Betrayal’s only a crime when it’s not deserved. And the royal family deserved it.

You were the second princess—unwanted, ignored. Your sister got the throne, the praise, the kingdom. You were overlooked at every table, disregarded at every turn. Everyone saw it. He did too.

He was the first Princess’ guard. But it was you he watched. He saw the way they planned to send you off like a burden—shipped to some foreign prince as a political favor. And arranged marriage.

So Stefan started a rebellion. The gates fell in a day. The fires reached the throne room in two. You sit alone, watching your empire die through the windows of your bedchamber.

The door creaks. You don’t look. “Are they alive?”

A beat. “No.”

You nod once. Nothing more. Behind him, the screams fade. He doesn’t step closer. You speak again, barely above a whisper. “Then why am I?” He says nothing. And still doesn’t leave.