{Third Person}

Alexander stood motionless near the door, his sharp gaze fixed entirely on Amara.

The strange reddish-blue veins beneath her skin were impossible to ignore now. Even wrapped in the blanket, parts of them still remained visible along her neck and arms.

Amara could barely breathe properly. Her eyes remained locked on Alexander as though waiting for him to do something or say something terrible.

Finally, Alexander spoke. "What are you?"

His voice was calm... too calm. And somehow, that frightened her even more.

Amara instinctively shook her head. "I..." Her voice trembled badly. "I don’t know..."

Alexander’s gaze darkened slightly. "You expect me to believe that?"

Amara immediately backed away another step. "No... I mean..." She struggled to steady her breathing. "I really don’t know what this is..."

The fear in her voice didn’t sound rehearsed, manipulative or terrified; rather, it sounded painfully genuine.

Alexander watched her silently. Then slowly, something inside him shifted. Because Amara did not look like someone whose secret had merely been exposed.

She looked shocked herself—completely shocked.

Her trembling hands kept touching her own arms as though she could not believe what she was seeing either.

And suddenly, Alexander realized something important. This reaction was new to her, too.

Amara looked as though this was the first time she had ever seen the marks spread across her body so clearly.

That realization immediately complicated everything again.

Alexander’s jaw tightened faintly. "Since when has this been happening?" he asked coldly.

Amara swallowed hard before answering shakily, "I... I don’t know..."

Her breathing remained uneven.

"When I was younger, I used to get sick during winter sometimes, but..." She looked down at her arms again, horror flashing across her face. "I’ve never seen this before."

Alexander studied her carefully... every reaction, every expression, every movement. And the more he watched, the harder it became to believe she was lying right now.

Amara’s fear was too real and too instinctive. Even her eyes had begun to turn red from panic.

"What are you going to do to me?" she whispered suddenly.

The question caused the atmosphere inside the room to shift instantly.

Alexander’s gaze lifted toward her face again. Amara clutched the blanket tighter around herself while staring at him fearfully.

"You think I lied to everyone," she continued softly, her voice trembling. "You think I deceived the palace..."

She looked genuinely terrified now. "And maybe I did, but I truly don’t know what I am," she admitted weakly.

Silence filled the room afterwards.

For several long seconds, Alexander said nothing at all. Instead, his gaze darkened completely as he stared at Amara, trembling before him.

The fear on her face no longer softened him the way it almost had moments ago. Rather, another realization struck him violently.

"You just admitted it," he said coldly as he took a step toward her. "You are not a Caldwell."

Amara’s breathing hitched. The words slammed into her so suddenly that her mind blanked for a second. And only then did she realize what she had done.

In her panic, she had practically confirmed everything herself.

Amara instinctively opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. And her silence alone was enough.

Something dangerous flashed through Alexander’s eyes. "You really dared..." he muttered.

The next second, he moved so quickly that Amara barely reacted before his hand closed tightly around her throat.

Amara gasped sharply.

The blanket nearly slipped from her body as Alexander shoved her backwards hard enough that she stumbled against the mirror behind her.

His grip tightened around her neck immediately.

"How dare you?" His voice was low now. Furious. "How dare you enter my kingdom pretending to be someone else?"

Amara grabbed his wrist instinctively, her eyes widening in panic. "Y-Your Highness..."

"Did you think this was a joke?" he demanded harshly as his grip tightened further.

Amara choked painfully, her face already beginning to turn red.

"You deceived the royal family," Alexander continued coldly. "You lived under my roof while hiding your identity from everyone."

Amara’s breathing became strained. "I..." she choked weakly. "I didn’t—"

"You didn’t what?" he snapped.

For the first time in weeks, genuine anger completely broke through Alexander’s control.

Because this woman—this fragile-looking woman standing before him, had actually dared to fool an entire kingdom.

She entered the palace under a false identity, accepted political marriage arrangements, and even after the anonymous letter surfaced, she continued pretending.

Alexander’s expression darkened further. "I should have left you in that dungeon the first time that letter appeared," he said coldly. "I should never have gone there to bring you out."

The words hit Amara harder than his grip. Tears instantly burned her eyes.

