Chapter 3 — The Prince’s Lie
“I knew who she was… before I married her.”
Silence.
Utter silence.
The words hit Maya harder than the slap.
Her body went cold.
No.
No, she had heard wrong.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
She slowly turned in Adrian’s arms, staring up at him as if looking at a stranger.
“What…?”
Her voice barely existed.
“What did you say?”
Adrian couldn’t meet her eyes.
That hurt more than his confession.
Maya felt her heart splitting open.
“You knew?”
Her voice rose.
“You knew who I was?”
Adrian swallowed.
“Yes.”
The single word shattered her.
Maya pushed away from him.
Hard.
“How long?”
Silence.
“How long, Adrian?!”
His jaw tightened.
“Since before we met.”
Gasps erupted around the ballroom.
The guests exchanged horrified looks.
Arthur’s face darkened.
“You approached her knowingly?”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Maya felt dizzy.
Everything started spinning.
Their first meeting.
The café.
The rain.
The umbrella.
His smile.
His kindness.
His warmth.
Had all of it—
Been fake?
Tears filled her eyes.
“No…”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Maya, listen to me—”
She backed away.
“Don’t touch me!”
The baby started crying loudly.
Maya held him tighter.
Her breathing turned ragged.
“You knew.”
Tears streamed down her face.
“You knew all this time…”
Her voice cracked.
“And you said nothing.”
Adrian’s voice broke.
“I wanted to tell you.”
“When?”
She screamed.
“After marriage?!”
Silence.
“After pregnancy?!”
Silence.
“After your mother humiliated me?!”
Each question was a blade.
Adrian had no defense.
Maya shook violently.
“Tell me one thing.”
Her eyes burned.
“Was any of it real?”
Adrian looked at her.
And for the first time since his confession—
His composure broke.
“Yes.”
She laughed bitterly.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“Maya—”
She screamed.
“STOP SAYING MY NAME LIKE YOU KNOW ME!”
The ballroom shook with emotion.
Arthur stepped forward.
“Explain.”
His voice held command.
Adrian took a long breath.
Twenty-five years of secrets.
Years of guilt.
Years of conflict.
He began.
“When I was nineteen…”
His eyes became distant.
“Father ordered a private reinvestigation into House Valemont.”
Arthur frowned.
“I ordered no such thing.”
Adrian looked up.
“No.”
Pause.
“Grandfather did.”
Gasps.
Arthur froze.
His father?
The former king?
Adrian continued.
“He never believed Aunt Elena betrayed the crown.”
Arthur stopped breathing.
Betrayed.
The word again.
Maya listened through tears.
Adrian spoke carefully.
“Grandfather believed there was a traitor inside the palace.”
His eyes moved toward Isabella.
“He suspected Mother.”
Isabella laughed.
“Of course he did.”
Adrian ignored her.
“He created a hidden task force.”
Arthur whispered.
“Victor…”
Adrian nodded.
“Yes. General Victor led it.”
The old general lowered his head.
Adrian continued.
“When Grandfather died, he left one final order.”
Pause.
“Find Elena’s child.”
The guests stared.
Adrian’s voice grew heavier.
“Alive or dead.”
Maya trembled.
Adrian looked at her.
“I inherited that mission.”
She whispered:
“So I was… an assignment?”
The question nearly killed him.
“No.”
“But that’s how it began?”
He couldn’t lie.
“Yes.”
Maya closed her eyes.
Pain ripped through her.
Adrian’s voice cracked.
“We searched for years.”
Flashback filled his eyes.
Orphanages.
Records.
Burned documents.
False identities.
Dead ends.
Nothing.
Until one day—
A photograph.
A girl.
Holding a silver pendant.
Maya.
Adrian whispered:
“I found you.”
Maya’s tears fell harder.
“You found me…”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
She stared at him.
“And then what?”
Adrian’s breathing turned shallow.
“I watched you.”
Gasps.
Maya stiffened.
Watched?
He continued.
“I wanted to confirm your identity.”
Her heart sank.
“How?”
He looked broken.
“I followed you.”
Pain flashed in her eyes.
“For how long?”
“Eight months.”
The room gasped.
Eight months.
Adrian’s voice trembled.
“I saw everything.”
Maya shook.
Everything?
“Yes.”
He remembered.
Maya working double shifts.
Maya eating cheap instant noodles.
Maya giving half her food to a stray cat.
Maya helping old neighbors.
Maya studying at night.
Maya crying alone.
Maya smiling despite pain.
Adrian’s voice dropped.
“I saw your life.”
Maya whispered.
“And?”
His eyes glistened.
“I hated myself.”
She froze.
“Why?”
“Because you were nothing like the threat I expected.”
Silence.
“You were kind.”
Pause.
“You were brave.”
Pause.
“You were good.”
His voice cracked.
“And you were alone.”
Maya’s tears fell silently now.
No screaming.
Just pain.
Adrian continued.
“I told myself I was observing.”
His fists clenched.
“But the truth…”
He looked directly at her.
“I was falling in love.”
Murmurs spread.
