Sanity

21. Family Issues

"You better start explaining yourself right now," Jaelyn hissed, "or I'm going to kill you for saying that."

Tank chuckled, pressing his knife deeper into Jaelyn's flesh. Any further and it would draw blood.

"Calm down, I'll tell you," he said, pursing his lips. "If only to see the look of torture on your face as you find out everything you thought you knew was a lie."

Jaelyn didn't trust herself to reply, so she remained silent.

"As I'm sure you already guessed, this whole thing is about you. Your mother died giving birth to you them nineteen years ago, and your dad just couldn't keep you around knowing you were the reason his wife was dead. So a year later, he came to Jaquin and left you in the streets of Rokq, not thinking anything else about it. That's when I found you, but I had no idea who you were."

"Please, stop," Jaelyn begged, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "I can't hear any more. This is ridiculous."

"Hush now," Tank murmured back. "You make any sudden movements before they say their vows, and I'll slit you open and then I'll start on him." When Jaelyn bit her tongue, Tank continued speaking. "Right, where was I? So, I found you and took you in, like the kind-hearted soul I am, and raised you with me. Fast forward to the day we got this big contract. Korey reached out to me, obviously hearing of my amazing work, and told me his plan to kill the prince. It was meant to be an easy job; in, murder, out, done. I volunteered your name, and it was then we both realised who you were. Here's where it gets personal."

"You adapted the plan to send me into the palace in disguise so you could pin his murder on me, regardless of what I did," Jaelyn finished for him, feeling the anger in her own voice as she spoke. "Taking Will's throne became a side benefit. I get it, okay? It all makes sense. But what makes you think I should believe a single word that comes out of your mouth after everything you've done to me?"

"I don't care if you say you don't believe me, Bronte," Tank admitted with a shrug. "We both know it's too good to be fake news. You just want me to be wrong. Hush now, Korey will want to speak with you after. We're nearly at the best part."

Jaelyn had no choice but to revert her gaze back to the altar, where William and the real fake Kamryn were exchanging their vows with each other. This was giving her a headache; she was pretending to be Kamryn to replace this girl, but now it turns out she was the fake and Jaelyn had been the real Kamryn this whole time? She'd have a much harder time believing it if she hadn't seen the other girl's features. She looked nothing like Korey; something she and Jaelyn did not have in common.

Jaelyn turned her head away as the two leant in to kiss. Bile rose in her throat, but she forced it down with a hard swallow. She could feel Tank chuckling beside her, but she ignored him.

The crowd cheered as the newly-wed couple turned to face the crowd, seemingly happy now that everything was over and done with. Jaelyn wondered what William and Noah's plans were, as well as Korey's. But it seemed she was about to find out, as the King of Ronile himself slowly made his way from his most recent wife's side until he was standing beside the couple, murmuring something to the pair of them before turning to address the crowd.

"What a lovely ceremony!" he called, his voice booming surprisingly louder than Jaelyn would've imagined over the crowd of people. The courtyard was large, but not large enough that everyone in the back wouldn't be able to get the gist of what he was saying. "Although, I must admit I much preferred the wedding of my real daughter. Such a pity it was a setup."

Murmurs broke out amongst the crowds of people as Jaelyn's throat tightened with anticipation. William looked confused as ever, but on guard. He was expecting something, but perhaps not this.