Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]-Chapter 266: Putting out the fire

Third-person POV

The room was too quiet, and it was the kind of quiet that came after something had gone terribly wrong.

Electra was still lying on the bed, pale and unmoving, and her breathing was shallow and uneven. The air around her felt strange, almost like it had heat trapped inside it that couldn’t escape.

The bedsheets under her were damp, not just from sweat but from something else... something no one in the room wanted to name.

Jella stood near the end of the bed, arms crossed tightly, and her eyes were fixed on Electra. She turned sharply toward Vale, raising her voice without warning.

"I knew this was going to happen," she said, her face twisted with frustration. "The day you brought this cursed child into our home, I knew she’d end up being our biggest burden, but of course, you just had to connect with your obsession."

Vale looked up, his jaw tight. "Jella, don’t start."

"No," she snapped. "I will start, and you don’t get to tell me to shut up. I’ve kept quiet for years while you played father to a child that was never meant to be part of this family. This is your fault. You and your obsession with that Phoenix got us into this mess."

Vale’s face darkened. "Watch your mouth, Jella!"

But Jella didn’t care. She was shaking now, not from fear, but from how furious she was. "Do you even realize what’s happening? The whole kingdom’s going to find out soon that we’ve been raising a half-human, half-Phoenix under their noses. What do you think they’ll do when they find out what she really is?"

Vale started pacing, trying to block her out, but she followed him with her words. "She’s not like us, Vale. She never was, and you knew that, but you brought her here anyway, like you could change what she is just by giving her a name and putting a crown over her head."

"Enough," he barked. "I need to think."

"Think?" she laughed bitterly. "It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?"

She turned back toward the bed, staring at Electra’s face for a few long seconds. Her breathing was still there, just barely, but something about her looked... different now. The girl she had once been was slipping away, and Jella couldn’t help the small smile on her face, despite the situation.

If Electra died, more than half of her problems would be solved. She turned back to Vale, and even though her voice was quieter now, it was no less cruel.

"Deny her."

Vale blinked. "What are you talking about?"

She shrugged, almost casually. "I’m aware you desperately wanted to make her your heir, but that’s not going to happen now, not with what she is. People won’t accept it. So maybe it’s time to come clean. Say she’s not yours, say you were fooled, and that you didn’t know she was part Phoenix. We could even announce that I’m barren, which was why you had to take in some helpless baby. If you step back now, maybe, just maybe, you’ll still have a chance to protect the rest of your legacy."

Vale stared at her like she’d lost her mind. "You want me to lie? To act like she means nothing to me?"

"She does mean nothing to you," Jella said coldly. "She’s not your daughter, she never was, and she’ll never be. Get a grip and make up your mind, Your Majesty!"

He shook his head, disbelief written all over his face. "She is my daughter. I raised her, and I watched her grow. I taught her everything she knows. You really think that means nothing to me?"

Jella let out a scoff, shaking her head slowly. "You know, I always knew you were delusional, Your Majesty, but I didn’t realize just how bad it’s gotten until now. You’re standing here, talking about raising her?"

She gestured toward Electra like she couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. "You barely lifted a damn finger."

Vale’s eyes narrowed. "I gave her everything she needed."

"No," Jella snapped. "The servants gave her what she needed. They were the ones who bathed her, dressed her, fed her, and tucked her in when she cried at night. They raised her, not you, and most certainly not me. We watched from a distance, and you know it. The only time we acted like a loving family with a baby was when we were out in public to manipulate the press."

Vale stayed quiet. He knew parts of what she said were true, but hearing it out loud hit differently, and she wasn’t finished.

"And don’t even try to act like you didn’t know I was cruel to her," Jella went on, her voice dripping with disdain. "You saw it, and you heard the way I spoke to her, the way I ignored her, and you knew how I punished her, but you never cared to stop me. Why? Because deep down, you didn’t care. Not really. You never loved her, and you just wanted to keep her close like a trophy."

Vale turned away from her, his fists clenched at his sides, and the guilt he had carried for almost twenty years was beginning to push its way up.

Jella closed the distance between them, circling him like a hawk.

"Tell me, Vale... do you actually believe she’d forgive you? Do you think that after everything, she’d just accept you as her father if she found out the truth?"

He froze, and she stepped closer, her eyes locked on his face.

"Do you think she’ll ever look at you the same after she finds out you stole her as a baby? That you killed her mother right after she gave birth just because the woman rejected you? Because she didn’t want to be your lover?" Jella tilted her head. "And then you found out she had someone else. That she had a man she actually loved. So you killed her, took her child, and then paraded that child around like she was yours."

"Shut your mouth," Vale growled, his eyes wild now. "Shut your fucking mouth before someone hears you."

Jella smirked, unaffected by his outburst. "Oh, now you’re worried someone might hear me? Well, if one of the doctors outside caught that last bit, wouldn’t that be something?"

Vale rushed to the door and checked the hallway, his heart pounding in his chest. Thankfully, no one was standing nearby, so he turned back to Jella, eyes blazing. "Do you have any idea what would happen if word got out? Do you want this entire kingdom to crumble?"

Jella shrugged. "Well, it’s not like you didn’t give it a head start. You didn’t want people to know what you did? Then maybe you should’ve gotten rid of the only piece of evidence when you had the chance."

Vale’s face paled, but she wasn’t done. She turned toward Electra again.

"Instead, you’re still here playing father and still trying to act like she belongs to you. Like she has a place here." Jella glanced over her shoulder. "There’s still time to fix this, Vale. Deny her, or better yet, do what you did to her mother."

Vale stared at her, horrified. "You’re insane."

"No," Jella said simply. "I’m practical. You said it yourself that the moment people find out she’s a Phoenix, it’s over. For her, for you, and for all of us. The only way to protect what’s left of your legacy as king is to erase the truth."

Vale looked at Electra. Her face was so still, so peaceful, like she was sleeping through a storm, but he could feel the heat on her skin. The truth was waking inside her, and they both knew it was only a matter of time before it came out.

"You want me to kill her," Vale said, barely above a whisper.

Jella didn’t flinch. "I want you to do what you should’ve done a long time ago. End it, and end her before she becomes something you can’t control."

For a long time, Vale said nothing, and Jella waited for his answer with her arms crossed and her eyes cold, but he still didn’t speak.

Instead, he slowly walked over to Electra’s bed and sat beside her. He reached out, brushing a strand of damp hair from her forehead. Her skin was burning up, even now, but her face... her face was still the same one that had called him "father" for all these years.

"I can’t," he said finally, his voice quiet and hoarse.

"You have to, or I’ll do it myself. You have only tonight to decide, Your Majesty. After tonight, we will no longer have a daughter."

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