Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 100 100: Blessing in Disguise

Electra's POV

I sat on the edge of my bed, running a hand through my messed-up hair, while trying to piece together my restless thoughts from the night before. I had barely gotten any sleep last night because every time I closed my eyes, I saw Seraphina's pale face, her trembling form, and the fear in her eyes.

I was supposed to be happy, happy that for the first time in my life, I wasn't the one going through the pain, and that terrible pain was now someone else's, but I wasn't happy. I couldn't bring myself to be, and I hated it very much.

It wasn't like me to care about anyone else, especially in a situation that benefitted me so greatly, but knowing that Seraphina was the one going through the pain that I was supposed to be going through just didn't sit right with me.

I sighed heavily, staring at my reflection in the mirror across the room. The girl staring back at me didn't feel like Electra Vale anymore. Now that I knew I was no longer a Phoenix and that my cursed side was no longer mine, I no longer felt like I was that Electra.

Before this weird switch-up happened, I had lived my entire life under the shadow of a secret so heavy, it shaped everything I did from the moment I could think for myself until two days ago before my life changed.

Being a half-Phoenix in Elmeria, a kingdom that worshipped the Phoenixes as divine beings, wasn't just dangerous; it was downright blasphemy. A sin, a crime.

It was also my shame, my secret, and the thing that had defined every single decision my father and Queen Jella had made for me.

They had drilled it into me from the moment I could understand words—no one must ever know. If they did, it wouldn't just mean disgrace for me. It would expose the hypocrisy of the king himself, a man who had broken the cardinal rule of our kingdom: humans and Phoenixes were never to mix.

I remembered the countless lectures—painful lectures, to be exact—that Queen Jella had given me about it. "You may think you're a symbol of strength because you're different, Electra, but should anyone find out the truth about you, you will be nothing more than a disgrace in this kingdom, an abomination, a disease. Do you understand?"

Queen Jella had always showed just how much she hated me, and there was never a point where I didn't know this. The truth had been glaring at me from the very beginning, even when I was too young to fully understand it, and at first, I didn't blame her.

My father had cheated on her, and instead of owning up to his actions, he'd taken the coward's way out. He'd brought me, as soon as I was born, into the palace, handed me to Queen Jella, and issued an ultimatum so cruel, it made me feel sorry for her for the most part of my life.

He had given her the ultimatum to either raise me as her child, since she had claimed she was barren, or he'd strip her of her title.

She had been given no other choice but to play along and claim me as her own, all to save face and maintain her position as queen, but she hadn't stopped there.

No, she needed someone to blame, someone to direct all her bitterness and hatred toward, and that someone had always been me.

At first, I understood her resentment. I even sympathized with her and accepted everything she did to me out of guilt because I believed that I was the root cause of her misery. I thought her scorn, her venomous words, and her excessive punishments were deserved.

After all, I was the living, breathing proof of her husband's betrayal.

So, I did whatever she wanted. I tried to make myself smaller, quieter, more obedient. I wanted so badly to earn her approval, to prove that I wasn't the monster she seemed to think I was. I didn't even realize when the lines began to blur, when her hatred turned into something else entirely—something darker, more sinister.

I didn't recognize the truth for what it was until much later. Until I learned that she also wasn't a saint, not by any stretch of the imagination. While she played the part of the wronged wife, she'd been carrying out her own affairs and had a double life that, if caught, could ruin the balance of the kingdom.

It turned out she hadn't even wanted children to begin with, and her claim of being barren had been a convenient excuse to avoid the expectations that came with her position.

She'd never been betrayed by my father because, in truth, they'd never had a real marriage to begin with, and their relationship was nothing more than an alliance—a façade to maintain the image of a perfect royal family.

When I found out, the guilt I'd carried for years had disappeared immediately, and it dawned on me that all those times she had lashed out at me, manipulated me, punished me—it had nothing to do with betrayal or heartbreak.

It was about control. It was about power. She saw me as weak, as someone she could mold and twist into whatever she wanted, and by the time I realized the truth, it was too late. The damage had already been done.

She had made me fear her. Truly fear her, and that fear had allowed her to do whatever she pleased with me, even including sexually assaulting me and being certain that I'd never have the courage to tell anyone.

I let out a tired sigh, shaking off the thoughts of Queen Jella and my father. Their faces, their voices, everything about them—I forced it all out of my mind.

I had to remind myself, over and over again, that I was no longer Electra Vale. Now, I was Electra Hook—a nobody.

I hated the name. I hated the ordinariness of it, how it stripped me of all the power, authority, and fear I commanded, but seeing Seraphina last night and realizing that I was no longer going to be that person, I couldn't help but think that maybe this was for the best.

Maybe switching lives with Seraphina was exactly what I needed; after all, it seemed to me like she had no idea what she had given up.

I didn't need to feel guilty and feel like I had left behind a burden for her to bear since she wasn't even conscious about the fact that she was living my life and not hers.

For the first time, I could breathe, and there was no constant fear of losing myself and becoming something I couldn't control.

Now, I was just a normal girl, or better still, I could try to be normal, even if I didn't entirely know what that meant.