CORAL’S POV
Coral gritted her teeth once she had stormed out of her mother’s bedroom.
She fumed in rage.
It had been almost thirty years, and yet her mother had refused to let go of her sister, who had died.
What did it matter?!
It was long ago.
Coral had watched her mother withdraw from her when she was just a child the minute Scarlet had disappeared.
Ideally, her mother would have turned to her; after all, she was her last and only child alive.
But the grief has almost made her mother run mad.
Her mother had seen Scarlet everywhere and had even gone partially insane for a while.
Amid this, Coral had grown up to be ignored and forgotten.
When she finally reached age 21 and was to become the Queen, she discovered that she was pregnant.
It was terrible because there was a curse on the royal family bloodline.
Only those with red hair could ever ascend the throne.
A male or female born into the royal family was sometimes blessed to become ruler if they had red hair.
But in Coral and Scarlet’s case, both girls had been born red-headed.
Scarlet was the first child, so it has been quickly settled. She would be queen.
But then Scarlet died, and then Coral became the queen.
But she had discovered she had gotten pregnant because her hair had turned black on her coronation as queen.
It wasn’t new news that an heir with red hair would have their hair color change to black once they were a child.
It indicated that the child would be born with a redhead, so Coral had lost out on being the Queen by their laws.
It was her daughter Belle who would eventually take on the throne.
But that girl.
She had been the spitting image of her sister, Scarlet.
No. It was not possible.
It could not be.
Scarlet was dead. She, more than anyone, was 100 percent sure of her death.
The girl just happened to look like her late sister and even had red hair.
Plus, that scar was hideous.
There was no way Scarlet could have...
Coral shook her head, refusing even to consider it!
She just needed to ignore the girl.
Her mother was mad, after all.
But then, she still had to be 100 percent sure.
Just to be sure that such imaginations were true.
After all, she knew her sister was dead, but she just had to be sure that there were no untied strings at the end of the rope.
She took a deep breath and composed herself.
She would make inquiries around to be sure.
As she entered her room, she saw her daughter Belle sitting by the window, watching with love-struck eyes.
"What are you doing there?" Coral asked.
Belle jumped. "Oh, mother, it’s you."
She turned away from the window. "Crescent pack is so beautiful, isn’t it?"
"You should have seen it before Xaden returned here," Coral said dryly. "In ruins and very ugly."
"I heard that it was Alpha Bale who had betrayed his family," Belle said sympathetically as she turned to look back at the window. "When I’m Queen, I will gift Xaden Bale’s head. I’m sure he would love that."
"Xaden is eventually going to kill Bale. It’s just a matter of time." Coral said as she loosened the style of her hair.
"That’s why he must marry me," Belle said. "There isn’t anyone as beautiful as me, and Xaden is just amazing."
Her mother snorted at her. "If you were wise, you would have trapped him by now."
Belle looked up at her mother, her mouth dropping. "But mother, I’ve tried my best to make Xaden look at me."
"Aren’t you your grandfather’s daughter?" Coral hissed at her. "You’re the King’s granddaughter and the future Queen. Use your head for the goddess’s sake! Make your grandfather arrange a marriage between the both of you!"
"But Grandma wouldn’t want that," Belle said, her lip quivering. "I begged her, and she turned it down."
Coral rolled her eyes.
Asking her mother anything was like talking to the wall.
She believed in always doing things the right way. That was why she and Scarlet had been so close.
She felt disgust at remembering her dead sister again.
"Then, like I said, use your grandfather," Coral said she was further irritated with her daughter.
"What if he refuses?" Belle asked. "Xaden doesn’t want to marry anyone. He wouldn’t even listen to Grandpa."
"Sometimes I wonder if you are my daughter at all. You only have the looks, but your head is empty." Coral snapped. "When I was much younger than you, I got whatever I wanted, no matter how or what I did to get it. You should do the same thing."
Belle pressed her lips.
Belle was quiet for a while and then said. "Grandpa has never refused me anything. But for Xaden, he might decline."
When she was cut short, Coral was about to lash at her daughter again.
"But if Grandpa finds out that Xaden slept with me and took my virginity, then he would force Xaden to marry me," Belle said. "It would be a disgrace to the royal family. He slept with me before anyone else. Papa would want to kill him, but I would persuade him to let him marry me."
Coral smiled at her daughter.
"That is the most brilliant thing I have ever heard you say," Coral said. "Now I know you are truly my daughter."
Then Coral walked to the window sill as she paced back and forth.
Then, something hit her and snapped at her fingers.
"I have an even better idea," Coral said.
"Now listen, and listen close to what I have to say to you."
Belle nodded, and her mother informed her in whispers about their secret plot.
When Belle had heard everything, she smiled wickedly.
"It’s going to work," Belle said with excitement. "Finally, Xaden would be all mine."