Sold to My Killer Husband: His Concubine's Dilemma-Chapter 1: Liora of House Miral.

Slap....!!!! this sound echoed at the very morning in the Miral's house.

The slap left Liora Miral's cheek burning red, as her eyes turned misty.

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"You vile, ungrateful little slut!" Her aunt, Evelyn, snarled at her; she was fuming with anger; her voice made Liora's knees buckle, and she hit the chill stone floor.

"Aunt, please stop! " Liora tried to cover her face. "I swear to God, I didn't..."

"Enough!" Evelyn's voice cut through her plea. She stood tall, her finger pointed like a blade at Liora. "Do you think we will believe your lies? The servants saw you sneaking around with that stable hand. Do you think they're blind?" Liora's heart pounded. "I don't know how I came here, aunt! Trust me... I was just..."

The slap landed again, with a force that left Liora's ears ringing. Her head snapped to the side, and her vision blurred. 'It hurts', blood filled her mouth as she bit her lip to keep from crying out.

"You've humiliated us beyond redemption!"

Liora kept kneeling, shaking, her hands gripping the fabric of her skirt as if it would anchor her. "Aunt, please! I swear on my life, it's not what you think!"

"Not what I think?" Her aunt's shrill laugh was filled with venom.

"Look at yourself! Filthy, dirty, hair loose like some street girl who just lost her chastisity." Liora's eyes widen; she knew this had not happened. She shook her head in denial. "And that boy out there, he is having no clothes on him; what is he doing? huh? helping you about the stables while you were pleasuring him. Do you think servants are blind? Do you think words won't spread?" Evelyn did her best to say the most hurtful words to Liora.

Liora's hands shot up to her hair, too late in the realization that it had come undone, and wild strands clung to her tear-streaked cheeks. Her skirt was crumpled and dust-streaked from where she had tripped in the stables, and her shoes were caked with dried mud. She looked every inch like the mess her aunt said she was.

"I didn't do anything wrong,!" she wailed; her voice was cracking. "He was just helping me carry the feed. He took off his shirt because it was hot, and I..."

"Enough!" Evelyn banged her hand onto the table beside her, and Liora winced at the noise.

"Do you hear yourself? Do you think anyone is going to care about your excuses? You spent a night with that stable boy. That's all they need to condemn you!"

Henry Miral stopped his wife from slapping Liora again. "What's all this shouting about?" he frowned.

"What is it?" Evelyn turned to him, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Henry, your precious niece has been caught ruining this family's name. The servants caught her behaving indecently with a half-naked stable boy. Shall I spell it out for you?"

Henry looked at Liora with disappointment "Liora, tell me this isn't true."

"I swear it's not true!" she sobbed, wriggling toward him. "Uncle, he was only helping me and then I woke up to aunt scolding me; I remember nothing That's all. You have known me since I was a child. You will know that I would not..."

"She's lying," Evelyn interrupted. "Even if she wasn't, do you think it matters? The walls have ears the word with spread like fire. She has disgraced us, and no noble house will ever take her now." Suddenly Evelyn clutched her chest; watching this, Henry rushed to hold her. He pushed Liora aside "You stay away." Liora, who came ahead to do the same, stumbled as he pushed her; this was too shocking for her.

Henry held Evelyn as she sat on the chair in the room. Evelyn looked at him with fake tears in her eyes. She clung to his hand. "Henry, this will also affect our Petra; if the word spreads, who will marry her?". Petra was the only daughter of Henry and Evelyn just like Liora was Henry's younger brother's daughter.

Henry was unable to bear the tears of his wife and he doesn't want to imagine his daughter's future being destroyed. "What do you suggest we do, my lady?

"We salvage what's left of our reputation. We will be the ones who accept that royal decree; we will send her to that estranged prince."

Liora's heart pounded loudly, she stared at her aunt in disbelief. "No! Please don't. I don't want to marry, I'll do anything, anything else!"

Her aunt sneered and walked to her, until her face was inches from Liora's. "Do you think you have a choice? You are nothing now, a disgrace, a burden we should have rid ourselves of long ago. Consider yourself lucky we're sending you to the prince. At least he'll keep a roof over your head."

Although Henry hesitated. "The prince... I have heard His reputation is..."

"Matches hers perfectly," Evelyn snapped. "He's a disgraced former prince, blamed for his wife's death and shunned by the court. Let them rot together far from here. She will never set foot in this house again."

Liora sobbing walked to Henry and clutched his sleeve, her tears falling freely now. "Uncle, please! You know I wouldn't do this. I don't"..sobs.. "I..I really.."

He looked away. "It's already decided, Liora.", his head was bowed down as he left the room without looking back at her.

