They were here.
Supreme Alpha’s people had arrived.
My stomach tightened at the realization.
The Mills family lived in one of the smaller cities, far from the capital, while Supreme Alpha ruled from the heart of the Country.
He wasn’t merely an ordinary Alpha with authority over a single territory.
He was the sovereign, a pure-blooded Alpha whose lineage stretched back through generations of the most powerful werewolves in the Country.
He could have chosen anyone.
There were countless noble families who would have gladly offered him their daughters, yet he had specifically chosen Sylvia.
Why?
Why had a man with so much power insisted that Sylvia become his bride?
And why, after all this time, had my father decided that I should take her place?
Those questions continued circling through my mind as the servants finished preparing me.
They gave me no suitcase, no jewelry, no money, and not even another change of clothes.
I was being sent away with nothing except the dark wedding dress covering my body and the black shoes beneath my feet.
It wasn’t until the servants took hold of my arms again and led me through the corridors that I realized just how completely I had been stripped of any choice.
I wasn’t leaving this house as a daughter.
I was being delivered like some goods.
Was I been classified as worth goods?
When we reached the sitting area, I immediately noticed the men waiting inside.
They stood together in dark suits, their expressions serious and unreadable, and their presence alone was enough to make the room feel unusually quiet.
My father stood before them, and the moment his eyes settled on me, he turned toward the men.
“This is my daughter, Frida.” I froze.
The way my father introduced me made me feel less like a daughter and more like something he had simply brought forward to be inspected.
He didn’t even look at me as he continued speaking, his voice steady and matter-of-fact, as though he were discussing an arrangement that had nothing to do with my life.
“Sylvia was pushed down the stairs by her, and she is currently in a coma.
You can take Frida in her place while we wait for Sylvia to wake up.
Once she recovers, she can take over the marriage.” My breath immediately hitched.
For several seconds, I couldn’t even process the words I had just heard.
Pushed down the stairs?
Me?
I looked at my father in disbelief before turning toward the men from the Capital.
Sylvia had been perfectly fine when I saw her that morning.
She hadn’t fallen down the stairs, she hadn’t been injured, and she certainly wasn’t lying unconscious in a hospital.
Then the truth became painfully clear.
This had been planned all along.
They had to make sure I fall for this!
They had already decided to use me as Sylvia’s substitute, but they needed an explanation for why the woman being sent to Supreme Alpha wasn’t the bride he had agreed to marry.
My father had chosen the simplest explanation possible.
He had made me the villain.
“Father…” I stepped forward, my voice trembling with disbelief.
“That’s a lie.” The instant the words left my mouth, his expression hardened, and his hand struck across my face instantly.
The sharp sound of the slap echoed through the sitting room, my head snapping to the side from the force of it.
For several seconds, I remained completely still, too stunned to react, before slowly raising my hand to my burning cheek.
The men from the Capital remained silent, watching the scene unfold infront of them without saying a word.