The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 76

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Liora

The toes of my heels crossed effortlessly over the squishy mud, years of training kept my balance steady despite the mess beneath me, but it didn’t stop the pounding in my head.

The hedge line flew past in a blur of green and thorns.

Air. Space. I just needed one moment.

Stone wolves lined the garden path in solemn formation, their moss-covered paws sunk deep into the earth. One broken statue leaned behind the hedges like it had once ducked from the spotlight and never quite returned.

I sat at its base, my dress pooling around me like spilled silk, moonlight skimming across the rippling surface of the nearby fountain. The air hung damp with spring, just cold enough to draw the tension tighter across my bare shoulders.

I didn’t cry. Even though I think I should have. Maybe it would’ve helped, cracked something open. But my body refused, still convinced I wasn’t that type of girl. So I just sat there, quietly, trying to reclaim the smallest corner of the world as mine.

I also wanted to puke when I heard footsteps crunching my way through the gravel, to begged for them to leave.

I didn’t turn until I heard her voice.

“Liora! Oh, gods! There you are!”

Mia. I’m not sure how she found me, but she looked a mess doing so. Her once perfect bun was a stray hair, wirey mess, the white flower missing 3 petals. Her dress, heels and legs were caked in light mud, a few leaves speckled around her shoulders.

The sight didn’t help my guilt.

I let out a deep sigh. “What are you doing here?”

“Me?!” Mia huffed, heels squelching in the mud before she flopped down beside me. “I could ask you the same thing. What even was that back there? Everyone’s talking about the rejection… saying all kinds of things, and I don’t know what to think. Then you just, took off.”

Her brows were drawn tight, not with anger, just worry. My eyes stayed on the water.

“You’ll know soon,” I murmured. “He’s close.”

Mia tilted her head. “He? Like Callum? Or… who?”

I could’ve answered. I didn’t.

She sighed and leaned back against the cold stone. “Liora, whatever this is… I’d like to help. We could sneak off to the bathroom, fix our faces, fix your dress, and walk back into that ballroom like queens. Who cares what they say? You never have before.”

My mouth might as well have been sewn shut. I kept fidgeting with the frayed edge of my dress, ripped during the run, willing myself to say something.

Mia was still watching me, I could feel it burning. But instead of pressing, she reached into her clutch, pulled out a tiny sewing kit, and knelt forward with a determined sigh. She tugged the torn hem of my gown toward her lap.

“Well, if you’re going to mourn or brood or whatever this is,” she muttered, threading a needle, “you might as well look good doing it.”

I almost smiled. Almost.

I watched her steady, graceful hands work, and felt the sharp twist of guilt settle in my chest. I didn’t deserve her kindness. Not after everything.

“Mia,” I said quietly, “there’s something you should—”

A sharp giggle split the quiet.

We both froze.

From the shadows beyond the hedges, Jessica stepped into view, flanked by two girls I didn’t recognize by name, but I knew the look in their eyes: smug, hungry, and eager for chaos. One twirled a pair of silver scissors like it was a game. The other held a small glass jar filled with thick red ink that glistened like blood under the moonlight.

“Well, well,” Jessica sneered, arms crossed. “Queen of the mutts. You’re harder to track down than I thought, especially after that little stunt you pulled inside. Always need the attention on you, huh?.”

I rose slowly, tugging Mia up with me. Every instinct screamed that this was bad.

“What do you want, Jessica?” I asked, voice low, feet already tensed to run if I had to.

She laughed cold and pointed to the fading scratch across her cheek. “Did you forget this?” Her finger hovered like a dagger. “You messed up my face. That was your first mistake.”