The facade fell from Evelyn's face her lips curled into a sly smile "You should be grateful we aren't throwing you and your grandma out onto the streets. after all that oldhag is the one who have spoiled you" Liora frowned,

"Lower your eyes you flith" Evelyn was always insecure of Liora's beauty compared to Petra, she sneered everytime she looked at Liora's face "I will give you options, either you go to that prince or I will throw away your grandma out of this house"

"You cannot, this is my house"

"Says who?, do you have any proof? you are a filth brought to this house by my brother in law, he took in your mother oh.. I am sure you are pretty much a bastard, Like , mother like daughter," Evelyn's pushed Liora and walked toward the door "desicion is your,flith".

Liora was in shock to even react but as the door shut, Liora collapsed onto the floor, her tears soaking the cold stone.

The stable boy was dead. They had hanged him within hours of the accusation, silencing his side of the story forever. And now she was being sent away to a man she had never met, a man whose name carried the same stain of disgrace her family had thrust upon her.

She was no longer Liora of House Miral.

She was nothing.

The carriage jolted as it hit a bump in the road, and Liora clutched the side to steady herself. The interior smelled faintly of old wood and damp fabric, and the once-rich crimson upholstery was faded and torn in places. This carriage had once belonged to her mother's family, she was told. A relic of the time that had welcomed her mother into the house of Miral, grace and promise in each of its curved lines and fine details. Now it seemed a mockery of where she had come to now.

The one horse that pulled the carriage belonged to her, a dappled gray mare named Mira, the only friend who had ever offered her kindness without expectations. It was almost laughable that they allowed her to keep the horse. Perhaps it was their way of ensuring she arrived at her destination without a ruckus.

Across from her, her uncle sat stiffly, his hands clasped on his lap. He hadn't said much since they left, save for a curt instruction for the driver to move faster. Liora had tried several times to meet his eyes, but he avoided her gaze, his expression clouded with discomfort and shame.

These were pitiful items that accompanied her was a small chest with a few dresses, worn shoes, and a thin golden bracelet that once belonged to her mother.

That was all she was allowed to take. Her dowry, if one could even call it that, consisted of a set of silver candlesticks, a humble mirror with a cracked corner, and a lacquered box that once held spices but now carried empty promises of her worth. Liora finally broke the silence, her voice trembling. "Uncle, please. I... I don't understand how this happened. I don't even remember being in the stables with him." Her uncle shifted, his brow furrowing, but he didn't look at her. "What's done is done, Liora. There's no point in dragging this out."

"But I'm innocent," she said, her voice breaking. "You've known me my whole life. You must believe me."

He heaved a deep sigh and let his eyes fall on the carriage floor. "What I believe is of no account. The gossip has been passed about. Your aunt..." He hesitated and shook his head. "She's arranged it. It's the only way left to save what is of your future."

Her fists were clenched in her lap as frustration and despair welled up inside her. She knew whatever she said, no matter how many tears she shed, would be of no consequence to them. She had been overpowered by her aunt's accusations, and no one cared to listen to her.

The palace gates towered ahead, iron bars etched with the intricate sigils of the royal house. The carriage slowed to a stop as the driver called out to the guards. Liora peeked out of the small window, her breath catching at the grand beauty of the palace grounds. Crushed glass sparkled down the gravel pathway leading up to the gates, and the lush gardens beyond were trimmed to perfection.

Her uncle finally spoke, his tone clipped. "The queen dowager is expecting us. Behave yourself, Liora. Do not embarrass this family further." She swallowed the lump in her throat, nodding silently.

The carriage creaked to a stop, and a servant in a clean uniform pulled open the door. Liora got out, her legs still shaking as she adjusted her dress hem. The dress was one of her good ones, but it didn't compare to the elaborate clothes she saw on palace staff.

Her uncle came after her, his face serious. He looked at her once, as if to make sure she was decent, and then turned towards the big entrance.

"This way," a steward told him, pointing toward the towering double doors that opened onto the main hall.

As she walked, Liora kept her head low, feeling the weight of every gaze that followed her. The whispers of courtiers drifted through the air, their words indistinct but heavy with judgment.

When they reached the receiving chamber, a woman in an elegant but severe gown stood waiting. Her silver hair was perfectly arranged beneath a delicate lace veil, and her eyes, sharp as a hawk's, swept over Liora with the precision of someone who missed nothing.

"The queen dowager," the steward announced while bowing down.

Liora sank into a dignified curtsy, her hands shaking as she attempted to keep her wits.

The queen dowager's eyes lingered on her; a flicker of some curiosity ran through her eyes, perhaps passing through her cold expression. "So," she said finally, her voice measured and commanding. "This is the girl."