow. Okay. First of all, truth is so mch more boring then reality. Second of all, what? Callum ordered people to go after you? Or that’s what Bianca said.”

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Chapter 45

“Yep.”

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Zane raked a hand through his hair, then paused and plucked a twig out of it. “But how much can you trust her? I’m sure she’s jealous of the attention you get. Plus… I knew Callum was emotionally constipated, but I didn’t think he’d stoop that low. All for her?”

“Believe it,” I said, popping a blue gummy into my mouth. “The oh–so–special heir himself. Wolf High’s golden boy. A two–faced, crown–chasing liar.”

He looked over at me. “You’re mad.”

“Wow, observant much?”

“Mad mad. Like… fire–in–your–eyes, break–things mad.‘

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“Maybe because I’m tired of being treated like garbage for breathing the same air as the world’s favorites. Tired

of this hot and cold for no reason! I just want him to be real with me, or leave me the hell alone.”

Zane was quiet for a second, then muttered, “I should punch him.”

8:33 AM Thu 2 Oct

Chapter 46

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Chapter 46