Olivia's POV
The morning sun spilled through the cracked shutters, scattering light across my face. It was warm, too warm, as if the universe mocked me for daring to sleep peacefully while my mother rotted in chains. I groaned, burying my face into the pillow, desperate to sink back into the comfort of nothingness.
But her voice haunted me.
"If I were there, I'd never let you laze in bed, Olivia. Get up, the world doesn't wait for us."
My eyes shot open. She wasn't here. She wasn't anywhere near me. I sat up sharply, anger and sorrow clashing like storms inside me. "How can I sleep while she's suffering?" I whispered. My chest burned as I forced myself out of bed, tidying my space with mechanical movements.
"After the celebration tonight," I muttered to myself, "I'll beg the Alpha again. For the fifth time. He has to let me see her."
By the time I reached the Alpha's castle, the empire's jewel was already alive with chaos. Banners stretched from balcony to balcony, gold and scarlet ribbons fluttering in the breeze. The wide marble stairs had been scrubbed spotless, and long tables lined the courtyard, already groaning under the weight of silver platters. Spices and roasting meats perfumed the air.
Servants darted left and right, balancing trays, carrying bundles of flowers, or shouting orders. Even the guards seemed restless, snapping at one another, their armor clinking as if tonight wasn't just a celebration but a test.
And it was. Mal's eighteenth birthday. The night she would officially stand before the empire, courted, celebrated, elevated.
I swallowed bitterness like bile. Once, I would have been helping her dress for the occasion. Once, I would have been at her side laughing, teasing her about whether she'd trip in front of the guests. But that girl—the Mal I'd once called my sister—was long gone. Or so I thought.
A guard barked my assignment: clean the triplets' chambers. But before I could climb the stairs, another guard intercepted me.
"Mal requests you in her room," he said curtly.
I stiffened. "What does she want this time?" I hissed under my breath, but obeyed.
I knocked.
Her soft voice, sweet as honey yet sharp as glass, called out: "Come in."
Her chambers looked like the treasury of a queen. Gifts upon gifts cluttered every corner—silk boxes, golden-wrapped packages, delicate perfumes, shining jewels. The sight made my heart clench. While my mother wasted away in a dungeon, Mal was drowning in riches.
I lingered near the wall as Mal gleefully pulled out one gift after another. She didn't look at me—no, I was simply there to be her audience.
She lifted a diamond necklace that caught the light in blinding sparks. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asked.
I forced my lips into a smile. "Yes… it's beautiful, my lady."
Her smirk widened. "Levi gifted it to me. I do hope you won't steal this one from me."
The words sliced through me like daggers. My chest tightened, rage and humiliation crashing together.
She ignored my stillness and moved to the next gift, a golden gown that shimmered like sunlight. "Leo chose this. Perhaps I'll wear it for our wedding."
Wedding. My throat constricted, but before I could speak, she reached for a smaller box, a ring box. I didn't need to see it to know—it was Lex's.
When she opened it, the red ruby glimmered like blood. Mal's grin turned wicked. "Lex is a true husband… and a good fucker too. He fucks me so hard, Olivia, I feel it in my stomach."
The words froze me. My veins turned to ice. She looked at me then—long and sharp, savoring the way I flinched.
"You're dismissed," she said lightly, as though she hadn't just gutted me.
Something inside me snapped. I spun toward the door, but instead of leaving, I turned back.
"Mal!"
She froze, startled by the venom in my voice. Her eyes narrowed as she turned.
"Why?" I demanded, my voice breaking. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to deserve this cruelty? We were friends—best friends. When my father was imprisoned and his title stripped away, you changed. Suddenly, you treated me like filth. Why?"
Mal's lips parted, but no sound came. My words hung in the air, sharp as knives.
"I just want to know," I whispered. My hands trembled at my sides. "Tell me why… please. I can't keep living in this guilt, wondering what I did wrong."
Her expression cracked. And then, for the first time in years, I saw tears well in Mal's eyes.
"Because I was jealous, Olivia!" she burst out. Her voice trembled, heavy with years of swallowed pain.
I blinked, stunned.
"When we were little, you were always the Alpha's favorite. You roamed this castle like it belonged to you. The triplets—Lex, Levi, Leo—they fought dragons for you, promised to marry you, worshiped you like a goddess. And me?" Her voice broke. "I was nothing. I watched from the outside while the Alpha's sons called me a slut, said my blood wasn't good enough. But you… you had everything. And you didn't even see me standing there."
Her sobs filled the room, tearing through the polished mask she always wore.
My own tears blurred my sight. "I did see you, Mal. I always cared. Do you think I snuck out of my house, stole coins from my father's pockets, risked his wrath—why do you think I did all that? For you! Because you were my sister, the sister I never had. I loved you, Mal. I still love you."
Her hands flew to her mouth. She stared at me as though she'd never heard those words before. Then she stumbled forward, and before I could react, she was in my arms.
"I love you too," she whispered into my ear, her body shaking as she clung to me. "I was jealous. I only wanted you to feel the pain I felt… those years I watched you have what I never could."
I held her tightly, both of us trembling, both of us drowning in tears. "I feel your pain now, Mal," I murmured into her hair. "I do."
We clung to each other, lost in the memories of our childhood—two girls who once dreamed together, laughed together, loved each other like sisters.
But as I buried my face into her shoulder, a question burned in my chest, unyielding.
Was it you? Were you the one who betrayed me? The one who stole from the triplets and let the blame fall on me?
I didn't ask. Not yet. But the thought gnawed at me, a parasite in my heart.
I knew I would. One day soon, I'd have to ask.
And I prayed to the Moon Goddess that I was wrong.