The Crown Prince's Forbidden Chef

I never imagined that the night before I was supposed to marry the man I loved would be the night my world ended.

My fingers shook as I adjusted the hem of my engagement gown i was tasting, its soft cream fabric brushing against my wrists. The mirror reflected a girl I barely recognized,the gentle Annabelle Hale, the obedient daughter who had spent twenty-three years of her life bending to the will of a stepmother who never wanted her.

And yet, that mirror, so smooth and unyielding, lied. It lied because what I saw wasn't the worst part. The worst part was the cold smile behind my stepmother's eyes, the way my stepsister, Clara, lingered just a moment too long by the door as if savoring my dress.

"I hope you're ready for tomorrow, dear Annabelle," Lady Miranda's voice sounded sweet, yet every word dripped venom. "You wouldn't want anything to go wrong, would you?" smiling wickedly.

I forced a nod, though my heart screamed. "Yes, Mother."

Clara twirled a lock of her golden hair, her lips curling into a smug smile. "It's almost as if the gods themselves planned for me to wear the dress you'll never see tomorrow."

I swallowed hard, trying not to let the panic show. I had always known they hated me but what was she implying when she made that statement. I had always known they wanted to replace me, to take everything that should have been mine. But the reality...the actual betrayal...was a blow I had not been ready for.

I hadn't even had a chance to say goodbye to Eliam. The thought of him,the warmth of his hand, the softness of his smile,was my only anchor and my only escape from this family if I had married him. Tomorrow should have been our day. Tomorrow should have been my happiness. But instead, there was only darkness.

I didn't even see them coming at first. One moment, I was walking along the quiet path outside my quarter, rehearsing my wedding vows in my mind and the next thing, a rough hand clamped over my mouth, and strong arms lifted me off the ground.

I struggled, kicked, screamed...my voice swallowed by the night air.

" Let me go!" My words barely carried over the sound of my pounding heart.

The hands were merciless. They dragged me into the woods. Branches whipped my face, dirt scratched my skin. My gown was torn, and I could smell the acrid smoke from torches flickering nearby.

"Shh, little lady. Quiet now," one of the men hissed, his breath hot on my ear. His grip on me felt like hot iron. "If you scream again, it'll be the last sound you ever make."

I could taste the fear in my mouth. Panic clawed up my throat, and I realized...I was alone. My stepmother had orchestrated this. Clara had smiled while they took me. And now... now I was at the mercy of men who cared nothing for my life.

We reached a narrow mountain path. The cliff dropped sharply beside us, jagged rocks waiting to welcome anyone who faltered. I felt a sudden surge of adrenaline. I had to escape.

I twisted my body, flinging myself against the man holding me. My heel caught a rock as I ran, and I stumbled, slipping toward the edge.

"NO!" I screamed, but it was too late.

The world tipped, and my stomach lurched violently as I fell. Air rushed past me, whipping my hair around my face. My hands clawed at the air, the ground, reaching for anything to stop the fall,but gravity did not care about my pleas.

Pain exploded across my body as I hit something hard, then something liquid and soft trailing through my body, then the sensation vanished.

Darkness swallowed me whole.

---

I woke up to nothing.

For a moment, I thought I was still falling. But then, I felt the cold bite of stone beneath my hands. My head throbbed, my vision blurred. Rain,or was it tears?..streamed down my cheeks.

I tried to move, but my limbs felt like lead. Panic rose in my chest like a living thing.

I opened my eyes wider, desperate, and the world came into focus: the sharply edge cliff below, the forest stretching endlessly, and... the absence of the men.

They were gone.

Had they left me to die? I pressed my hands to my chest, listening to the rapid, shallow rhythm of my heart. Each beat felt fragile, as if the next breath might be my last.

And yet, I was still alive.

But alive was not enough.

I shook my head, trying to stand, to run, to do something, but my legs buckled. My gown was torn, mud caked across my skin, and my body screamed in pain. My heart ached,not just from the fall, but from betrayal. From the realization that the life I had known had been ripped from me in a single, cruel stroke.

I had been sold, Sold out by my own family. Sold so Clara whom I regarded as my own sister,could take my place, so that my own happiness could be stolen and reshaped to suit their greed.

And now, there was nothing but the sound of the storm, the sting of the wind, and the shadows of the night closing in around me.

I closed my eyes and whispered into the darkness, "Eliam... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

I wanted to run back to him, to beg for forgiveness, to tell him I was alive, but even as I breathed, I knew...I would never see see again.

Somewhere far away, my life had ended on that cliff. Somewhere far away, I had been replaced.

And yet, I was still here, trembling, broken, and alone, at the mercy of a fate I did not understand.

But Somehow... I would survive.

Because if I didn't, there would be no one left to remember Annabelle Hale.

But before I could try and lift my body up from the rocks piercing through my skin, a strong sensation hit me like someone whose head was hit by iron, my eyes became blurred and I could hardly see anything "what's happening to me?"

"Am I dying now?"

"Oh my head!"

Then collapsed.