Chapter 367 +25 BONUS The king sighed. "I need to finish preparing." His tone was final, dismissing us. But there was a new weight in his gaze-a disturbance that hadn't been there before.
As we left his office, I couldn't shake the feeling that we had just set something in motion.
Alexander pulleddown a side hallway suddenly and 1 looked at him in confusion.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Alexander leaned in and kissedswiftly, leavingbreathless for a moment. "What?" I repeated.
"Whatever happens after this press conference," he said firmly. "I want you to know how incredible you are. You're handling this situation incredibly well." I shook my head at him, but his words warmed my heart. I was doing my best to seem confident, but it was surface level.
Inside, I felt like the world was completely off balance and I could lose my composure at the slightest unexpected turn.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtI had hardly slept for days and my emotions were strung tightly.
Before I could respond, the sound of voices echoing down the hall reached us. The press conference was about to begin.
Alexander exhaled and took a step back, slipping seamlessly into his composed, unreadable expression. I straightened my shoulders, doing my best to mirror his confidence.
"Ready?" he asked.
No. Not even close.
But I nodded anyway. "Let's go." And together, we walked toward whatever cnext.
The press conference was chaos.
We stood at the edge of the crowd, the bright lights of the cameras making everything feel surreal. The king was positioned at the podium, his expression stern as he addressed the nation.
He spoke of justice, of betrayal, of the consequences of treason. He confirmed the arrests, laying out the severity of the crimes. The words "death penalty" lingered in the air, heavier than the silence that followed.
The crowd erupted with questions.
"Your Majesty, was Amanda working alone?" "We have reason to believe she was aided," he said.
"What evidence do you have against David?" "We have substantial cctv footage, financial records, and witnesses," he explained.
"Is it true that members of the royal court were involved?" Chapter 367 "Not that we know of at this time," he replied.
"Do you believe Archer is guilty?" "We'll have more to con the investigations soon," he answered.
The king didn't answer all of them, but his presence alone seemed to settle sof the frenzy.
I wasn't as unaffected.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm+25 BONUS The noise, the flashes, the sheer weight of everything-we had spent so long chasing this, fighting for justice, that I hadn't really thought about what cafter. Now that the moment was here, I could barely breathe.
My chest felt tight. The walls of the courtyard seemed to close in ground me. The The voices blurred together, a tidal wave of sound crashing over me. I felt a hand on my arm.
"Con," Alexander murmured, his voice a steady anchor.
I let him pullaway from the chaos, through the palace halls until we found an empty corridor. He turned to face me, his hands settling gently on my shoulders. Lexhaled shakily. "I don't know why I'm freaking out," I admitted. "This is what we wanted." Alexander's gaze softened. "That doesn't mean it's easy." I swallowed. "It just feels like... now that it's over, something else is going to happen. Something worse.
He brushed a hand down my arm, grounding me. "We've survived worse." I let out a small, shaky laugh. "That's not exactly comforting." A ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Maybe not. But it's true."
I looked up at him, his steady presence chasing away sof the lingering fear. The storm wasn't over. If anything, it was just beginning. But I wasn't alone.
And for now, that had to be enough.
mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliIofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1