Chapter 123:
Makenna’s POV:
My father finally got to the point. “You being favored by the three princes in the palace?”
“What are you getting at?”
Immediately, my guard went up.
A strange smile played on his lips as he began praising me in a way that made my skin crawl. “Good girl. I’m proud of you. You’ve only been in the palace for a short time, and already you’ve captured the attention of the princes. I’ve even heard rumors that they’ve been fighting over you. Is that true?”
His so-called praise felt slimy, like poison wrapped in sugar. I narrowed my eyes at him, wary. “What do you want?”
His smile grew even more fake, and he stepped closer, reaching out to place a hand on my shoulder.
I dodged his touch, revulsion curling in my stomach.
But he barely reacted, continuing with that same false warmth. “Makenna, there’s no grudge that can’t be forgiven between family. Now that you’re in the palace and have the favor of the princes, shouldn’t you think about your family too? The princes have access to so many resources. Couldn’t you use some of that to help the family business?”
I was completely stunned by their shamelessness.
When they sent me to the palace, they showed not an ounce of concern for my well-being.
They probably thought that whether I lived or died didn’t matter to them at all.
“Don’t think about it!” I snapped, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “You abandoned me, and now you want to call me family? Why should I help you?”
Irene’s fake smile faltered for a second, and my father’s face darkened instantly. He barked, “Makenna! You think you can defy me now that you’ve grown stronger?”
I met his cold gaze, my voice steady. “Since you sent me to the palace, I stopped being your daughter. How can I be defying you?”
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“Do you really not care about family at all?” my father roared, clearly struggling to accept my defiance. He was so used to my obedient, submissive self that he couldn’t comprehend my resistance.
I nearly laughed at the ridiculousness. They sent me to the palace, and they didn’t give a damn about family, but now they wanted to pull the family card? How convenient for them.
My father became more diplomatic after realizing that his strict methods were not working. “We didn’t have an option back then, Makenna. The family company was struggling. To keep things afloat, we had to send one of you to the palace to obtain the bonus money. We are family. We all prosper when we do.”
Irene added her voice to what he was saying. “Exactly. It was our only choice, Makenna. That’s something you need to realize.”
“Do you really think I’d believe that nonsense?” I sneered. “You threw me away because you couldn’t part with the bonus money and couldn’t bear to send Jessica. Would you say I’m blind?”
Their quickness to sacrifice me showed exactly where I stood in their lives—utterly disposable. I realized long ago that my father no longer saw me as his daughter.
And Jessica’s affair with Frank? That hadn’t just started. I refused to believe my father hadn’t known about it, yet they all chose to keep me in the dark.
I was nothing more than a pawn, someone to be discarded whenever it fit them, in the eyes of my so-called family and lover from the start.
My refusal to be manipulated any further made both my father and stepmother drop their pretenses. Their expressions darkened, their patience wearing thin.
