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070

Author: Presh Starr
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-21 00:47:54

VALARIE

I wasn’t looking for him.

But somehow, Carl always has a way of finding me, especially when I least expect, or want, to see him.

The palace corridor was unusually quiet, the kind of stillness that feels like it’s holding its breath. I’d only meant to slip out for a walk through the gardens, to clear my head and escape the suffocating silence of Tristan’s quarters.

But as I rounded the corner, there he was. Leaning casually against the wall like he owned the entire hallway. Dressed in all black, of course. He always did know how to make brooding look like an art form.

“Well, well,” he said, his voice smooth like honey with something sharp underneath. “Look who finally came out of hiding.”

I stilled, then lifted my chin. “If I’d known you were patrolling the corridors, I would’ve stayed inside.”

Carl grinned, lazy and unbothered. “Ouch. And here I was hoping for a warmer welcome.”

“Try knocking next time,” I muttered and turned to keep walking.

He caught up in two steps, falli
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  • THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE    073

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  • THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE    076

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    VALARIE I ran until my legs burned.Branches scratched my arms, and the cool wind tore through my hair, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.I didn’t know what scared me more, what had just happened or how it made me feel.When I finally reached the edge of the palace gardens, I slowed down, clutching a tree trunk for support, my breath coming in sharp gasps. My lips were still trembling. Not from the chill but from him.Carl.His name echoed like thunder in my head.What had I done?I slid down onto the damp grass, burying my face in my hands. My chest was tight, my mind spinning out of control. The warmth of his lips still lingered on mine. His touch had been so gentle, so unexpected, like a storm I didn’t see coming until it swallowed me whole.I hadn’t meant to kiss him.I hadn’t meant to lean in.But for a fleeting second, being with him made the pain stop. It made everything…….Frank, Lady Bianca, my sister, the lie I was living, fade into silence.And I hated that

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    CARLShe ran.She didn’t even look back.I stood there in the fading light of the hallway , my pulse pounding in my ears and my jaw tight enough to crack. The taste of her still lingered, sweet and defiant, and it infuriated me how much it rattled me. I wasn’t supposed to feel this.Not for her.Not for Tristan’s woman.But damn it, something about her made me reckless. Reckless enough to cross a line I’d sworn I wouldn’t. And watching her tear away from me like she was running from a wildfire… it sparked something dark and possessive in me.Because I saw it in her eyes.She felt it too.No matter how fast she ran, she wouldn’t outrun this. Outrun me.I let out a breath, raking a hand through my hair as I forced myself to calm down. The last thing I needed was for someone to come stumbling into the garden and catch me looking like a man whose world was slipping through his fingers.I had bigger things to focus on.The council had made their move. The people’s choice. That’s what they

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    VALARIE I avoided him like my life depended on it.Every hallway, every corridor, every damn corner of the palace , I made sure I was nowhere near Carl Blackwood.The second my eyes caught a glimpse of his silhouette, I would turn around, take another path, duck behind the nearest column or slip through a different door. It was exhausting. And it made my pulse race for all the wrong reasons.Because I wasn’t afraid of Carl.I was afraid of myself.Afraid of what happened that day in the garden.That moment , that stupid, careless, dangerous moment where I let my guard down and kissed him back.It had been a mistake.A terrible, impulsive mistake I’d spent every minute since trying to forget.But the truth was… I couldn’t.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the look in his eyes when his lips touched mine. That soft, unspoken plea. That touch of vulnerability hidden beneath his usual arrogant smirk. The way his hand lingered a second too long against my skin.And it terrified me.I be

  • THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE    079

    VANESSA My head throbbed.A deep, heavy ache that made it feel like my skull was splitting open. My eyelids were impossibly heavy, my vision a hazy blur of light and color. I could hear voices, distant and muffled, like I was underwater.Then a warmth, a hand wrapping around mine. A familiar touch. Another on my cheek. My name, soft, trembling.“Vanessa… baby, it’s mom… can you hear me?”I wanted to speak, but my throat felt like sandpaper, and my lips barely moved. I forced my eyes open, a step at a time, until shapes started to take form.Faces.Two of them.My parents.Tears glistened in my mother’s eyes, and my father , the man who rarely showed any emotion beyond stern disapproval looked like he was on the verge of breaking. I frowned, a deep crease forming on my forehead as I tried to piece together what was happening.Why did they look so scared?Why did I feel like I’d been asleep for years?“Vanessa,” my mother’s voice cracked, both hands now cupping my face. “Thank the moo

  • THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE    078

    VALARIE I ran until my legs burned.Branches scratched my arms, and the cool wind tore through my hair, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.I didn’t know what scared me more, what had just happened or how it made me feel.When I finally reached the edge of the palace gardens, I slowed down, clutching a tree trunk for support, my breath coming in sharp gasps. My lips were still trembling. Not from the chill but from him.Carl.His name echoed like thunder in my head.What had I done?I slid down onto the damp grass, burying my face in my hands. My chest was tight, my mind spinning out of control. The warmth of his lips still lingered on mine. His touch had been so gentle, so unexpected, like a storm I didn’t see coming until it swallowed me whole.I hadn’t meant to kiss him.I hadn’t meant to lean in.But for a fleeting second, being with him made the pain stop. It made everything…….Frank, Lady Bianca, my sister, the lie I was living, fade into silence.And I hated that

  • THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE    077

    CARLI knew how to wear charm like a second skin. The palace had become my stage these days, smiling at the right people, offering compliments that sounded sincere, laughing when I needed to, promising strength and peace for a kingdom that didn’t know it was being manipulated from the inside.They loved me for it. The nobles, the council, even the servants who whispered in corridors. Every smile I gave was calculated, every compliment a carefully placed piece in a game of strategy. But none of that mattered in the moment I saw her.Valarie.She was standing in the garden like she belonged to it. Like something tragic had rooted her there, still and quiet, her gaze far away. The wind played gently with her hair, and even though she didn’t notice me, I noticed everything about her.The way her shoulders were stiff, like she was trying to hold something in.The way her hands were clenched by her sides.The way pain clung to her silently, like an invisible fog she couldn’t shake.And some

  • THE ALPHA KING'S FAKE BRIDE    076

    VALARIE The call came just after sunset.I was alone in the chamber, brushing out my hair by the window letting the air flow in through the window. Tristan had been quiet lately, and though he hadn’t said a word, I felt the shift in him like we were dancing to a song that had changed tempo when I wasn’t looking.Then my phone rang.My heart stilled when I saw the name.Mother.We hadn’t spoken in weeks. Not because of bitterness, but because our silences were easier than our truths. My hand trembled slightly as I answered, pressing the phone to my ear, bracing myself.“Valarie,” my mother breathed on the other end.Her voice cracked. And just like that, my spine straightened. “What is it? What happened?”“She’s awake.”My heart dropped to the floor. For a second, I couldn’t find my voice.“She…….what?”“Your sister,” she said, sobbing now. “She opened her eyes, Valarie. She looked at me… she squeezed my hand. She’s awake. After all this time….”Her voice broke, and so did I.I pressed

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