Chapter 157:
Makenna’s POV:
As I made my way back to my house after bidding Clayton farewell, my mind was a tangled web of thoughts.
For the time being, I pushed aside the puzzling enigma of Clayton’s feelings toward me. Dealing with Frank could wait, but the looming shadow of Bryan was something I couldn’t ignore. I had no illusions about him letting me off lightly.
The sheer weight of the past few days bore down on me, too many things having happened in too short a time. My thoughts swirled in a chaotic maelstrom as I tried to figure out where to start.
With a heavy sigh, I pushed open the door to my house. Before I could even register what was happening, I was enveloped in a tight embrace.
Snapping out of my reverie, I looked up to see Alice.
“Alice?” I gasped in astonishment. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyes were red and brimming with tears as she released me, choking back sobs. “I thought something terrible had happened to you.”
I was taken aback. Lily, who stood just behind her, quickly explained, “Makenna, we had no idea where you’d been these past few days. We were both worried sick. Alice has been coming here every day, hoping you’d return.”
“Alice…” I murmured, deeply touched, tears welling up in my own eyes. No one had ever shown such concern for me before.
Lily shook her head, a wry smile playing on her lips. “If you hadn’t come back soon, Alice might have stormed the palace herself.”
Alice flushed with embarrassment, covering it with a cough. “I even went to the hospital looking for you, but when you weren’t there, I didn’t know where else to turn. So, I had no choice but to wait for you here.”
A warmth spread through my chest, and I gently patted her arm with a soft chuckle. “I’m alright, Alice. I’m back safe and sound. Now, let’s get inside. We can’t have this conversation standing in the doorway.”
I led Alice and Lily by the hand to the sofa. The moment we sat down, Alice bombarded me with questions.
𝙁𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝗀𝖆𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝗌․𝚌𝗈𝗆
“Makenna, what on earth happened at the wedding?” she asked, gripping my hand as if I might disappear again. “Where have you been recovering? Why didn’t you send us any word over the past few days?”
She fired off so many questions at once that I hardly knew where to begin.
Rubbing my temples, I exhaled a deep breath and began recounting the events of the wedding.
But I deliberately omitted any mention of the princes and especially left out the fact that Bryan had imprisoned me.
After all, I couldn’t simply lay bare the secrets of the royal family to Alice and Lily. And the thought of confessing that I’d been forced into intimate situations with the three princes was more than I could bear.
As Alice listened, her face twisted with fury. “Those people are worse than animals! They’re your family—how could they do something so vile?”
Lily echoed her outrage. “Absolutely! They’ve crossed every line.”
Their concern was like a balm to my bruised spirit. I smiled at them, hoping to soothe their anger. “I’m fine now. Please, don’t worry.”
But Alice was still fuming, clutching my hand tightly. “I’m just relieved you’re alright. Otherwise, I would have—”
“Alright, alright.” I cut her off quickly, fearing she might say something reckless that could bring the wrath of the royal family down on her. “Shouldn’t you be at training right now? Are you sure it’s okay for you to be here?”
My words caught Alice off guard, and her worried tone returned. “Makenna, you’ve been away from training for days. You wouldn’t know that we’ve been given a three-day break to prepare for the assessment of the sex slaves.”
