I Survived My Father’s Test And Took His Throne Chapter 19
“If you had truly loved me, you would never have hurt me again and again over a few lies. You certainly wouldn’t have ignored the wounds all over my body.”
“No one took your choices from you. You simply chose not to believe me, every single time.”
“But I can give you one chance to stay.”
Julian jerked his head up, hope reigniting in his eyes.
“If you can forgive me, I’ll do anything.”
I walked up to him and told him, word by word,
“Undergo a permanent sterilization procedure.”
“Publicly renounce your inheritance of the Ironcrest Pack, your military rank, and any right to have descendants.”
“I can no longer bear children. If you are truly willing to endure the same loss, then you may remain in the castle as a low-level supervised staff member and live the rest of your life under security monitoring.”
Julian’s pupils contracted.
“Laurel, you…”
He opened his mouth several times, but could never bring himself to agree.
In the end, he only lowered his head.
“I understand.”
I didn’t know what, exactly, he understood.
Three days later, he resigned all royal posts, surrendered the power he had gained during his regency, and left the capital alone.
Some said he went to a distant borderland. Others said he disappeared into a small town that did not belong to the Ironcrest Pack.
He never married. He never completed a mate claim.
After the kingdom stabilized, I publicly chose Caleb as my mate and appointed him Royal Consort.
He was not a co-ruler, nor did he control any pack through marriage. The crown and the right to rule belonged to me alone, and always would.
On our wedding night, he took my scarred hands in his.
“I don’t need a biological heir, and I don’t need children to prove what we are to each other.”
“Laurel, all I want is for you to be safe from now on.”
I leaned against his shoulder and looked out at the moonlight beyond the royal castle.
After lies, betrayal, and blood, I finally believed that somewhere in this world, warmth still existed—and that I had found a place where I could rest.