The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 70

Liora

They were smiling at me. All of them.

Dozens of faces I hadn’t been allowed to look in the eye a month ago were now turned toward me with something like admiration. Or awe. Or relief.

“Congratulations.”

“You showed them.”

“You give the rest of us hope!”

Each of them, wolfless from around the school, all shy and keeping there head low.

I shook hand after hand. Nod, smile, repeat. Their palms were dry, damp, trembling. I didn’t know what they expected from me, but I gave them the expression they seemed to want. Nothing more.

Inside, my stomach was rotting.

They thought I was one of them. They thought I’d done something brave, or hard, or meaningful.

But the truth was, I’d cheated. Not on the exam, but on the story I let them believe.

I wasn’t wolfless.

Not really.

And I didn’t deserve this praise.

A girl with tired eyes and an uneven braid squeezed my hand. “They can’t ignore us now,” she said quietly. “They’ll have to see us.”

I froze.

She meant it. Really believed it. That my win was our win.

I thanked her. Then gently pulled away before she could see the look on my face, whatever was left of it.

Mia was smiling up at me with nothing but pride, her eyes glassy, her cheeks pink from excitement. The way she held onto my arm like I was some kind of miracle made it all the harder to breathe.

“I knew you could do it,” she said, her voice barely above the music. “Ugh, I’m so happy I met you all that time ago! Look around! Look at what you’ve done!”

She spun me slightly, gesturing at the others across the ballroom. A small group of wolfless students were still talking, still glancing my way, still smiling like I had lit some long-dead lantern inside them.

“Yes, you do.” She said it fast. No hesitation. “Don’t start that. You earned it. All of it. Even the weird, whispery rumors going around, let them talk. You did something they couldn’t. You gave people like me hope.”

My smile faltered, but she hugged me again. This time, I let her.

I should enjoy her warmth now, before my secret is revealed. The thought alone left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Turning toward the food table to ground myself, I eyes the appetizers. Most had gone warm, but I still nibbled on something buttery and bland, letting the salt give my mouth something to do.

That’s when I saw them. Accidently of oucrse, but they were hard to miss.

Zane and Callum, standing across the room. Talking. The lighting hit them like some ridiculous oil painting—Zane with his lazy stance, drink in hand, and Callum with his perfect posture and perfectly tailored suit.

My breath stuck.

I hated how well Callum filled out that suit, how my eyes refused to look away until I forced my head back to the food.

It didn’t matter, he’d find out soon enough—

My hand paused over the cheese.