Maya’s heart shook.
No.
Don’t believe him.
Don’t.
Adrian continued.
“The café meeting wasn’t an accident.”
There it was.
The truth.
Maya flinched.
He whispered:
“I planned it.”
Her chest tightened.
The umbrella.
The rain.
His smile.
Fake.
All fake.
Adrian quickly added—
“But what happened after was real.”
She laughed through tears.
“Convenient.”
“It’s true.”
“You lied to me every day!”
His voice rose.
“Because I was afraid!”
“Of what?!”
He shouted back.
“Of losing you!”
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Adrian’s mask shattered completely.
“No one in this room knows what it cost me.”
His breathing became uneven.
“I went to you as a prince with a mission.”
He touched his chest.
“But somewhere along the way…”
His voice cracked.
“I became a man in love.”
Maya stared.
He continued.
“I wanted to tell you a thousand times.”
Pause.
“When I proposed.”
Pause.
“When we married.”
Pause.
“When you told me you were pregnant.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“But every time…”
He broke.
“I was a coward.”
Arthur watched silently.
Adrian turned to his father.
“I thought if I told the truth…”
His voice dropped.
“She would leave.”
Maya whispered.
“I would have.”
He flinched.
She continued.
“You stole my choice.”
The sentence crushed him.
Because it was true.
Completely true.
Maya’s tears slowed.
Now came the deepest wound.
“Tell me something.”
Adrian lifted his head.
She asked the question that mattered most.
“Did you love me…”
Long pause.
“…before the baby?”
Adrian stared at her.
The answer came instantly.
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
No pause.
No calculation.
Just truth.
“Yes.”
Maya trembled.
“Even when you thought I was just a hidden royal heir?”
“Yes.”
“Even before marriage?”
“Yes.”
“Even before I said yes?”
“Yes.”
His voice shook.
“I loved you long before you trusted me.”
Maya’s heart ached.
Because she believed him.
That made it worse.
Arthur finally spoke.
“So why keep silent tonight?”
Adrian turned.
His face darkened.
“Because Mother moved faster.”
Isabella smirked.
Arthur frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Adrian’s eyes hardened.
“I discovered something three days ago.”
“What?”
He looked at Isabella.
“She planned to kill Maya tonight.”
The ballroom exploded.
“What?!”
“No!”
Maya stopped breathing.
Kill her?
Tonight?
Isabella smiled.
Unbothered.
Arthur roared.
“Is that true?!”
Isabella laughed.
“She was becoming inconvenient.”
Arthur shook with rage.
Adrian continued.
“She bribed security.”
“She poisoned rumors.”
“She arranged tonight’s humiliation.”
His eyes turned murderous.
“And when the guests left…”
He paused.
“They were supposed to report an accident.”
Maya felt sick.
No…
Adrian’s voice became ice.
“Mother hired assassins.”
Gasps.
Arthur thundered:
“WHERE?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
Danger.
Real danger.
His eyes scanned the crowd.
Then—
He froze.
No.
Impossible.
One guest.
Near the back.
Champagne glass.
Still calm.
Too calm.
Adrian’s eyes widened.
“DOWN!”
He lunged toward Maya.
BANG.
A gunshot exploded through the ballroom.
Screams erupted.
Glass shattered.
Guests dropped to the floor.
Chaos.
Adrian threw himself over Maya and the baby.
Pain exploded through his side.
Maya screamed.
“ADRIAN!”
Blood.
Warm blood.
Her hands touched it.
Red.
So much red.
No.
No.
No.
Arthur roared.
“GET HIM!”
Guards charged.
The assassin fired again.
BANG.
BANG.
People screamed.
General Victor moved with shocking speed for his age.
He tackled the shooter.
The gun skidded across marble.
Guards swarmed.
The assassin was pinned.
Adrian collapsed to one knee.
Maya’s entire body shook.
Blood poured from his side.
“Adrian!”
He tried to smile.
Failed.
She pressed both hands to the wound.
“No no no—stay with me!”
He coughed blood.
Arthur shouted for medics.
But Maya heard none of it.
Only Adrian.
Only him.
His hand reached for her face.
Weak.
Shaking.
“Maya…”
Tears flooded her.
“Don’t talk!”
His fingers brushed her cheek.
Warm.
Fading.
“If I die—”
“No!”
“Listen—”
“No!”
His eyes locked onto hers.
Filled with love.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
No lies left.
Only truth.
“I love you.”
She broke.
Completely.
“I love you.”
His voice weakened.
“Not as a mission.”
Tears streamed down his face.
“Not as a prince.”
His hand slipped.
“Just…”
Breath.
Pain.
“…as your husband.”
Maya sobbed.
“Stop—please stop talking—”
His eyes started closing.
No.
No.
Not now.
Not after everything.
Maya screamed.
“ADRIAN!”
His lips moved one final time.
Three words.
Barely audible.
“I’m sorry… love.”
Then—
His body went limp.
Maya’s scream echoed through the palace.
May you like
And in that terrifying second…
She thought she had lost him forever.
