Princess Sophia''s POV


    I didn''t know which was worse; the fact that everyone''s eyes were on me, or Alpha Bane''s eyes which never turned in any other direction save mine.


    I was utterly humiliated in the presence of everyone at the festival and Alpha Bane showed no signs of slowing down. He just wanted it to be that way. He had developed so much hatred for me and could I me him?


    As I stood there, face to face with him, I recalled all that I did to him. I remembered how he looked the moment he saw me with his brother in the room having sex. It was a devastating moment for him and me as he resigned to have nothing to do with me anymore after the incident.


    As I clenched my fists in fear, I wished I could turn back the hands of time. I wished there was something that I could do to change or remedy the situation but there wasn''t. I just had to face what was right in front of me.


    I didn''t like that he wanted me to answer his questions. There was nothing for me to say to him. I had done my best to deny it but it seemed like it was a waste of time. They had far too much evidence.


    I turned to my parents; my father especially, as I had the notion that my mom was already just waiting for something to happen to me so that she''d finally let me go. From the way that she treated Aurora, it was clear that she always preferred her to me in every way. It was almost as if she was desperate to rub it on my face that I wasn''t her real daughter.


    My father, on the other hand, was always on my side. He loved me to bits and despite all that happened, he still stood by me, assuring me that he was never going to leave my side. With all that he heard, it was always going to be very hard to fulfil that promise. I hoped for that but I wasn''t a fool.


    His face told the whole story. His eyes were teary and he could barely take his eyes off me. He didn''t say a word, but his visage spoke volumes. I could see and feel the disappointment springing forth from within him.


    He must have felt so betrayed. Perhaps, in his heart, he nursed the thought to head straight to where I was and hit me so hard. He wasn''t that kind of man though. He would never hit ady.


    Just then, Alpha Bane walked toward me and asked a question. "Can you say that all that I''ve said here isn''t the truth?"


    I said nothing to him. I felt like hitting him so hard for all the pain he had caused


    me. He decided to meddle in matters that didn''t concern him. If only he had stayed on his own. If only he had tried to mind his business, my secret would have never been revealed. We''d have all been alright and I wouldn''t have had to face the humiliation that I was facing. If only...


    It seemed like my father already had his answer as he sniffed back some tears to my shock. I''d never seen him cry all my life and it caused my heart to faint. I hated myself for all that I had done. I hated the way that I had treated him. I despised myself for bringing shame to a man who had shown me nothing but love all my life.


    "I''m so sorry, dad," I begged him, going down on my knees. "I don''t know what came over me. I''m so sorry. I''d never intended to hurt you or anything like that. I hate myself right now, dad. Please, forgive me."


    He looked intently at me and shook his head. "I can''t believe thatdy who has been my child for so many years would deem it fit to lie to me this way," he said, bowing his head and scratching his head with his right hand. "After everything that I''ve done for you, Sophia. I''ve always loved and cherished you so much, even to a fault, yet this is how you repay me?"


    "Please, dad. Have mercy on me," I kept pleading to him for his mercy. "Don''t turn your back on me, dad, even if I deserve that right now. Please, don''t leave me, dad. I swear I''ll never lie to you again. I promise, dad. I swear it."


    "I did everything for you, Sophia. Even when I found out that you weren''t our child,


    I epted you and still showered you with so much love. Why then would you do this to me and your mom? How could you be so wicked and heartless?"


    It was clear to me that he was never going to forgive me. I could tell not just by what he said but by the way that he said it. I knew that I was in trouble. What I didn''t know was how much trouble that I was in. My mind wouldn''t stop thinking about it.


    I turned to my friends, not knowing what else to do. I hoped that they were going


    to help me beg my father but their faces didn''t look weing at all.


    "Please," I begged them. "You have to help me beg him. Please, my friends, help me out."


    My pleas fell on deaf ears as they paid no attention to me. They even spat on the floor where I was. All, except for one who looked quitepassionate but probably didn''t want to get on the bad side of the other ones.


    They all sneered at me, refusing to offer any form of sympathy. If only I had known that they were that way, I would never have been friends with any of them. They aided me to taunt Aurora and even encouraged me to do so. Suddenly, they decided to abandon me in my weakest moment so that they wouldn''t be said to have anything to do with Sophia the traitor. It was such an eye-opener.


    My father, too, turned his focus elsewhere, paying no attention to any of us. He didn''t even look to be listening to anything that I had to say.


    He cleared his throat and turned back to me all of a sudden, letting go of the hands of my mother who had held both his hands to offer him some sce. "You''re a traitor, Sophia," he began. Those words hit me so hard, especially because they came from him. "You''re nothing but a traitor and you have to be treated as one!"


    The entire crowd began to scream at the same time. "Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!" They all chanted in unison, at the top of their voices and I just watched them with tears in my eyes, still on my knees.


    "I''ll never be able to forgive you for now," He said to me. "Not after what you have done. The fact that you tried to kill someone just makes me hate you, even more, Sophia. How could you?"


    He turned around to the guards and with his fingers, he signalled for them toe and they did. "Take her to the prison immediately and lock her up! I''ll decide what to do with her in theing days. Leave now!"


    They grabbed my hands quickly and began to drag me away as I did my best to resist them, kicking away into thin air for nothing. "Please," I cried to my father in thest attempt to get him to forgive me. I didn''t want to go back to a dungeon after thest experience. "Please, forgive me, dad. I''ll never fail you again."


    He said nothing and the guards kept dragging me to my soon-to-be abode.