Chapter 83: The Truth

Olivia’s POV

For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood him. I searched his face, waiting for the familiar teasing smile he usually wore whenever he said something inappropriate. But there was no smile this time.

​"You... you’re in love with me?" I asked, barely recognizing my own voice.

​"Yes," he answered without hesitation.

​I stared at him in disbelief. Lucas? Alpha King Lucas? He was in love with me?

​"I know this isn’t the best time to tell you," he continued, letting out a slow breath. "And believe me, I never planned to say it like this. But I’m tired of pretending that what I feel for you is nothing serious."

​He moved away from me and stood beside the bed, his hands resting on his hips.

​"At first, I thought I was only attracted to you. You’re beautiful, and I enjoy being around you. I told myself it would pass eventually." He shook his head. "But it didn’t. Instead, I started looking forward to seeing you. I’d find myself wondering whether you’d eaten, whether you were happy, and why you always looked like you had something weighing on your mind."

​My chest tightened as I listened to him.

​"Every time I see you with Lucian, I get jealous," he admitted. "And tonight, when I realized you were in trouble, I didn’t even stop to think about what Lucian would do if he found out I was helping you." Lucas shook his head. "That’s when I realized I couldn’t keep pretending this was just attraction."

​I couldn’t speak. He loved me. Lucas actually loved me. And the worst part was that I couldn’t even allow myself to feel happy about it.

​Because he didn’t know who I was.

​He loved Princess Annabel, the beautiful princess he believed had married his younger brother. He didn’t know that the woman sitting in front of him was Olivia, a palace maid who had spent six years serving that same princess.

​Would he still be looking at me this way if he knew? Would he still be speaking so gently? Would he still say he loved me if he discovered that I had been lying to him from the very beginning?

​I let out a bitter little laugh and shook my head.

​"You love me?" I asked quietly.

​"Yes," Lucas answered, his expression serious.

​"You won’t say that again after you know the truth."

​Lucas frowned and moved closer. "What could you possibly tell me that would make you so certain of that?"

​I looked away, fighting the tears threatening to fall again. "You don’t understand what you’re asking."

​"Then explain it to me."

​"It’s not that simple, Lucas."

​"Then help me understand," he insisted, lowering himself slightly so we were looking directly at each other. "Whatever Owen has been threatening you with, I promise I won’t let him hurt you."

​I shook my head. "You can’t promise that."

​"Why not?"

​"Because what he’s threatening to reveal could destroy everything!" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

​Lucas went still.

​I immediately regretted raising my voice. My eyes darted toward the bedroom door, half expecting someone to have heard me. Thankfully, the room remained quiet.

​Lucas followed my gaze before looking back at me.

​"So he is blackmailing you," he said slowly.

​I pressed my lips together.

​"And the money Lucian found at the bookshop," he continued, studying my expression. "That was for Owen to shut up, wasn’t it?"

​I lowered my head.

​Lucas let out a slow breath. "Annabel, look at me. Has he been demanding money from you in exchange for keeping something secret?"

​I hesitated before giving a small nod.

​His jaw tightened.

​"How long has this been going on?"

​"Please, Lucas," I whispered. "I can’t answer all these questions."

​"Has he threatened to tell Lucian?" he asked, his voice becoming more serious.

​I nodded again.

​Lucas stood upright, looking visibly angry now, but something told me his anger wasn’t directed at me.

​"That bastard," he muttered.

​He walked a few steps away before turning back toward me.

​"Listen to me carefully. Whatever he knows, you don’t have to keep paying him to stay quiet. Men like Owen don’t stop after getting what they want once. They’ll keep coming back because they know you’re afraid."

​"I know," I admitted, my voice breaking. "But what else am I supposed to do? If he tells Lucian, everything will be over."

​"Then tell me before he does," Lucas replied firmly. "Give me a chance to help you."

​I looked up at him. "Even if the truth is something terrible?"

​"Even then," he answered.

​"Even if I’ve been lying to you?"

​Lucas hesitated briefly, but when he answered, his voice remained steady. "Then tell me why."

​I stared at him, unable to understand how he could sound so confident when he had absolutely no idea what I was hiding.

​"You’ll regret saying that," I whispered.

​Lucas stepped closer. "Then dare me."

​I blinked. "What?"

​"Tell me the truth, Annabel. Tell me whatever it is you’re so afraid of, and let me prove you wrong."

​He reached for my hand, but stopped when he noticed me hesitate.

