The Masked Princess Bound To The King She Hates
Princess Ella walks down the aisle to marry the man who destroyed her life.
Behind her mask lies a secret powerful enough to bring a kingdom to its knees-and a revenge plan years in the making. To the world, she is a quiet and obedient queen. In truth, she is a survivor who has come to finish what war began.
But King Augustine is not a man easily deceived.
Cold, intelligent, and dangerously observant, he quickly realizes his new bride is hiding more than she shows. Instead of exposing her, he watches... waits... and begins a silent game where every glance, every word, and every move becomes a test.
As tension builds inside the palace, a survivor from Ella's past arrives-someone who can reveal her identity and destroy everything she has planned.
Now trapped between revenge and survival, Ella must decide how far she is willing to go.
Because in a marriage built on lies, one truth could ruin them both-
or bring them closer than either ever intended.
Chapters
Share
Chapter 6
The palace was silent.
Not that quiet of peace.
This one bore something more--something alert, something that lingered in the intervals between footsteps and behind lowered tones.
King Augustine passed the corridor with a calm pace, his face unchanged, his pose as calm as ever. He did not seem to have been affected by what had happened in the council chamber to anyone who was watching.
But his thoughts were anything but still.
They know you lied.
The words were already in place.
Not all of them.
Not yet.
But enough.
Danger enough to start assuming form.
He stood in front of the high windows that looked out on the inner court. The light of morning fell upon the stone floor, pale and thin, and could not warm the extremities of the palace.
One hand behind his back, he stood in silence.
He had been questioned by the council.
The palace was starting to talk.
And now the lie was on the move.
Doubt in itself did not bother Augustine. Doubt was expected. Powerful men were never left unnoticed, gauged, weighed against rumor and anticipation.
It was a question of control.
And power was starting to change.
"Your Majesty."
A guard was standing a little way behind him.
Augustine made no turn. "Speak."
The guard said, We have started watching the council as you said. Lord Ferguson has already seen two of them this morning privately.
Of course he had.
"And?"
They are questioning about the queen.
Silence.
Predictable.
Keep on watching, said Augustine. Not the loudest voices--the quiet ones. The ones that other people listen to.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
And Ferguson, Augustine added, his voice becoming a little sharper. I would like to know all he does before he does it.
The guard bowed. "At once."
The footsteps faded.
Augustine stood still with his head stretched out.
Ferguson was not wanton.
This would not stop, said he.
It would grow.
He finally turned around and walked towards the chambers of the queen.
Ella saw it even before she realized it.
Not in words.
Not in anything addressed to her.
But in silence.
The corridors changed as she had entered them.
Servants bowed, as they always bowed--but now their eyes lingered a moment too long before they dropped.
Two maids standing together hushed as she passed.
One of the guards by the archway straightened, as though he had been caught at some mischief.
Nothing obvious.
Nothing that she could face.
But enough.
Sufficient to her knowledge.
Something had changed.
When she had gone back to her chamber the feeling had become certain.
The council.
The king.
The lie.
She walked up to the window, her hands mere brushes of the material of her sleeve as she gazed out over the palace grounds.
He lied on her behalf.
The idea came back.
Unwelcome.
Unsettling.
Such a man as Augustine did not do in vain.
Each word he uttered was weighty.
Each silence was intentional.
So why protect her?
The door was opened behind her.
Ella twitched a little, but did not turn immediately.
She had guessed who it was.
You have observed, Augustine, said.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
She turned slowly. I had no need to be told.
His eyes were fixed on her, and were unreadable.
Now they are looking at you, he said.
They were ever on the lookout, she answered.
"Not like this."
There was a moment of silence between them.
Ella crossed her arms. "You lied to them."
It wasn't a question.
Augustine shut the door. "Yes."
She was surprised by the simplicity of the answer.
"Why?" she asked.
He did not answer immediately.
Rather, he moved deeper into the room and his presence occupied the room without any effort.
Since the truth would have provided them with a reason, he said.
"For what?"
"To act."
Ella held his gaze.
"And now?"
Now, he said, they have nothing but doubt.
The words sank.
She turned away, her thoughts tightening
Worse still, doubt is worse, she said to herself.
To them, he said.
"For me."
That made him pause.
Just briefly.
But she noticed.
She glanced back at him. You left me the centre of their suspicion.
I made you more difficult to get at, he corrected.
The contrast bothered her.
She took a step closer.
You are talking like you are defending me.
"I am."
The response was too easy.
Too directly.
Ella looked at him attentively. "From what?"
Augustine never turned his head.
And what becomes of strong men when they suspect that you have something to conceal.
