CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
Liam sat in his study, a stack of papers before him, each filled with details about Alyssa’s life. He’d hired an investigator recommended by Ryan, a man who specialized in finding people who didn’t want to be found. He scoured through the scattered notes, each written in a hand that was foreign to him.
“How much do you know about her past?” the investigator had asked him during their first meeting.
Liam had paused, realizing with a pang of regret that he knew very little about Alyssa beyond her time spent at the palace. “Not much,” he admitted, his voice laced with frustration. “She kept to herself most of the time. But she came to the palace seeking an audience with the king. That’s how she ended up here.”
The investigator nodded, his face thoughtful. “If she’s on the run, she must have a reason. Did she mention anything about her family or her life before she came to the palace?”
Liam thought back to their conversations, each one shrouded in mystery. “No,” he said slowly. “But she was determined to meet the king. Said it was a matter of life and death.”
The investigator scratched his chin, deep in thought. “I’ll see what I can find out. In the meantime, try to remember anything she might have said that could give us a lead.”
And so Liam had spent his days locked away in his study, revisiting every conversation he’d shared with Alyssa, searching for a missing piece that would lead them to her. The silence of the palace consumed him, his heart heavy with worry. He didn’t know where Alyssa was or if she was safe. All he knew was that he couldn’t rest until he found her.
His mother, tired of seeing her son waste away in his own misery, had come to confront him. “Liam,” she chided him, her tone scolding. “What has gotten into you? You’re barely eating or sleeping. This is no way for a future king to behave.”
Liam bristled, his heart a tangle of emotions. “I can’t focus on anything until we find her,” he snapped, his voice full of desperation. “She could be in danger, Mother. What if something happened to her?”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
His mother softened, her eyes full of warmth and understanding. “I know you care for her, my son. But you can’t neglect your duties or let the prospect of a girl cloud your judgment.”
Liam shook his head, his mind made up. “I won’t let anyone dictate my future,” he declared. “Especially not my father or his twisted schemes. I’ll find Alyssa, no matter what it takes.”
And with that, he stormed out of his study, seeking solace in the empty halls of the palace. It was in one of these moments of aimless wandering that the investigator stumbled upon him. “Your highness,” he said, his voice filled with urgency. “I have some strange news.”
Liam’s heart raced, his hands shaking with anticipation. “What is it?” he asked, his voice full of hope and fear.
The investigator hesitated, his eyes clouding with doubt. “I’ve been looking into Alyssa’s past, like you asked me to,” he began. “And I found something odd. It seems as though she doesn’t exist. There are no records of her birth or her parents. No history before her time at the palace.”
Liam’s face paled, his mind reeling with the implications of what the investigator had told him. “What do you mean, she doesn’t exist?” he whispered, his voice barely audible.
The investigator shrugged, his face a mask of confusion. “It’s as though she appeared out of thin air,” he said. “There’s no trace of her existence, no matter how hard I look.”
Liam stormed out of his room, his heart pounding and blood boiling with fury. His conversation with the investigator had gone too far and he was angry. He had thought everything the investigator had discovered about Alyssa’s life was mere speculations and lies, but after being shown hard evidence, Liam was stumped. He’d thought he could trust Alyssa and had fallen for her, for all the right reasons. He had even shared his secrets with her, but now he realized that she had just been using him all along.
Liam knew that Alyssa had come to his kingdom under disguise, and he was left feeling foolish for not having picked up on her intentions earlier. He was sure that she knew who he was all along, and that was why she chose to get close to him in the first place. He was furious; he had been genuine about his feelings, and had even begged her to forgive him for his hidden past, but it seemed like she had been doing everything as an obligation.
As he spent his day in the armory, his thoughts were filled with only two things- Alyssa’s betrayal and how he could get back at her. He scrutinized every new stock of weapons that came his way, and even though his trusted army officials tried to talk to him, he was too lost in his own anger to pay them any attention.
Suddenly, Liam remembered something important and called for a meeting with the elders. He knew that he needed their guidance in dealing with the consequences of Alyssa’s betrayal. When the elders arrived, Liam got straight to the point.
“Alyssa is a spy who has infiltrated our kingdom. I need to know how she could’ve gotten past our borders unnoticed.” Liam spoke in a low, controlled voice.
The elders looked at each other in shock and disbelief.
“Are you sure about this, Liam? Alyssa seemed to have genuine feelings for you,” Elder Sebastian spoke softly, his voice laced with concern.
Liam’s eyes darkened. “I am 100% positive. I have evidence to prove it.”
The elders looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed. Then Elder Florence spoke up.
“If Alyssa did manage to infiltrate our kingdom under disguise, then we need to take this as a serious threat. We need to know what she is planning, and how we can protect ourselves from any potential danger.”
Liam nodded, “I agree. But we need to be careful, we don’t want to alert her of our suspicions before we have all the answers we need.”
The conversation went on for another hour, with the elders discussing the best course of action to take. Liam sat quietly, his mind still reeling from everything that had happened. He couldn’t believe that Alyssa had lied to him so thoroughly.
As the meeting ended, Liam knew that he had a lot of work to do. He needed to find out everything he could about Alyssa, and figure out how to protect his kingdom from any potential danger. But before any of that, he needed to come to terms with his own feelings towards her and sort out the mess she had created in his life.
Liam left the meeting feeling more determined than ever. He was going to get to the bottom of this, even if it meant confronting Alyssa himself. He needed answers, and he was going to get them no matter what. But one thing was certain- things were never going to be the same between them again