Chapter One Hundred and Thirty Four
She had watched from the backseat as the armored gate slid shut behind them; each metal plate a reminder she’d come dangerously close to something she hadn’t intended.
She rested her head as she relaxed in the chair. She shut her eyes and none of the men dared to ask her any questions.
After minutes of driving, she heard the sound of gates opening. It was when she knew they had gotten to their Villa. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
The rain-slicked driveway blurred as they got to her Suite. Her men filed out, their rifles secured, and posture taut. When she raised her head, she saw her father. None dared meet her father’s gaze.
For once, silence felt heavier than any gunmetal.
Her father stood at her front door, the wind tugging his robes as he paced; unusual, unnerving. No matter what she had done, he had never emerged to meet her outside the Villa gates before. He would always call her to his library but today, he was here.
That twisted her stomach.
She stepped forward, unsnapping her holster as she exited the car. Guards parted like water, giving her room. Her boots hit the stone pathway before she looked up. There he was, tall and still, every inch the patriarch.
Every inch judging.
He folded his arms, rain spattering his sleeves.
"What did I hear..." he began, voice low, old bones clicking like a metronome. "Is it true you went to Ahmet’s Villa to exact revenge?"
She met his eyes. Cold. Measured. "Part of the plan."
He lifted a brow. "Plan?"
"Yes." She took a breath. "I needed to survey their defenses. See how fast they could lock down. It was just the perfect moment since they had Cole. Perfect moment to test. I needed to know my men were ready to. Now I know for sure, we are ready. They sealed the gate in nine seconds. Lights shut down in four."
Her father watched her, expression inscrutable as thunder rolled overhead.
"You studied their systems?"
"Locked down timelines, power grids, fail-safes. If this ever goes hot... When the time ever comes, we will know which buttons to press, and what to do."
He nodded, flat and slow.
’’Demir returns tomorrow," he said. "He inherits. You do your duty."
She stood still as stone.
There was no thunder, no lightning. No dramatic gasp of protest from the wind. Just the silence... and those two words.
Inherits. Duty.
Her throat tightened, but she forced it open.
She swallowed. "I will."
The words left her lips like ashes.
And just like that, it was dismissed. Not with anger. Not with blame. That, she could handle.
But this? This was colder than any punishment she had ever dealt.
She had bled for this empire. Killed for it. She had carved out enemies, scorched threats into dust, and given her youth, her body, and the last threads of her soul just to uphold the name that sat atop their crumbling dynasty.
He never used to say it, though everyone knew Demir was the one inheriting... even though she knew.
And now... Her adoptive father was saying it. She has always thought the crowning would just happen. No prior notice or invite.
Did Demir deserve the throne?
Was he not the son who went away? Or who got sent away?
Now she knew why he was here. She thought of it and many things ran through her mind but now she knew why... Her adoptive father had called him.
To crown him. Demir knew this. Why didn’t he tell her?
Why was everyone betraying her?
She clenched her jaw, careful not to let the tremble reach her father’s ears. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing what that one line had done to her.
She knew who she was to him. She was in a position. Never a person.
Marco didn’t say she should lead beside him. Not even guide him. She was nothing but a duty.
Just that one bitter decree.
And what burned more was that she did not say anything back. She couldn’t even ask what she was to the Villa or to her adoptive father.
She could just nod like the perfect ’daughter’ and whisper "I will," even as her lungs begged to scream.
Something she had spent years burying finally whispered in her head, ’Is this all I will ever be?’
He just turned and walked away, leaving her to the stones and her thoughts.


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