Skylar's POV
The grand doors of the imperial chamber loomed before me—golden, imposing, carved with the crest of the Blackwood Empire. I had walked through them a thousand times when I was still the one who stood beside Chris as 02, as wife, as co-ruler. Now, I was simply... a guest. A relic of what once was.
Two guards flanked the entrance. Their eyes didn't meet mine. They didn't need to. My fall from grace was loud enough. But I stood tall, dressed in white—ironic, maybe—but symbolic. I wasn't here to beg. I was here because Chris allowed it.
The doors opened slowly.
There they were.
Chris sat on his throne—not just as a ruler, but as something colder, sharper than the man I once loved. His expression was unreadable, his fingers laced in front of him with that signature calm that only came before a storm.
Beside him, Amara sat—not on a lower seat, but level with him. She wore her crown as if it had been carved into her very skull. Elegant. Ruthless. She didn't even try to hide the possessiveness in her gaze when it landed on me.
I paused just before the first step leading up to them. "You summoned me," I said, keeping my voice composed. Controlled. "I came."
Chris didn't move at first. Then slowly, he leaned back, his tone cold as marble. "I summoned you because despite everything, you're still Number 02 to the world... and I don't want confusion. That title is gone. Publicly. Legally. Emotionally."
He looked at Amara, his hand reaching for hers.
"This is my 02 now."
Amara didn't gloat. She didn't smirk. She just held his hand, like she'd always been meant to.
I swallowed hard but nodded. "I didn't come to reclaim what's lost."
Chris raised a brow. "Then what do you want?"
"To say goodbye. And to ask for one thing." I looked between the two of them, then fixed my gaze on Chris. "Don't erase me. Don't pretend I didn't exist. What we had... it changed things. Maybe it broke things. But it mattered. If you turn me into a ghost, the people will never let Amara rule in peace."
Amara's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is that a threat?"
"No," I replied evenly. "It's a fact."
Chris stood now, towering, eyes locked on mine. "Then you should know a fact too, Skylar. The only reason you're standing here and not imprisoned in the dungeons of Sector V is because I gave the order to protect you—for old times' sake."
He stepped forward, voice dropping low. "But don't mistake that for softness. If you undermine Amara, if you challenge this new reign, I will finish what I started the day I stripped you of your title."
Amara rose beside him. "Leave while you still have your name. Because if it were up to me, even that would be gone."
I stared at them both—burning, fuming, grieving. But I gave a shallow nod.
And I turned.
As the doors closed behind me, I realized I hadn't just left a room.
I had exited a world I once ruled.
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