A shiver ran along her.
Since she was aware that he was correct.
He stepped closer.
To touch not enough.
Sufficient to move the air between them.
The council will not cease, he added. And Ferguson will not tarry.
Ella's pulse quickened. "You sound certain."
"I am."
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Then gradually his hand rose.
Ella stilled.
His fingers were close to the edge of her mask.
Not touching.
Not yet.
What changes, I said to myself, should I take this away?
Her breath caught.
Everything.
You have no right to ask that, she said.
A pause.
Then-
"No," he agreed.
His hand lowered.
Control. Always control.
Ella gave a breath that she had never known she was holding.
"You keep doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Acting as if you know something I don't."
His gaze held hers.
"I do."
She was frustrated.
"Then say it."
His response was swift.
"No."
The rejection was like a wall between them.
At last he withdrew.
Tomorrow night, there will be a gathering, he said.
Ella frowned. "The council?"
"The court," he corrected. "Which makes it worse."
Understanding settled slowly.
They desire to visit me.
They desire to criticize you.
Her hands clenched a little.
"And you're going to let them?"
Augustine's expression did not change.
I will leave it to them to believe that they have an opportunity.
The words were colder than she thought.
You are making this a game.
"No," he said. "I'm ending one."
Silence followed.
He walked to the door.
When anyone asks you point-blank, then tell him nothing.
"And if they don't stop?"
His hand was on the door.
"They will."
She frowned. But how are you certain?
He looked over his shoulder at her.
I want to know who dares.
And then he left.
The door closed.
Ella stood in her place.
Still.
Thinking.
The deception had not saved her.
It had exposed her.
The palace was now on the lookout.
The court was in waiting.
and somewhere out of it--
Somebody was about to find out the truth.
Keep Reading
The story is getting intense! Switch to App to
Unlock All Chapters
You may also like
9.1
Julian Laurent was known as the most notorious playboy in Rivermont, changing girlfriends as often as he changed his clothes and treating marriage like a joke.
Clara Sterling, on the other hand, had always been the most quiet and obedient daughter of the Sterling family. Raised as the heir since childhood, she had been flawless in every word and every gesture.
A family-arranged marriage forced these two complete opposites into the same life.
On their wedding night, Julian openly made out with a young model at a nightclub.
For the first time, Clara cast aside her propriety, slapping him and demanding a divorce on the spot.
But before the next day was over, their families had forced them to remarry.
This time, Julian managed to stay faithful for a month before he cheated again.
Clara filed for divorce once more, cutting ties with him completely.
However, that very same day, it was revealed that Clara was not the real daughter of the Sterling family, and she was thrown out.
At her lowest point, Julian found her and solemnly promised to protect her from then on.
They remarried again, and from that day forward, the scandals surrounding Julian ceased.
Everyone said Clara was lucky. Even her best friend insisted that Julian had truly settled down, and Clara believed it.
Until she saw him in a hospital corridor, holding her best friend's hand, his voice strained with deep emotion, "I never liked her. You're the one I've always loved!"
It turned out all of his tenderness had been a lie.
This time, she walked away and never looked back.
And the man who had once treated her as disposable only realized after she was gone that he had long since drowned in her quiet love, unable to escape.
9.1
Cora crash-landed her escape pod on a brutal alien planet, only to be immediately hunted by a massive six-eyed beast.
A colossal black wolf dropped from the canopy and crushed the beast's neck to save her. But before she could even breathe, the wolf transformed into a towering, naked primitive man with glowing gold eyes.
He hauled her back to his savage tribe, where she was instantly treated like garbage. The women sneered at her fragile human body, and the men eyed her like fresh meat.
The tribe leader's jealous daughter even handed her a waterskin laced with a terrifying alien breeding drug, hoping to turn Cora into a mindless spectacle of lust in front of the entire settlement.
"Drink. You look like you're dying," the daughter sneered, waiting for Cora to lose her mind.
Cora was terrified and completely out of her depth. She didn't understand why this lethal Alpha warrior looked at her with such dark, consuming possessiveness, or why he was willing to slaughter his own people just to protect her.
How was a stranded human supposed to survive in a terrifying world where every plant, beast, and local wanted her dead?
"BEEP! Critical Warning! Liquid contains high concentrations of alien aphrodisiac herbs," her implanted AI assistant suddenly echoed in her skull.
Looking at the hostile tribe and the fiercely protective Alpha shielding her, Cora silently activated her tech interface. She wasn't just going to be a helpless pet in this savage world.
9.2
When Alma's father stood in front of the bulldozers to protest, the energy company's thugs beat him half to death in the mud.
