I Divorced the President’s Secret Heiress (Kael’s POV)

Chapter 12

KAEL’S POV

I couldn't stop thinking about Zorina.

She was no longer Zorina, she was now Celestina Alvada, the daughter of the president. The woman I had dismissed as a nobody, who had slipped into our lives under false pretenses, who had somehow, impossibly, captured my attention.

My fingers pinched the bridge of my nose as guilt and regret surged through me. How differently would I have treated her if I'd known her true identity from the start? The question haunted me, though I already knew the answer. I would have been calculating, strategic—exactly the kind of man I'd always promised myself I wouldn't become.

The door to my office swung open suddenly, the hinges protesting with a sharp creak.

Liora stood there, her normally perfect appearance slightly disheveled. Her emerald gown was creased at the waist, as though she'd been sitting for too long, and there was a flush to her cheeks that could have been from hurrying.

"Kael," she said, not waiting for an invitation before stepping inside. "Did you hear the news?"

I straightened in my chair, frowning at her abrupt entrance. "What news?"

"There was an assassination attempt," she announced, crossing her arms over her chest. "At the palace."

My blood turned to ice. I shot to my feet, my heart hammering against my ribs. "What?" The words tumbled out in a rush. "When? What happened? Is Celestina—" I stopped myself too late, the name already hanging in the air between us.

Liora's expression darkened, her lips thinning into a hard line. "Celestina?" she repeated, her voice dripping with venom. "Of course. The first thing you ask about is her."

I ignored the accusation in her tone, stepping around my desk. "Is she alright?"

The fear gripping my chest was unlike anything I'd felt before—raw and overwhelming.

"She's fine," Liora scoffed, shaking her head. "Her guards got her out before anything happened to her. Not that you should care."

"That's not fair," I snapped, struggling to keep my tone even. "An assassination attempt is serious, Liora. Forgive me for being concerned about someone's life."

"Concerned?" She laughed, the sound brittle and sharp. "You've never been this concerned about me. I'm your fiancée, Kael. Or have you forgotten that?"

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration mounting with each passing second. "This isn't about us, Liora. This is about—"

"It's always about her!" she cut me off, her voice rising to fill the room. "Since the moment you found out who she really is, it's like I don't exist anymore. Do you even care about me, Kael? Or am I just a means to an end for you?"

The question hit too close to home. I had proposed to Liora for her family's connections, for the financial security they could provide the failing Veridan estate. But I'd convinced myself there was more to it than that. There had to be.

"That's not fair," I repeated, my voice lower but no less tense.

"And yet you can't stop thinking about Celestina, can you?" Liora accused, her eyes blazing with hurt and anger.

My jaw tightened. "This isn't about her!"

"Then prove it," she challenged, stepping toe-to-toe with me, close enough that I could smell her expensive perfume.

For a moment, we stood locked in silent combat, the tension crackling between us like a storm about to break. Finally, I turned away, striding toward the door. I couldn't do this right now. Not when my thoughts were so tangled, not when images of Celestina in danger kept flashing through my mind.

"Where are you going?" Liora demanded, her voice following me across the room.

"To get some air," I muttered, yanking the door open and slamming it shut behind me with a force that echoed down the hall.

I paced the corridors of the Veridan estate, my footsteps muffled by the worn carpets that had once been the pride of my ancestors.

Liora's words had struck a nerve, though I hated to admit it. She was right about one thing: I had been consumed with thoughts of Celestina since learning her true identity. But she was gone now, swept back into her real life as a president's daughter, far beyond my reach.

I stopped at a window overlooking the sprawling gardens below. The once-meticulous grounds were showing signs of neglect—another symptom of our financial decline.

My family was on the brink of ruin, and Liora was the only lifeline we had left. The Veridan name needed her. I needed her.

With a heavy sigh, I turned and made my way toward Liora's quarters. As I walked, I forced myself to adopt a calm, contrite demeanor, rehearsing an apology in my head. I would make things right with her. I had to.

But as I approached her door, the sound of voices made me pause. Liora was speaking, her tone hushed but clear enough for me to hear through the thin wood.

"...didn't expect it to go so wrong," she was saying, frustration evident in every syllable.

Her mother's voice answered, sharp and scolding. "You were careless. The timing wasn't right, and now look what's happened. An investigation is inevitable."

I pressed myself against the wall, my pulse quickening as I strained to hear.

"I didn't plan for it to fail," Liora said, her voice trembling slightly. "I just thought—"

"You thought nothing!" her mother snapped. "If this comes back to us, it could ruin everything. Do you understand that?"

There was a pause, filled only by the sound of my own heartbeat thudding in my ears.

"No one will find out," Liora finally replied, quieter now. "The guards didn't see anything, and the sniper's already gone."

Sniper? My breath caught in my throat as the implication hit me with the force of a physical blow.

"You had better hope you're right," her mother said coldly. "If anyone links this to us, the governor's position—our position—will be destroyed."

I stepped back from the door, my mind racing as I pieced together the fragments.

The assassination attempt at the palace. Liora's unexpected arrival with the news. Her anger at my concern for Celestina.

The realization was like a dagger in my chest: the woman I was engaged to, the woman who was supposed to save my family, was involved in a plot that could have killed Celestina.

My hands curled into fists at my sides as cold fury replaced the shock. All this time, I'd been struggling with guilt over my own manipulative intentions toward Liora, never suspecting that her family's games were far more sinister than mine.

I moved silently away from her door, my mind already churning with what I had to do next.

The engagement was over, that much was certain, but simply walking away wasn't enough. If Liora and her family had orchestrated an assassination attempt against the president's daughter, they wouldn't stop there.

Celestina was still in danger. And somehow, I had to warn her, even if she never wanted to see me again.