Bridging Hearts

Unveiling the truth

*Katrina's POV*

I lay on my bed, mulling over my past actions – breaking Li Jun's heart, deceiving his supposed crush, and attacking her. None of it was my fault, though. Trust me, no one will believe me until they uncover the true villain: my mother.It turns out she is the king's sister, but she faked her death to marry my father, an assassin. Shockingly, the king killed my father, and my mom thirsts for revenge. The king remains oblivious to my mother's survival and her vengeful intentions.To complicate matters, she decided to sabotage my music career so that I would date my cousin, Li Jun. Disgusting, right? She wanted me to make him fall for me and then break his heart. Surprisingly, he did fall in love with me, but I didn't reciprocate. I followed my mother's orders and shattered his heart. Seeing him so devastated tore me apart; his eyes reflected pure anger and hurt from all he had endured.Now he's found someone else, Elaine. I actually know her – she's a talented rapper, the embodiment of perfection, and a bit of a goofball. I can tell she's smitten with him, and truth be told, Li Jun deserves someone like her. I never intended to harm Elaine, but, again, my mother's orders dictated my actions. I need to apologize to her, and I'm planning to betray my mother and help my country and Elaine.

 We may be different, but I want to see them happy.I picked up my songbook, ready to write a 

song titled "Whistle." 

It's got a catchy phrase:

*Whistle like a mistle,**

Bomb! Bomb!**

Every time I show up,

**Blow up, uh.*

It sounded promising, and maybe I could use this song for a collaboration with Elaine, a way to extend my apology

.Just then, my mom texted. She sure likes texting:

*Mom 👿:** Hello, darling. I think we should proceed with Plan C tomorrow.*

*Me:** Sure.**

Mom 👿:** Don't mess up

.You're probably wondering about Plan C. Well, tomorrow, the royal family plans to meet Elaine and Li Jun to discuss matters of the country and marital advice. The king will be present, and my role is to keep Elaine and Li Jun occupied. Meanwhile, they plan to kidnap the king. Since Li Jun will be left to rule in his father's absence, he'll have to expedite his training and won't have time to search for his father.

I won't let that happen. Tomorrow, I plan to reveal the truth. The king invited me to attend the meeting, and I have evidence – all my calls with my mother have been recorded and saved, as well as her texts. I know Elaine will believe me. I'll prove to everyone that I'm not the villain here.

Right now, I need to find a dress for tonight because Jimin, Li Jun's soon-to-be royal advisor, will be there, and I have a little crush on him.

I decided to take a stroll around the castle. I reached the garden gate and spotted Elaine heading to the garden with Li Jun, carrying a basket.

They seemed to be having a romantic picnic, and I thought this might be my chance to tell them the truth. Even if I was interrupting their picnic, it would be nice to spend time with my BFF.I opened the gate and saw Li Jun and Elaine sitting on a blanket. Li Jun was about to kiss her but stopped when he saw me. He clenched his jaw and shot me an angry glare.

"Hey," I managed to say.

"What do you want?" he asked, clearly irritated."I want to explain what happened yesterday and prove my innocence," I stammered."You have nothing to prove after what you did to me three years ago," he retorted bitterly.

I knew I had hurt him deeply, but I never liked him in that way."Junnie, stop it," Elaine intervened. "Katrina was my BFF, and she has something to tell us. So stop being an arrogant jerk.

"Elaine gave me an encouraging smile, and I seized the moment

."Everything I did, it wasn't me. It was my mother – your aunt," 

I confessed.As expected, they were stunned.

"WHAT?!" they both exclaimed.

"Let me explain. My mom has spies everywhere, so whatever is said here must stay here," I said, cautiously looking around

.I moved to sit beside Elaine, praying they would believe me.**

[End of Chapter]**Word count: 868