Meanwhile, Alexander’s hand tightened again unconsciously. "Were you never afraid of dying?" he demanded. "Or are you simply that arrogant?"

Amara could barely breathe properly anymore. Her fingers clawed weakly at his wrist while panic overtook her completely, but Alexander was too provoked to notice how frightened she truly was.

All he could see was deception.

Lies.

And the terrifying realization that she had been hiding this truth beside him all this time.

Fortunately, before things could worsen further, the bedroom door suddenly swung open.

"Your Highness!"

Mrs. Woods rushed inside in horror. The moment she saw Alexander holding Amara by the neck, tears immediately filled her eyes.

"Please!" she cried out desperately. "The servants may hear you!"

Those words finally cut through the room sharply enough for Alexander’s movements to stop.

Silence crashed heavily afterwards.

For several tense seconds, Alexander stared at Amara, struggling weakly beneath his grip. Then slowly, his fingers released her neck.

Amara stumbled backwards violently, coughing hard for air. Her hands flew immediately toward her throat as she struggled to breathe properly again.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face now.

Meanwhile, Alexander stepped back slowly, though the fury in his eyes had not disappeared.

Mrs. Woods hurried toward Amara immediately, helping steady her trembling body while shielding her protectively.

Alexander’s gaze remained terrifyingly cold. Then, finally, he looked toward Mrs. Woods and gave an order that made the atmosphere turn even heavier.

"Get this impersonator dressed," he said icily.

Amara flinched visibly at the word.

"And bring her to my side of the residence."

---

The moment Alexander left the bedroom, the atmosphere collapsed completely.

Amara’s legs gave out almost immediately. If Mrs. Woods had not caught her in time, she would have fallen straight to the floor.

"My Lady..." Mrs. Woods called softly, her own voice trembling slightly.

Amara could barely hear her properly.

Her entire body shook uncontrollably while tears gathered heavily in her eyes. She instinctively wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, as though trying to shield herself from the terror swallowing her whole.

Mrs. Woods’s heart ached at the sight. Especially when her gaze fell briefly on the visible red fingerprints bruising Amara’s neck.

The marks looked painfully clear against her pale skin. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Still, Mrs. Woods chose not to mention it. Instead, she gently helped Amara stand properly.

"My Lady," she said softly, trying her best to sound calm, "you need to wash up now."

Amara did not even know how she eventually reached the bathroom. Everything felt blurred and distant.

Her thoughts were too chaotic for her to focus properly on anything around her.

One moment, Mrs. Woods was helping her into the bathroom. The next, she found herself sitting inside the hot bath while steam curled heavily around her trembling body.

But unlike before, she no longer felt cold. Not at all.

The strange veins beneath her skin remained boldly visible despite the warmth of the water, stretching across her arms and shoulders in terrifying detail.

Amara stared at them blankly. Then, slowly, her eyes began to fill with tears again.

Fear pressed so heavily against her chest that breathing itself became difficult.

Alexander knew which meant everything was over now. And the worst part was that she did not fully understand the truth herself.

Amara lowered her trembling hands into the water and shut her eyes tightly.

’This is not my fault,’ she said to herself.

She had not even known she was not her family’s biological daughter until the very night before she was sent away to the Werewolf Kingdom.

The memory returned so vividly now that it made her chest ache. And now, everything had finally exploded.

Amara’s breathing became uneven again. ’What would Alexander do to me now?’

The thought alone terrified her because she understood perfectly well how grave this situation was.

Impersonating a political bride. Entering another kingdom under a false identity. Deceiving the Werewolf Royal Family.

This was not merely a scandal. It was a capital offence punishable by execution. And not only her, but her family could suffer for it as well.

Worse, if this matter escalated politically, it could trigger a serious conflict between the two kingdoms.

Amara suddenly shivered violently despite the heat surrounding her.

Fear crawled through every part of her body now, especially when she remembered Alexander’s expression moments ago.

The fury in his eyes.

The hatred in his voice.

The way his hand tightened around her throat.

Amara instinctively touched her neck again. Her fingers trembled badly.

And the thought that she would soon be taken before him again frightened her more than anything else.

Because deep down, she truly did not know whether she would survive this.