Chapter 139 CHAPTER 139
Hilda Hale sat at the head of the table, her back straight, hands folded neatly beside her plate. Cedric sat across from her, not beside her, never beside her anymore. That space between them had grown invisible but permanent over the years, like a line neither of them knew how to cross again.
Dinner at the Hale household had always followed a pattern.
Food on the table. Plates served warm. Silence filled only by the sound of cutlery and the ticking clock on the far wall. It wasn’t an unhappy silence - just a practiced one. The kind that had settled into the house years ago and never quite left.
Tonight, it felt heavier.
Anna sat to the side, shoulders slumped, eyes fixed on her plate.
She wasn’t eating.
Her fork pushed peas around in slow circles, smearing sauce into patterns she didn’t seem to notice. Normally, Anna would have filled the room with complaints, gossip, sharp remarks about school or teachers or someone who’d annoyed her that day.
Tonight, none of that came. The events of the day still felt unreal, like something she had watched happen to someone else. Cindy. Lisa. Princess of Mooncrest. Her mind refused to stitch the names together. She had seen her with her own eyes. Spoken to her. Stood close enough to feel the weight of her presence. And yet, the truth would not settle. The girl who had slept in the attic, worn her old clothes, scrubbed floors and cleaned after her - that girl could not possibly be the same one whispered about in corridors, bowed to by others, claimed by a kingdom. The world had tilted in a way Anna had not prepared for, and the silence that followed was the only way she knew how to keep herself from breaking under it.
Hilda noticed it almost immediately.
Hilda noticed it almost immediately.
“Anna, honey,” she said gently, forcing a smile. “Is the food not to your liking?”
Anna didn’t look up. “The food is fine.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?” Hilda asked, trying to keep her voice light.
Anna shrugged. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
Cedric glanced at her briefly, then returned his attention to his plate.
Hilda leaned forward slightly. “Did something happen at school today?” she asked. “You know you can talk to us. We’re your parents.”
Anna let out a small laugh.
It wasn’t amusement.
“Is that right?” she asked sarcastically.
Hilda frowned. “Yes. We’re a family. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”
Anna laughed again - this time louder.
Cedric’s head snapped up. “What’s funny about what your mother said?”
“What’s funny,” Anna replied, finally looking at them, “is hearing the two of you talk about secrets – what an irony?”
Cedric’s jaw tightened. “Watch your mouth.”
“Am I crossing a line?” Anna asked calmly. “Or am I just stepping on one you’ve been hiding?”
Hilda and Cedric exchanged a look.
Anna slammed her fork down.
“Stop doing that,” she snapped. “Stop looking at each other like I’m not sitting right here.”
Silence stretched.
“When were you planning on telling me?” Anna continued. “About Cindy.”
The air shifted instantly.
Hilda froze.
Cedric’s hand tightened around his glass.
“When?” Anna pressed. “Before or after I found out at school? Before or after I humiliated myself in front of people who already knew?”
Hilda’s breath hitched. “You… you ran into her?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?” Anna shot back. “Did you forget I go to the same school?”
Hilda leaned forward anxiously. “Did she talk to you? What did she say? Is she angry with us? Did she forgive us? How does she look?”
Anna raised a hand sharply. “Stop!”
Hilda fell silent.
“You haven’t answered my question,” Anna said. “Why did you keep it from me?”
She swallowed, her voice tightening despite herself.
“It was humiliating. Learning from others that my sister is a princess. That Cindy is Lisa. You should have told me. At least then I would’ve been prepared.”
Hilda shook her head. “Is that why you’re angry? Did she do something to you?”
“No,” Anna said flatly. “I’m the one who approached her.”
Cedric narrowed his eyes. “I’m not sure whether that was a wise thing to do? What did she say to you – about us?”
Anna shrugged. “She wasn’t interested.”
Hilda’s face drained of color. “You should have begged her,” she whispered. “For us. If she’s the princess - Anna, we’re doomed.”
Anna stared at her mother. “Why is that my responsibility?”
Cedric cleared his throat. “Now that you know she’s at your school, maybe you can use that. Be kind. Remind her of the good things she had here.”
Anna laughed bitterly. “Good things?”
She leaned forward. “You treated her like a servant. You used her. There’s nothing good to remind her of.”
Hilda opened her mouth, then closed it.
“How did you even find her when she was a baby? You have never spoken much about it.” Anna demanded. “Where did Cindy come from? Did you steal her? Did you kidnap a princess?”
Hilda stood abruptly. “No.”
Her voice trembled.
“We found her in the forest,” she said. “That part is true.”
Cedric nodded slowly. “We tried for years to have a child. Herbs. Doctors. Everything. But nothing was working for us. We thought we would never bear a child of our own.”
“And when we found her,” Hilda continued softly, “we thought it was a sign from the goddess, to take care of her.”
Anna’s lips curled. “So you kept her.”
“The king had just died,” Hilda said. “The queen disappeared. There was chaos. There was no one to report it to.”
“We were good to her at first….” Hilda’s voice faltered, “But then you came along and things changed.”
Anna crossed her arms. “Is that supposed to excuse it?”
Cedric exhaled. “That’s why we’re afraid. We don’t know if the king will believe us.”
Anna looked at them for a long moment.
“You should have been kinder to her,” she said quietly.
Then, louder, “You used her as a replacement until you got what you wanted.”
Cedric raised his voice. “This is not the time for blame.”
“Yes, it is,” Anna shot back. “For me, I was a child. What’s your excuse?”
Cedric stood. “We need to stay united.”
He turned to her. “You have to help us. If she forgives you, she may forgive us.”
Anna’s eyes hardened.
“She’ll always be Cindy to me,” she said.
Hilda stared at her. “I don’t know who you took after.”
Anna smirked. “Probably both of you.”
A knock sounded at the door.
They all froze.
Hilda opened it.
Sarah stood there, smiling.
“I’m here to see Anna.”
Hilda looked back at her daughter.
Anna met her gaze and said calmly,
“Get used to it, Mum. Sarah’s now my friend – I just found out we have a lot in common.”
The door closed behind them.