He Tried to Make the Empress His Concubine

On the night of the Festival of Lights, Mother secretly took me out to wander the streets. Then, out of nowhere, a man and a woman stepped into our path.

The man stared at my mother, his eyes turning red. "Emmeline?"

The woman's gaze locked on me. She grabbed the man's sleeve, suddenly frantic. "Cedric, look! Those eyes, that face... She's our daughter, Rosalind!"

She rushed toward me with her arms open wide. "Rosalind, I'm your mother!"

I was so scared that I scrambled behind my mother. Mother pulled me behind her without a word. Her face gave nothing away.

The man approached, looking guilty and full of himself at the same time. "Emmeline, it must have been hard on you all these years, raising my daughter with Seraphina so well. Now that I've returned to the capital, I'll make it up to you. I still remember the promise we made, our betrothal.

"But Seraphina is already my lawful wife, so I'm afraid you'll have to settle for being a concubine."

I was stunned. My father was the reigning Emperor. My mother was the Empress. What in the world was this man talking about?

"Mother?" I tugged at her sleeve.

Mother gently touched the top of my head, her voice perfectly even. "I believe this gentleman and his wife have mistaken me for someone else. I do not know either of you, let alone anything about a daughter."

She moved to lead me away, but the man stepped forward and blocked our path.

"Emmeline, I know you resent me. It was wrong of me to leave nothing but a letter before my wedding and disappear. I know that."

He paused, as if waiting for her to soften. "But you have to understand, Seraphina and I are truly in love. You can't force something that isn't there. You've always been gracious and understanding, so I'm sure you can see that."

The woman called Seraphina finally pulled her gaze away from me and turned to my mother. A flash of smugness crossed her eyes before she quickly rearranged her face into something pitiful and delicate.

"Emmeline, all those years Cedric and I spent away, not a single moment passed where we didn't think of you and Rosalind. Now that we've returned, our family can finally be whole again."

She reached for me once more. "Rosalind, let your mother get a good look at you!"

I dodged her hand and blurted out, "My name isn't Rosalind! My name is Liara!"

The man laughed, and there was something almost tender in it. "Liara?"

He looked at my mother. "Is that the pet name you gave her? That's sweet of you, Emmeline. Once we get home, I'll make her an official family member."

I was more confused than ever. My name was already recorded in the Hall of the Royal Lineage. Father had held me in his arms and presented me there himself.

Mother spoke again, a thread of impatience slipping into her voice. "Cedric Ashworth, you have the wrong person. She is not your daughter."

Cedric's brow furrowed, and he was about to respond when Seraphina dropped to her knees with tears streaming down her face. "Emmeline, I know you hate me. Everything is my fault, all of it! I shouldn't have fallen in love with Cedric. I shouldn't have carried his child."

Her voice broke. "I shouldn't have run away with him the night before your wedding! But Rosalind is my child, my own blood! You can't keep me from my own daughter just because you hate me!"

I looked up sharply at Mother. Under the warm glow of the lights, her face was so pale that it was nearly translucent.

Cedric reached down and helped Seraphina to her feet at just the right moment, then turned to Mother with a look of quiet disapproval. "Emmeline, Seraphina has already humbled herself completely. The past is the past. We came back to the capital to make things right. A child shouldn't grow up without her real parents. And you deserve someone to take care of you, too."

I was shaking with fury, and the words tumbled out before I could stop them. "My mother already has someone! My father is the..."

"Liara," Mother cut me off. She looked down at me and gave a small, quiet shake of her head.