Free Web NovelChapter 28: Chapter 28: Locked Inside
Ryophlira POV
The air inside the bridal boutique had turned thick and stagnant. Walking back into the main lobby, lifting the torn, heavy gold lace of my skirts, I found Mother standing by the front counter, inspecting a dress as if nothing had happened.
But my blood ran completely cold the moment I scanned the room.
Her lady-in-waiting was gone.
A heavy, suffocating knot tightened in my stomach. Mother’s lady-in-waiting never left her side. She was a silent ghost, a lethal extension of Mother’s own will who existed entirely in the shadows, waiting for a command to strike. For her to be missing meant only one thing: trouble. Deep, dangerous trouble.
"Let’s go. We are having a family meeting," Mother had said, walking right past me without a single glance. Her voice carried a flat, mechanical calm that was far more terrifying than any scream.
"Wait, I didn’t even pick a dress—"
"I picked one for you. Get in the car."
I hadn’t been afraid of my mother since I was a child, but in that moment a cold spike of genuine dread pierced my chest. I could feel the sheer, radiating heat of my mother’s anger rolling off her in waves. I was terrified. It was a sickening, the childhood instinct to run and hide clawed its way back into my throat.
Without another word, I chased after her and Ari, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my chest. The car ride back to the palace was a tomb of absolute silence. Nobody spoke. Nobody looked at each other.
When the vehicle finally pulled up to the grand archway of the palace, it was Mother’s lady-in-waiting who stepped forward to open the door. She stood there, expressionless, her hands folded neatly beneath her sleeves. She reached out, silently taking the garment bags containing the dress from Mother’s grip.
"Come with me," Mother commanded, her voice cutting through the courtyard.
We marched through the echoing stone corridors, the silence broken only by the sharp, click of Mother’s heels. She led us straight into Father’s private study.
The heavy doors swung open to reveal my brother leaning against the heavy bookshelves, while Aiyolistra sat elegantly in armchair, her posture perfect, though her eyes gleamed with a vicious, triumphant light. Father sat behind his grand desk, his face carved from stone, looking just as deeply irritated as Mother. Mother walked in and took her seat directly next to Father, forming a unified, terrifying front.
Ari closed the heavy double doors behind us, shutting out the rest of the world as I quietly took a seat next to my brother.
"This house has been driven into madness over a change in agreements, and it has to stop," Father spoke first, his deep voice vibrating with absolute exhaustion and anger. "We are family. We have already lost loyal members of this household who have been with us for years over this matter. I refuse to lose any of my children."
Mother took over, her sharp eyes locking onto mine before drifting to my sister. "Ryophlira. You and your sister, we have seen for years, have not been very close. But we thought over time you both would grow out of it. I now see that I was entirely wrong. And with this matter regarding the new King of the North, it has only gotten worse."
She paused, her expression softening just a fraction as she turned her gaze fully to Aiyolistra. "Aiyolistra, I know that this is incredibly hard for you. You have always been fond of Yue-Senn." It was the first time I had ever heard my mother call him by his actual name, rather than his formal title.
"Since you both were children back in the day, we truly thought that after the war, this marriage would work best," Mother continued, her voice heavy with regret. "But he does not feel that way, and I am deeply, deeply sorry, my child."
Then, her gaze snapped back to me, cold and probing. "As for you, Ryophlira... I am entirely unsure why and how you two have gotten so incredibly close in the short span of the past few days. But I must warn you to be cautious."
Father chipped in, his fist slamming lightly onto the desk. "He is not a man you should ever trust or rely on, Ryophlira. His people are liars and master manipulators."
I sat there, completely bewildered, my mind spinning in circles. I was entirely confused as to why we were having this conversation, or what plot was unfolding beneath our feet.
"I don’t know what is going on right now," I said, my voice rising as I defended myself. "I did my duty as the princess of this kingdom. I did what was asked of me as the person responsible for starting the war in the first place—although I don’t even remember much of it! What have I done that was so wrong? Tell me!"
"Oh, really? You’re acting like you don’t know?" my sister jumped in from the other side of the room, her voice dripping with venomous mockery.
