Forced to Take the Blame, Reborn as Silverveil’s Royalty Chapter 07

Forced to Take the Blame, Reborn as Silverveil’s Royalty Chapter 07

The sunlight was beautiful.

I sat in the car and looked out at the city.

Skyscrapers rose in every direction. Traffic streamed through the streets.

This was a brand–new world, one without Lyra, without Ronan, and without any of that pain.

I could finally start over.

I spent the next month recovering at home.

And during that month, I lived a life I had never had before.

Every morning, my mother made breakfast for me herself.

It was not made by the staff.

She made it herself.

She told me I had loved her fried eggs when I was little. She said she was never that great at making them, but I had always cleaned my plate anyway.

My father was busy, but he still made time every day to play a game of chess with me.

He said no one had sat across from him at the board since I left to study abroad.

Darian came by almost every day.

Sometimes he watched movies with me. Sometimes he just sat beside me and read in silence.

“Isolde, you seem different,” he said one day out of nowhere.

My heart tightened. “Different?”

“Yeah.” He tilted his head and looked at me. “Gentler. You used to get impatient all the time. Now you actually listen when I talk. You smile at me.”

I tightened my fingers around his hand.

“I’m sorry.”

He laughed. “Why are you apologizing? I like this version of you.”

I loved that home.

I loved the warmth of that world.

I even started to believe that maybe I really could leave the past behind and begin a new life.

That lasted until the night the Systern appeared again.

“Warning: abnormal fluctuation detected in the original world.”

I was reading in the study, and the book nearly slipped from my hands when I heard that voice.

“What kind of abnormal fluctuation?”

“The host’s parents in the original world have reached a deal with the System in order to save the

host.”

The System’s voice remained as cold as ever.

“Terms of the deal: all family assets and part of their souls in exchange for the host’s return to the original world.”

I went still.

“They… want to bring me back?”

“Yes. The transaction has been completed. Forced recall will begin in ten seconds. Ten, nine,

eight…”

“Wait!” I shot to my feet. “I don’t want to go back! You told me I could choose to stay in this world!”

“Transaction priority supersedes host choice. Three, two, one-

“No-”

Everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed with thick bandages wrapped around my

neck.

The machines were still beeping.

The room was quiet.

I turned my eyes and saw someone asleep with her head resting beside the bed.

It was my mother.

She had lost so much weight. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her hair was a mess. She was still wearing the clothes from the mating ceremony, only now they were stained with blood that had dried into a dark red.

My father sat in a chair by the window with his eyes closed, his brow knotted tight.

They looked…

awful.

“Althea?”

My mother jerked awake. The instant she saw my eyes open, she sprang to her feet.

“Althea, you’re awake?!”

My father’s eyes flew open too, and he rushed over.

“Doctor! Doctor, she’s awake!” My mother hit the call button with shaking hands.

I looked at her.

I looked at my father.

And all I felt was cold.

“Why…” My voice came out hoarse and ragged. “Why did you save me?”

My mother burst into tears.

“Althea, I can’t live without you… I was wrong. I really know I was wrong…”

My father’s eyes were red too.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I never should’ve said those things. I never should’ve pushed you. Can you forgive me?”

The doctors and nurses came in to examine me.

My parents stood off to the side, watching so carefully it was as if they thought I might disappear

the next second.

After the examination, the doctor said I was lucky. The glass had come within inches of a major

artery. I was out of immediate danger for now, but I would need a long recovery.

Once the doctor left, the room was quiet again.

Only the three of us remained.

My mother sat beside the bed and took my hand.

This time, I did not pull away.

I did not have the strength to.

“Althea, I took care of everything,” she said softly, like she was afraid of startling me.

“The fifty thousand has been returned to your account. Lyra… I made Lyra move out, and I terminated her contract with the firm. From now on, I’ll only put you first. Okay?”

My father nodded at once.

“That’s right. From now on, I’ll focus on taking care of you. We can move to another city. Anywhere you want to go, we’ll go.”

They looked at me with nothing but pleading in their eyes.

But I was not moved at all.

I only found it laughable.