Instead of arresting the attackers, the police handcuffed her bleeding father and threw him into a cruiser.
"Stay back, kid," the officer barked, shoving Alma away.
Her father was denied bail and framed for assaulting an officer. The corrupt mayor just smiled and told her not to cause a scene. Meanwhile, the company mailed her weeping mother a severance check that barely covered a month of groceries.
Alma was forced to watch her family be completely destroyed by men with money and power.
Kneeling in the cold dirt where her father's blood had spilled, she didn't shed a single tear. The panic in her chest died, replaced by a cold, absolute hatred.
She realized that crying wouldn't do anything. In this world, justice didn't exist for the weak.
Years later, Alma stepped onto a prestigious Ivy League campus, her cheap backpack slung over her shoulder.
She was surrounded by the arrogant children of the very executives who ruined her life.
She lowered her head, hiding her dead eyes, and put on the perfect mask of a timid, helpless charity case.
Undergrad was just a training ground, and these elite kids were just her practice dummies. The hunt was officially on.
8.0
For six years, I played the perfect, submissive wife to Wall Street titan Francis Castro. I suffocated my own ambitions to fit into his conservative world.
But while I waited alone at a Michelin restaurant, a news alert popped up. My husband had just dropped millions on an aquamarine diamond necklace for his "muse," Chanelle.
The real nightmare began when I rushed home to find our five-year-old son in severe anaphylactic shock. I frantically called Francis from the ambulance, but he manually rejected my calls. He couldn't leave the bidding war for Chanelle's PR launch.
When he finally arrived at the ER, Chanelle was right beside him, wearing that blinding multi-million-dollar necklace. He didn't ask about our dying son.
"Why weren't you watching him?" he demanded, his voice hard and accusing.
And when my son woke up, hazy from the drugs, he rejected my touch and reached for Chanelle instead. Francis just stood there, praising Chanelle for knowing exactly how to calm him down.
I stared at the three of them looking like a perfect, happy family. Six years of swallowing my pride, only to realize my husband would let our son choke to death just to buy another woman's smile.
The last thread of my heart snapped. I handed him the divorce papers, demanding zero alimony. Then, I drove to a hidden Brooklyn loft, cut off my hair, and unlocked my safe.
It was time to resurrect my true identity—the legendary fashion designer, Ember.J. I am going to burn her empire to the ground.
8.3
Half a month into our cold war, I, Claire Parker, found an abortion procedure slip tucked inside Daniel Carter's suit pocket.
The patient's name belonged to the fragile little childhood sweetheart he had always protected so fiercely-Sophie Bennett.
I folded the paper calmly and slipped it back where I had found it.
Daniel noticed the movement immediately. His eyes flicked toward me through the rearview mirror, resignation coloring his voice.
"What are you overthinking now? Sophie was just keeping a friend company at the hospital. She accidentally left it there."
I turned toward the window and said nothing.
This was Sophie declaring war on me, yet the man who could crush competitors without mercy in the business world believed her completely.
The silence inside the car grew suffocating until Daniel finally stopped outside an upscale jewelry boutique.
He reached over and ruffled my hair with easy familiarity, his tone indulgent and affectionate.
"Come on. Pick out a ring. Your birthday's next month anyway, so we might as well register our marriage too."
I bit down hard on my lip as tears fell soundlessly onto the back of my hand.
What he still didn't know was that I wouldn't live long enough to see next month.
8.6
Today was my father's grand second wedding, but for me, it was the anniversary of my mother's death.
My new stepmother, Marley, who was only four years older than me, cornered me. To establish her dominance as the new Luna, she ordered her servants to force me to my knees and violently ripped my late mother's necklace from my neck.
It was the only memento my mother had left me. Marley sneered, threw it to the ground, and shattered the gems. When I scrambled to pick up the broken pieces, she dug her high-heeled shoe into the back of my hand, mocking me as dirty trash. No one stepped in to help. My father was too busy celebrating his new marriage under the dazzling lights, completely erasing my mother's memory and leaving me to be abused in my own pack.
My heart was full of grievance and despair. Why did my mother's lifelong devotion end with her grave desolate and her daughter humiliated? I swore I would never become a weak, discarded she-wolf whose life depended on a man.
Desperate to escape the suffocating wedding, I ran outside and stumbled right into the chest of a terrifying stranger.
"No one should ever touch what is precious to you."
His golden eyes blazed with fury as sparks instantly shot through my veins. He was Kade Blackwood, the ruthless Alpha of the feared Blood Moon Pack—and my fated mate.