The Bride He Hates-Chapter 118: Lyaana’s Mirror

The next morning, when Lyanna woke up, Azrael was already dressed and standing by the window.

"You’re up early."

"Couldn’t sleep." Azrael replied. "I kept thinking about the vote... about Cassius’s face when he announced the results."

"He got what he wanted." Lyanna said, sitting up.

"That’s what worries me." Azrael said, turning to her. "Cassius never stops at just winning. He always has a next move."

"Does it matter?" Lyanna sighed. "I’ve already lost. What more can he do?"

"That...I need to find out."

After he left for a council meeting, Lyanna sat alone in their chambers, realizing she had nothing to do. It was suffocating.

Soon, Clara arrived with breakfast.

"Your Majesty, you need to eat."

"I’m not hungry."

"You haven’t eaten since yesterday. You need strength."

"For what?" Lyanna asked."I have nothing to do. What do I need strength for?"

Clara put the tray down.

"For getting through this and to figure out what to do next. Don’t forget...it was you who built this initiative in the first place."

Lyanna smiled, grateful for her words.

Meanwhile, in a private chamber far from the council chambers, Cassius was meeting with his closest allies.

"The queen is neutralized." He said with satisfaction. "She is powerless now."

"But still a queen." Lord Dominic said.

"Which is why we need the next phase." Cassius replied. "We’ve removed her from the council. Now we need to remove her from His Majesty’s life."

"How?" Lord Doninic asked. "His Majesty loves her. He even defended her during the vote."

"Love is fickle." Cassius said. "Especially when there are better alternatives." He smiled and pulled out a document from his sleeve.

"I’ve been in touch with the Ashford family. They are wealthy human nobles from the eastern territories and are strong supporters of cooperation. They have a daughter, Naomi, twenty three years old. She is well educated and surprisingly, very similar in appearance to Queen Lyanna."

"You want to replace the queen?" Dominic asked in shock.

"I want to show His Majesty what he could have." Cassius replied. "A queen who is competent and can actually handle political responsibilities without getting people killed. The Ashfords want to visit Thornfield to discuss expanding cooperation programs in their region. I’ve invited them. They arrive in three days."

"His Majesty will never replace Queen Lyanna."

"Maybe. But when he sees Naomi who is similar to his wife in appearance but superior in every other way, it will make him wonder whether he deserves better. And if Queen Lyanna sees him noticing another woman who looks like her but is more successful than she is..." He smiled. "Well... insecurity does wonderful things to already fragile marriages."

Everyone present there was interested to see how this plan would play out.

In the afternoon, Lyanna went to the garden to clear her mind. Azreal came running to her.

"There you are. I’ve been looking for you."

"I’m avoiding council members who want to remind me I’m no longer allowed in meetings."

Azrael sat beside her on the bench.

"I have an idea."

"About what?"

"About what you can do now." Azrael said. "You can’t lead the alliance anymore but you can still help people."

"How?"

"There is a village on the southern border. They’ve been struggling with crop failures. You could go there and work with them on agricultural solutions."

Lyanna looked at him for a moment.

"You’re trying to give me purpose."

"I’m just trying to remind you that your worth isn’t defined by the council approval. You’re still you. Cassius didn’t steal your ability to help people."

Lyanna smiled.

"That’s actually... very sweet." She said and squeezed his hand. "Thank you for believing I still have value when I’m struggling to believe it myself."

"You’ll always be valuable to me." Azrael replied, kissing her forehead.

The Ashford family arrived three days later. Azrael was in his study reviewing documents when Adrian entered.

"Your Majesty, the Ashford family has arrived. Lord Cassius invited them to discuss cooperation expansion in the eastern territories."

"I didn’t approve this visit." Azrael said, frowning.

"Lord Cassius said it was standard diplomatic outreach. Since Queen Lyanna is no longer handling alliance matters, he has taken over some of those responsibilities."

"Of course he has." He muttered. "Fine. I’ll greet them formally. Call Lyanna."

"Her Majesty is in the village, remember?"

"Oh! I completely forgot. She left early this morning to work on the agricultural project. She won’t be back until evening. I suppose I’ll have to greet them alone."

Azreal walked to the main hall where the Ashford family was waiting. Lord Ashford was standing with his wife and daughter.

Azrael suddenly stopped in his tracks. Naomi Ashford was stunning. Her long dark hair was styled in an elegant braid. She had the same height and build as Lyanna and the same grace. Even her dress looked similar to what Lyanna usually wore.

"Your Majesty." Lord Ashford said, bowing. "Thank you for receiving us. May I present my wife, Lady Anna, and our daughter, Naomi."

Naomi curtsied gracefully.

"Your Majesty. It’s an honour to meet you. I’ve heard so much about Thornfield’s cooperation programs. I’m eager to discuss how we might implement similar initiatives in our territories."

She was confident, poised, and articulate.

"Welcome to Thornfield. We’re always happy to meet cooperation supporters."

"My daughter has studied alliance policies in depth." Lady Ashford said. "She’s very passionate about human-vampire cooperation. She has been implementing small-scale programs in our territories with remarkable success."

"No security breaches, and no confidential information leaks." Lord Ashford said.

Azrael understood the implication immediately. He was comparing her to Lyanna.

"I’m sure she has done excellent work." Azrael replied with a polite smile. "But large-scale projects come with complications. No one is immune to that."

Lord Ashford looked a little embarrassed.

As they walked to the guest chambers, Cassius appeared out of nowhere.

"Your Majesty! You’ve met the Ashfords. Lady Naomi, I hope your journey was pleasant?"

"Very pleasant, Lord Cassius." Naomi replied. "Thank you for arranging this visit."

Azrael excused himself as soon as he could. He understood Cassius’s game perfectly.

Lyanna returned from the village in the evening covered in dirt and exhausted but genuinely happy.

"We figured out the problem." She told Azrael with excitement. "They just needed to redirect the stream flow."

"That’s wonderful." Azrael replied, but he looked distracted.

"What’s wrong?" Lyanna asked.

"Nothing." He replied. "We have guests. Cassius has invited the Ashford family to discuss cooperation expansion."

"Oh!" Lyanna’s excitement faded slightly. "Cooperative work."

"It’s just diplomatic courtesy. They’ll stay for a few days and then leave."

"It’s fine." She smiled.

The next morning, when Lyanna was having breakfast in their chambers Clara rushed in.

"Your Majesty, you need to see this."

"What?"

"The Ashford daughter, Naomi. She’s in the garden. You need to see her."

Lyanna walked to the window with Clara. A young woman was walking in the garden. Lyanna froze. She was looking exactly like her

"She looks like me."

"No, Your Majesty." Clara shook her head. "She is styled like you."

As they watched, Azrael entered the garden and approached Naomi. They spoke briefly and then Azrael gestured towards the flower beds.

Lyanna noticed how Naomi smiled. She was confident and elegant. Everything Lyanna used to be.

"This is Lord Cassius’s plan." Clara said. "A woman who looks like you comes out of nowhere? This cannot be a coincidence."