Chapter 46: Taking a chance

(Lina)

I stepped inside the palace, and the warmth from my night with Kieran still stayed with me, wrapping around me like a soft blanket. Everything had felt so natural with him. 

The laughter, the quiet moments, even the silences—each one had felt like I was finally free to be myself, without expectations or titles hanging over us. It had been a perfect night, and yet… there was this nagging feeling creeping up inside me.

The sensation that someone had been watching me outside was still on my mind. I shook my head, trying to brush it off. Maybe it was just paranoia, a leftover instinct from being under constant scrutiny, where every move and choice felt judged. But tonight, with Kieran, I'd had a taste of what it might be like to just be me—Isabella, not Princess Isabella. And I liked it.