Rejected From Birth

I Am A Fake

~ Essence' POV ~

We usually get betrayed by the people whom we trust the most. This was something that I always knew, but I never thought that the only person who stood by my side once was someone who would eventually break my trust.

What is Alan doing here?

He is one of the best wizards in the kingdom and my only friend who, even after finding the truth, treated me like a princess.

Is he also one of them, but why?

Why is he glaring at me? I haven't done anything. I saw the smirk on Vivian's face and when she screamed in pain, I shook my head in disbelief.

"No. It was not me. I didn't stab her. She stabbed herself. Vivian is framing me, Alan. You have to believe me." I gazed into his hazel eyes that were filled with hatred and before I could explain myself, he carefully held Vivian and slapped me hard.

"Shut up! How could you, Essence? You might be jealous of her, but unlike you, she has lived a hard life. Can't you be a little understanding towards her? She lived the life that supposedly belonged to you." The man casted a disdainful gaze at me.

I know that I am just a fake and she was the real one.

Since when did these two have such a close relationship?

Alan immediately healed Vivian with his magic and he then nodded at the royal family.

"My daughter. Look at me. I need to be certain that you are not hurt anywhere." My namesake father and mother embraced their real daughter in their arms while Ryan grabbed my hair.

He punched me hard and my nose started bleeding, but that didn't stop him from expressing his anger.

"I have prepared everything. Put her inside the magic circle and wrap the silver chain around her throat and tie the end of the chains with some tree, so that she won't be able to escape." The man in the robe said while he signaled Ryan to drag me inside the circle.

I turned to gaze at Alan, but he was busy taking care of Vivian.

Did he ever consider me as his friend?

'You have lived quite a long time given your circumstances. You are such a great sister. You even accepted to die for me.' She said to me through mind-linking. Vivian was not looking anything like her past self.

"Argh! No! I haven't done anything wrong. So, why… why are you doing this?" I screamed.

Was it really my mistake that I was born as a wolfless girl? When I was little, they at least treated me like a princess. After my sixteenth birthday, people started to doubt me and on my eighteenth birthday, the real daughter returned to the Westross Kingdom.

The people who were supposed to protect me, when they got to know about the truth, they started to abuse me. No, it was not just them, but even the people of the kingdom despised my presence. I looked at the night sky and I sadly smiled when my eyes fell on the moon.

The full moon was slowly turning half blue and half red and that was something that had never happened in the kingdom.

No, there was a time that I saw a familiar scene.

That night was the night when I met that man for the first time.

The members of the royal family and Alan stood around the circle while Ryan put the chain around my throat and he then wrapped the end of the chain around an old tree.

It's hard… It's really hard.

I can't breathe and I feel like my energy is being sucked away.

"Why? Father… mother… What did I do?" I cried out loudly while I tried to remove the chains from my neck.

Ryan was enjoying seeing me struggling. Not even once did this heartless man consider me even as his mate, but I never thought that he would kill me. His hands were not even trembling.

What was I expecting from someone like them?

Alan intertwined his fingers with Vivian as she continued to shed fake tears for him. I coughed out blood.

The guy in the robe continued to mumble something under his breath and I was immediately surrounded by some black fire. I tried hard to see his face, but all I could see was a few strands of his silver hair.

There was only one person who had such hair, but that person died a long time ago. I tried to get out of the circle, but my father and everyone kicked me inside, so that I wouldn't be able to escape.

"With you gone, all our problems will be solved. So, die for us, Essence… die for the sake of this kingdom. You might not be my real daughter, but I did so much for you, didn't I? It's time for you to return that favor." My so-called father caressed the head of his real daughter when he said those words to me.

"I will make up for this in our next life, Essence. I don't think that I can live my life without Vivi anymore. If you are gone, then only Vivian can live a normal life, so why don't you make this sacrifice for the sake of our friendship?" Alan tightened the grip of the chains around my neck and I couldn't believe that I was hearing such words from someone like him. He used to treat me so nicely and sometimes he even raised his voice at others for my sake, so what happened to him?

Was he always like this?

My body was burning in the black fire and I knew that they were going to suck out even the last drop of my blood from my body, so that their princess would live a blissful life.

I only wanted to be loved by them… was I really asking for too much?

It's not like they have not burnt me before. Ryan kept a burning wood on my shoulder as someone complimented me in his presence.

My father locked me inside the dark dungeons many times and my mother made me starve as I didn't listen to them.

I was left all alone. There was nobody who needed me. I tightly clenched the pendant while I closed my eyes.

My heart that was already dead inside was filled only with resentment.

I gasped for air as I was not able to breathe properly. The smoke was getting into my lungs and my body was continuously turning black.

"No!" The guy in the robe yelled.

I have enough of this pain. I want all of them to pay for their sins.

All I wanted was to become a part of their family. It was not my fault that I was swapped with the real princess when I was just a baby. There were times when they treated me nicely, but when they got to know that I was a fake, they didn't think twice before discarding me.

"The next time the one who will die will not be me, but you all! I have lived all my life for your sake, but if there is something like a second chance, then I promise you that I will do everything in my power to erase your existence." I screamed one last time as everything around me started to be engulfed in darkness. I heard the rumble of thunder.

Darkness is something that no longer scares me.

'I am sorry… I am sorry, my child. It's all my fault. What do you want, my child? Do you want to ruin this place? Do you want revenge?' She asked me seriously.

What do I want?

'I don't want revenge. I will seek retribution against those people.Nobody is going to be spared. Justice will be served and I will be the one to do that.' I replied to her and the moment I expressed my wish to her, everything changed around me.

'I will do everything in my power to restore everything that was ruined because of me. Even if I have to put myself at risk, I will do it. It's the least that I can do for you.

So, if you find out the truth, then at least try to forgive me.' I heard the sweet voice of the moon goddess one last time and before I could ask her anything, I was suddenly welcomed by a bright light.

Why is she asking for my forgiveness and what truth is she talking about finding?

"How long are you planning to sleep, princess Essence?

Tsk, why am I the one assigned to take care of a useless princess like you? It's so unfair." The omega maid threw the iced cold water on my face to wake me up and when I opened my eyes, I looked around the room.

When my eyes fell on the gaudy gown that was prepared for me, I started to laugh.

Have I returned to the day when I lost everything and found out that I was a fake? The day when my nightmare became my reality.