Chapter 118: Engagement On Trial [II]

The king studied Sonia for a moment before addressing her directly.

"Is that true, young lady?"

The Prime Minister’s jaw tightened at that. He had warned Sonia before they arrived at the palace to mind her manners and, above all, to think carefully before speaking. But knowing his daughter, he had a feeling she would not back down so easily if she believed she was in the right. Sonia had always been selfish, placing her desires above everything else, and she rarely considered the consequences of her actions until they came crashing down on her. What frustrated him most was that she seemed incapable of understanding that a single wrong answer in this room could destroy years of carefully maintained relations between the Ashcroft family and the royal family. "Your Majesty, perhaps I could—"

The king turned his head toward him.

"I’m not asking you, Prime Minister. Let the young lady answer for herself. After all, this marriage concerns her as much as it concerns Prince Basil, does it not?"

Jonathan’s mouth closed. He could hardly argue without making matters worse, so he settled back in his seat, his expression carefully composed despite the irritation simmering beneath it.

Sonia, meanwhile, cleared her throat and raised her chin slightly. If she sensed the trouble her father was trying to prevent, she gave no indication of it. Instead, she seemed almost pleased that the king had addressed her directly, as though this were an opportunity to finally make her position known to everyone present. She had no intention of pretending to accept an arrangement she considered beneath her simply because the royal family expected her to.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Sonia!"

Eleanor hissed, her eyes widening in disbelief.

She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Had her daughter lost all sense of judgment?

Jonathan had warned Sonia to behave herself before they arrived at the palace, and Eleanor had expected her to at least have enough sense to think carefully before speaking. Instead, Sonia seemed determined to make matters worse with every word she uttered. Did she not understand that this was the king sitting before her? Even if she was unhappy with the engagement, there were ways to express her concerns without humiliating her fiancé before his own parents.

Tobias lowered his eyes, fighting the urge to bury his face in his hands.

Oh, my God. What kind of sister do I have?

He had known Sonia could be unreasonable, but this was something else entirely. She had not only confirmed the king’s accusation but had also placed herself in a position where she might insult the royal family all over again, simply because she could not bear the thought of marrying Basil. His sister genuinely seemed to believe that her personal preferences mattered more than the consequences of expressing them. Tobias could practically feel his father’s temper rising beside him, and for the first time since they had arrived at the palace, he had no doubt whatsoever that their family was in deep trouble.

The king’s expression hardened.

"You admit to calling Prince Basil a fake and an impostor?"

Sonia adjusted her posture, appearing more offended by the need to explain herself than by the accusation. She glanced briefly at Basil before returning her attention to the king.

"I was promised to the crown prince of this kingdom when we were children, Your Majesty. I was raised to believe that I would one day become the wife of the crown prince, whom we all believed to be Prince Basil. But now we know that he is not Your Majesties’ biological son. I don’t see why I should be expected to proceed with an arrangement that was made under such circumstances."

She spoke with such certainty that one might have thought she was the injured party, deceived by the royal family into accepting a marriage she would never have agreed to had she known the truth. There was no hesitation in her voice, no acknowledgment that Basil himself had done nothing to deserve her contempt. In Sonia’s mind, the discovery of his parentage had somehow invalidated everything they had shared and every promise their families had made.

A heavy silence settled over the room.

Eleanor looked as though she had been slapped. For a moment, she could only stare at her daughter, struggling to reconcile the young woman before her with the child she had raised. She had always known Sonia was spoiled, accustomed to getting what she wanted and rarely challenged when she crossed a line. But she had never imagined that her daughter would stand before the king and queen and openly justify insulting their son.

Has she no shame?

Eleanor wanted to reach across the room and shake some sense into her. Even if Sonia truly believed the engagement should end, she could have expressed herself with dignity. She could have shown some consideration for Basil, who had grown up believing himself to be the royal couple’s son and had only recently discovered the truth about his birth. Instead, Sonia had chosen to treat him as though his circumstances had diminished his worth as a person. And now she was defending that decision as if she had every right to do so.

Tobias’s shoulders sank slightly. His sister had somehow managed to make an already uncomfortable situation worse, and he could not imagine how their parents were supposed to salvage it.

Basil, however, remained remarkably calm. He neither interrupted Sonia nor attempted to defend himself. He sat beside Darius with his hands resting loosely in his lap, his expression giving away little of what he thought about her words. He did not appear surprised by her declaration, nor did he seem particularly interested in arguing with her.

That lack of reaction appeared to irritate Sonia more than an angry response might have. She had expected him to look hurt, perhaps to protest or remind everyone of the years they had spent betrothed to each other. Instead, Basil sat there as though her opinion meant very little to him.

And perhaps that was what bothered her most.

Darius, on the other hand, had stopped looking at Basil. His gaze settled on Sonia, the woman who had just called his prince a fake and an impostor. The faint trace of warmth that had lingered in his expression moments earlier disappeared, replaced by a coldness that made even Jonathan hesitate before shifting in his seat.

Whatever his private feelings about the engagement, Darius had no patience for someone who believed Basil’s parentage gave her permission to humiliate him. Basil had endured enough since the truth about his birth had come to light. He had lost the certainty of his place in the royal family, had been forced to confront the circumstances surrounding his existence, and had still managed to carry himself with dignity. Yet Sonia seemed to think that none of that mattered simply because he was not the king and queen’s biological child.

Darius made a quiet promise to himself.

Even if the king chose to let Sonia’s behavior pass without imposing any consequences, Darius would deal with her in his own way. He had no intention of allowing anyone to insult Basil so openly and walk away believing there would be no repercussions. He would not forget the contempt in her voice or the way she had spoken about his prince as though he were some defective object that had been delivered to her by mistake.

The queen’s expression had grown increasingly displeased. She glanced briefly at her husband, then returned her attention to Sonia, unable to conceal her distaste for the young woman’s attitude.

The king leaned back in his chair, regarding Sonia with a chilling composure.

"So, in your eyes, Prince Basil’s worth as a person depends on whether he was born to the queen and me?"

Sonia hesitated for the first time.

"That isn’t what I meant, Your Majesty."

"Isn’t it?" the queen asked, her voice sharper than she intended. "You were perfectly content with the arrangement when you believed Basil to be our biological son. Yet the moment you learned otherwise, you decided he was unworthy of you. You called my son a fake, an impostor, and declared that you should have been promised to Prince Darius instead."

Sonia’s cheeks warmed beneath the queen’s scrutiny.

Why are they making such a big deal out of this?

She had not invented the truth about Basil’s parentage. He was not their biological son, and she saw no reason why she should be expected to ignore that fact when it affected her future.

The royal family was acting as though she had committed some terrible offense simply by refusing to accept a marriage she no longer wanted. Surely, they could understand that she had every right to reconsider her future now that the circumstances had changed.

Yet the queen’s expression suggested that she considered Sonia’s reasoning not merely foolish but deeply offensive.

"Tell me, Lady Sonia," the queen continued, her gaze unwavering. "If the circumstances had been reversed, and Prince Darius had been raised believing himself to be our son, only for the truth to emerge that he was not, would you have considered him unworthy of you as well?"