​"I love you," he said quietly. "I can’t hate or punish the woman I love. And I won’t stand by while someone uses her fear to control her."

​My eyes burned with fresh tears. Here was a man promising to protect me from everything, including his own brother, without knowing that I was probably the last person he should be protecting.

​Lucas sighed and lowered himself onto the bed beside me, leaving a little space between us.

​"Whatever it is you’re hiding, tell me," he said quietly. "Let me decide how I feel about you after I know the truth."

​I stared at him for several seconds. He looked sincere, and I wanted desperately to believe him. But I had seen enough in my life to know that people could make promises they had no intention of keeping.

​Still, I couldn’t keep this lie going forever. I was exhausted. I was tired of pretending to be someone I wasn’t, tired of watching every word that came out of my mouth, and tired of wondering whether the next person who smiled at me already knew my secret.

​Every morning, I woke up as Princess Annabel. Every night, I went to bed terrified that someone would discover Olivia was still hiding underneath that name. I couldn’t even remember the last time someone had called me by my real name.

​And now Lucas was sitting beside me, promising to love and protect a woman who didn’t exist anymore.

​How much longer was I supposed to keep doing this?

​Besides, the truth was going to come out eventually. Owen knew, and the people who had forced me into this marriage knew. No matter how much money I gave Owen, there was no guarantee he would keep his mouth shut forever. He had already proven that he was willing to use my secret whenever he wanted something from me.

​If the truth was going to destroy my life, perhaps it was better to face it now than spend another day waiting for it to happen. At least this way, I would be the one telling it, rather than allowing Owen to use it against me again.

​I took a deep breath and wiped my wet cheeks with the back of my hand.

​"Lucas, before I tell you anything, I need you to understand something," I began, turning toward him.

​He nodded. "I’m listening."

​"I never wanted any of this to happen."

​His brows drew together, but he didn’t interrupt.

​"I didn’t come here because I wanted to deceive your brother. I didn’t want to marry him, and I certainly didn’t want to spend my life pretending to be someone else."

​Lucas studied me carefully. "Pretending to be someone else?"

​I nodded, but I couldn’t bring myself to explain that part yet.

​"I was scared," I continued, my voice shaking. "I was so scared, and I didn’t know what else to do. They told me I had no choice."

​"Who told you?" Lucas asked, leaning forward.

​I shook my head. "Please, just let me finish."

​He hesitated before nodding.

​I lowered my eyes to my hands again. "They told me that if I refused, terrible things would happen. And I believed them. I still believe them."

​My voice cracked, but I forced myself to continue.

​"Every single day since I arrived here, I’ve been afraid someone would find out. I thought I could keep pretending until I figured out a way to escape, but things kept getting more complicated."

​I swallowed hard.

​For some reason, my thoughts went to Lucian. I thought about the way he had looked at me that morning, how he had held me close and told me he wanted to treat me like his wife.

​What would happen when he discovered the truth? Would he remember those moments with disgust? Would he hate himself for touching me? Would he order my execution without even giving me a chance to explain?

​I quickly pushed those thoughts aside. I couldn’t think about Lucian right now, not when I was already struggling to find the courage to tell Lucas.

​"Annabel," Lucas called gently, noticing that I had gone quiet again.

​I flinched at the name, and he noticed.

​"Promise me something first," I said.

​"What is it?" he asked.

​"Promise you’ll let me explain everything before you decide what to do with me."

​Lucas looked at me for a long moment. Then he nodded.

​"I promise."

​I searched his face, trying to decide whether I could truly believe him. He looked sincere, but there was only one way to find out whether his feelings for me were as strong as he claimed.

​I closed my eyes and drew in a long, shaky breath.

​You can do this, Olivia. Just tell him.

​When I opened my eyes again, Lucas was still watching me. I took another breath. Then, before fear could stop me again, I finally forced the words out.

​"I’m not Princess Annabel."

​Lucas didn’t move. He didn’t blink in surprise or demand to know what I meant. He simply sat there, looking at me, his expression completely unreadable.

​I had expected him to jump to his feet or demand an explanation. Instead, he remained strangely calm, and somehow, that frightened me even more.

​"Lucas?" I whispered, searching his face for some sign of what he was thinking.

​He said nothing.

​I swallowed hard and forced myself to continue. "Because Princess Annabel is..."

​"Dead."

​The last word came from Lucas’s mouth.

​Not mine.