The King’s Daughter

Mistress Or Daughter

The celebration roared to life, a grandeur that felt almost unreal as laughter, cheers, and music echoed off the palace walls. The air buzzed with power and presence, but none of it compared to her.

She stood at the far end of the hall with her father—the King—by her side, her chin lifted, her shoulders square, and an ethereal grace that made everything around her fade into irrelevance. She was untouchable like a queen descended from legends. My breath stalled in my chest as I watched her, stunned into stillness.

It didn’t make sense.

Chloe had been in my life for years. Always there, always silent—a plain shadow at the edge of my world as I let it revolve around someone else. Serene. I never saw her… really saw her.

But now?

Now Chloe burned with a light I couldn’t tear my gaze from, and it unsettled me—made my teeth clench and my fists curl. How had I been so blind?

The gazes of the noblemen that trailed her like worship made something raw and unfamiliar coil in my chest—jealousy, possessiveness—an emotion I wasn’t ready to name. My heart gave an uneven tug as I watched them approach her one by one, trying to win her favor.

“She kept this from me.” The thought, bitter and sharp, gnawed at me as I stared across the room. She had always been this woman—a queen in waiting—and I’d ignored her, cast her aside like she was nothing.

“How does it feel, Alpha?” Seth’s voice broke into my spiraling thoughts. He stood beside me, his usual smirk present but his tone quiet, almost watchful. “To see the woman you rejected command a room like that?”

I said nothing, jaw ticking. I kept my gaze on Chloe as she met each nobleman with a polite nod, a fleeting smile that sent them stumbling over themselves. She kept her distance—imperial, untouchable.

My chest burned.

And for the first time in my life, I felt invisible. Forgotten.

Her eyes skimmed the hall until finally—finally—they swept in my direction. I froze, holding my breath. But there was no warmth there, no vulnerability that I could cling to, no hint of the woman who once loved me. Just a calm distance, like I was nothing but air in her world. She moved on without a second glance, leaving me standing in silence.

“That’s gotta sting,” Seth muttered with a low laugh. “You’re not used to being ignored, huh?”

“Shut up,” I growled under my breath, though the frustration sat heavy in my chest.

“You don’t like it.” He pressed on. “Seeing her with other men, hearing them talk about her like she’s theirs. Admit it.”

“She’s free to talk to whoever she wants.” The lie tasted bitter.

“Oh, is that what we’re calling jealousy these days?” Seth smirked. I glared at him, but he shrugged. “Suit yourself, Alpha.”

A soft laugh drew my attention away. Serene had arrived at my side, slipping her arm through mine. Her perfume—the one I used to love—felt sickening tonight.

“You’re awfully quiet this evening, Dylan,” she said, tilting her head so her golden hair spilled down her shoulder. She was smiling, but I knew that look—knew she was watching me watch Chloe.

“Just tired,” I said coldly.

Serene followed my line of sight, and when her gaze landed on Chloe, she scoffed. “Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about her.”

Her voice dropped into a whisper, sickly sweet yet laced with poison. “This act she’s putting on? It’s laughable. Chloe’s no royal princess, Dylan. She’s nothing but the King’s mistress.”

Her words struck me like a fist to the stomach. I turned to face her. “What are you talking about?”

“Poor thing.” She pouted. “You don’t believe me? Chloe isn’t the real princess. She’s just standing in for the one who couldn’t make it. It’s all for show.”

“That’s nonsense,” I snapped, but my gaze flickered back to Chloe across the room.

Serene quickly pulled out her phone. “I have proof.” She tapped a few times and then held it up for me. “Look. My friend knows the real princess. See?”

The screen showed two women—one with her face hidden by her hair, wearing an ornate bracelet, a royal heirloom. The other looked at the camera, unmistakably Serene’s so-called friend.

“The bracelet—”

“It’s the princess’s heirloom,” Serene said smugly, her voice low. “The real princess always wears it. The King brought Chloe here to save face when his daughter couldn’t attend. You think she”—she gestured toward Chloe with a disdainful flick of her wrist—“could ever truly matter? She’s nothing, Dylan. Nothing without you.”

Her words made bile rise in my throat. I turned my attention back to Chloe, where the King’s voice now rang through the hall.

“Tonight, I give you my most cherished treasure,” the King announced, silencing every voice in the room. He turned, pride shining in his eyes as he looked at her. “The light of my kingdom and my greatest joy—my daughter, Chloe.”

The hall erupted in cheers.

Chloe stood still as the spotlight fell on her, her serene smile dazzling beneath the golden lights. The King held her hand, and everyone bowed their heads, respect and reverence oozing from every corner.

And I? I couldn’t breathe.

“Daughter?” Seth murmured in shock beside me, though I could barely hear him over the roaring in my head.

‘No. No.’ I said internally.

At the same time, Serene’s words clawed at me, taunting, whispering in the cracks of my pride, and yet…

‘They couldn’t be true. Could they?’ I was skeptical and didn’t know what to believe.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms until they nearly drew blood. Chloe smiled as she stepped onto the dance floor, offering her hand to an Alpha who’d eagerly asked for her first dance.

I watched her move across the floor, graceful, radiant, untouchable as more and more nobles approached her, spinning her effortlessly as music poured around them, their hands on her waist, their smiles coaxing soft laughter from her lips. Her elegance stirred something deep in me.

And I hated it.

I hated how they looked at her. I hated how her laughter rang so soft and free without me. I hated—Goddess, I hated everything about tonight.

“She’s elusive now,” Serene muttered bitterly at my side, her grip still on my arm like a vice. “But you don’t believe it, do you? That she’s worth anything more than what you had? Let’s see how far her lies will carry her.”

She uttered but I wasn’t listening anymore.

Suddenly, Chloe stopped dancing. She smiled faintly at her partner before slipping through a doorway at the edge of the hall, toward the darkened hallway beyond.

At that, the pull was instinctive. I didn’t think—I just moved along.

“Dylan—what are you doing?” Serene hissed.

But I ignored her. My feet carried me forward, my blood pounding in my ears as I followed Chloe into the shadows.