I whipped my head around, glaring at Aiyolistra where she sat lounging in an armchair.
"You accepted what was not yours, and what was never yours to begin with," Aiyolistra hissed, her eyes flashing with a dangerous, psychotic light. "Then you sneak out to meet him? You had him hidden away in your room... or did you forget, you little slut?"
The word slut hung in the air, slicing through me like a physical blade. A profound, crushing sadness washed over my anger, heavy and suffocating.
"I never once hated you, Ail," I whispered, my voice cracking as I stared across the room at my own flesh and blood. "I have always loved you. I looked up to you my entire life. But you... you hate me just for existing."
Hearing those words, that absolute, unprovoked hatred, vocalized by my own flesh and blood tore at something fragile in my chest.
"Silence!" Mother roared, standing up so fast her chair screeched against the floorboards.
Her eyes glowed, threatened to suffocate the room.
"I hated you both at one point," my brother spoke up suddenly, his deep rumble breaking the suffocating tension between us.
We both snapped our heads to look at him. He shifted his , "I was the only child for a time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then you two brats came along, and suddenly I had to share our parents’ love and my damn food with both of you. But here today? I love you both more than anything in this world. And seeing an arrogant, smug northern boy come between the two of you is deeply disappointing... and fucking irritating."
"All of you, just be quiet," Father commanded, his voice carrying the finality of a king’s decree.
He stood up, resting his hands on his desk. "All three of you are staying in one room for the night. You are going to sort out your differences, or not a single soul leaves this damn room—even for that fucking wedding."
"Wait, what?!" I protested, bolting up from the sofa. "What did I do that requires me to be locked in a room with these two?!"
"Who told you to speak?" Mother warned, her glowing eyes snapping to mine, the air pressure dropping dangerously. "If you guys break a single piece of furniture, or destroy anything in this room, I will personally make sure to torture you all, one by one, as painfully as I possibly can."
"Before you go," I interjected, as I raised a finger, pointing directly at her neck. "Can we please address the massive hickeys on her neck?"
"We have already discussed it," Father said coldly, his eyes dismissing the issue entirely. "Your sister and the Prince of the South are in an established relationship. We will have a thorough conversation with her after the three of you fix your issues."
Father began to step out from behind his desk to leave. freewёbnoνel.com
The words echoed in my ears, making my blood run completely cold. The Prince of the South.
"You lying bitch!" I screamed, my voice cracking as I lunged forward.
Aiyolistra didn’t even flinch. She simply tilted her head, looked right at me, and childishly stuck her tongue out, her eyes dancing with absolute malice.
"The same South who insulted our kingdom and our mother?!" I yelled. "The exact same South who forced you to kill your own lady-in-waiting and your personal maids to cover up their tracks?!"
Crack.
The sound was deafening.
Before I could even register her movement, Mother had crossed the room. Her palm connected violently with my cheek, the force of the blow snapping my head to the side. The sting was immediate, a burning fire radiating across my skin.
"All of you. Fix it by the end of the night," Mother whispered, her voice dead, cold, and final.
Without looking back, Mother turned and walked out of the study. Father let out a long, heavy sigh, shook his head in absolute disappointment, and followed closely behind her, the heavy doors slamming shut and locking from the outside with a heavy, magical click.
I stood frozen, my breath catching in my throat as I slowly raised a trembling hand to touch the burning skin where my mother had just slapped me. The humiliation, the sheer injustice of it felt like acid in my veins.
My brother immediately stepped into my space, his massive arms reaching out to pull me into a protective hug. "Ry... Ry, are you okay?"
"Don’t touch me!" I shoved his chest, knocking his hands away as I stumbled backward.
From the corner of the room, the sound of soft, malicious giggling echoed.
I turned my head slowly. Aiyolistra was leaning back in her chair, laughing, her eyes wide with a sick, twisted satisfaction. Looking at her warped, beautiful face, a cold, unshakeable realization settled deep into my bones.
There was no fixing this. There was no sorting out our differences. From this exact moment onward, I knew with absolute certainty that our relationship was never going to recover. It was only going to get worse, deadlier, and far more monstrous.
And we were locked in this room together until morning.
