?Chapter 611:


    At first, I convinced myself it was just my imagination. But after the events in the cafeteria, I could no longer deny what I had seen. The emotion in their eyes had been unmistakable, and the realization gutted me.


    A knock on my door jolted me from my thoughts. “Makenna, are you okay?”


    I quickly wiped away the tears streaking my face as I tried to steady my voice. “I’m fine, Alice. Don’t worry about me.”


    Rising from the bed, I smoothed the wrinkles in my clothes and ran my fingers through my hair in a feeble attempt to pull myself together.


    When I opened the door, Alice’s worried face made guilt w at my chest. “I’m sorry,” I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper. “I was too upset earlier to think about how my mood might affect you.”


    Alice stepped inside and took my hand gently. “Makenna, it’s okay. I understand. But I don’t think Bryan is the kind of person to fall in love with someone else easily. There’s probably more to this than meets the eye.”


    Her words were meant tofort, but I couldn’t help the bitter smile that tugged at my lips. I sank back onto the edge of the bed, my voice low andced with self-mockery. “I have no right to dictate where Bryan’s affections lie. Maybe their kindness toward me made me foolishly believe I was special. That was why seeing him treat another woman with the same tenderness today made me lose control of myself.”


    I let out a hollowugh, mocking my own naivety. “Looking back, I feel ridiculous.”


    My eyes burned again, tears threatening to spill, but I blinked them away stubbornly.


    “Makenna, you’re overthinking this,” Alice said, sitting beside me. “I’m sure Prince Bryan will exin everything soon. His care for you is obvious. I’ve seen it myself.”


    Her words lit a small spark of hope in me. Bryan had always treated me differently, hadn’t he? Perhaps he woulde to exin, to clear the storm raging in my heart.


    L?t??τ ch?ρτ?rs ιn g??l?ov?l??.??о??


    And so, I waited.


    The hours crept by, the sky darkening into night. Yet the knock I desperately longed for never came.


    Bryan didn’t show up.


    The next morning, I forced myself out of bed, summoning thest dregs of my energy, and headed to the training room. My heart felt like a lead weight in my chest, but I refused to let my emotions show.


    As soon as I stepped inside, mockingughter greeted me like a p to the face.


    “Well, if it isn’t Makenna!” a voice sneered. “Seems like Prince Bryan doesn’t care about you as much as you thought. Yesterday’s little scene was quite entertaining, wasn’t it? Ha-ha!”


    I turned toward the source of the jeering voice and found myself staring at the same woman who had shoved me the day before.


    I fixed her with a cold re, my fury zing.


    Her smug smirk made my blood boil.


    Without a second thought, I marched toward her, raised my hand, and pped her across the face with all the force I could muster.


    The sound of the p reverberated through the room as she stumbled and fell to the floor, stunned.


    “Ah! Makenna!” she shrieked, clutching her cheek as venom filled her eyes. “How dare you, a woman who’s fallen from grace, hit me! Do you still think you’re the princes’ favorite? Let me tell you something—I saw all three princes looking at Evelyn!”


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