From Substitute To Queen Chapter 82

Faced with direct confrontation, Blair couldn't deny what everyone already suspected. Her emotional breakdown was swift and complete.

"No! Please don't send me away. I'm begging you."

She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

"Why can't I love him?" Her voice cracked with desperation. "We grew up together! I know his every habit, every preference! I've trained myself nearly to death to be worthy of standing beside him! Every drop of blood I've shed, every scar I've earned, was for him!"

Her voice grew higher, more frantic.

"We're not blood related—what's wrong with loving him? Why does she get everything just by coming back? Sable abandoned him for three years to be with other men! I've been here the whole time, right beside him! I understand him better, I love him more!"

She reached out desperately, trying to grab Caelan's legs.

"Caelan, look at me... please just look at me. I can do anything for you. I can die for you! Just don't send me away, just give me a tiny bit of love..."

The raw desperation and delusion in her voice was painful to hear. Everyone stood frozen, witnessing the complete collapse of someone who'd lived in fantasy for too long.

Caelan stepped back, his expression cold and unmoved.

"Get away from me."

I couldn't listen to any more of this twisted justification. I stood up.

"You say you love Caelan, but real love isn't about possession or control or hurting innocent people to get what you want. Your feelings for him have been warped from the very beginning."

Blair scrambled to her feet, whirling to face me with pure hatred in her eyes.

"What do you know?" she screamed. "You don't understand anything about what we have!"

Katherine stepped forward and slapped Blair hard across the face.

"Stop this madness! Caelan is your brother, always has been and always will be! We took you in, gave you a home, gave you love, and this is how you repay us? With this twisted obsession?"

Blair wiped blood from her split lip, her expression turning venomous.

"Repay you?" She laughed bitterly. "You think I wanted to be his sister? I never asked to be adopted! I never wanted your charity! I wanted him—only him!"

With that final declaration, she turned and ran from the room, disappearing into the night.

The dining room fell into heavy silence after Blair's dramatic exit. The ugly family drama had left everyone shaken.

Caelan moved to my side, taking my hand gently.

"Sabi, don't feel guilty about any of this. None of this is your fault. Blair's obsession existed long before you returned—your presence just forced it into the open."

Dad cleared his throat, breaking the moment. "Perhaps we should head home."

"Of course," Marcus said, though he looked years older than he had at the start of dinner.

As we prepared to leave, Katherine hugged me tightly.

"I'm so sorry you had to witness that, dear. Blair... we had no idea her feelings had become so unhealthy."

"It's not your fault either," I told her sincerely.

***

**Blair's POV**

Two Beta warriors - Mason and Derek escorted me to the airport like I was some common criminal. Their grip on my arms never loosened during the entire ride.

At security, they finally released my arms. Red marks bloomed where their fingers had been.

"Your boarding pass." Mason thrust the ticket at me. "Direct flight to the western territory. A car will meet you at baggage claim."

I snatched the pass without looking at them. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Derek leaned closer, his voice dropping to a threatening whisper. "Don't even think about running. His Majesty has eyes everywhere."

Heat flashed through my chest. "Go to hell."

Mason's hand moved toward his jacket—where I knew he kept a weapon.

"That's enough." Derek placed a restraining hand on his partner's arm. "She's not our problem anymore."

They turned and walked away without another word.

When I finally settled into my seat, the tears came.

*Sable Crawford... this is all your fault.*

*If I can't have him, then neither can you.*

I stared out the airplane window as we climbed above the clouds. Somewhere below, Caelan was probably with her. Touching her. Kissing her. Planning their perfect future.

*I gave him everything. My childhood, my training, my body, my soul. I earned my place beside him.*

*This isn't over, Caelan. You think you can just throw me away? Replace me with some Crawford pack princess?*

I pulled out my phone and typed a text: "You'll regret this."

But I deleted it before sending.

***

One Week Later

The "treatment center" was a joke. More like an expensive resort tucked into the mountains where rich families sent their embarrassing relatives.

I'd been watching. Learning the schedules. Mapping the exits.

During afternoon "reflection time," when everyone retreated to their rooms or the meditation garden, I made my move.

The staff assumed I was taking a nature walk in the wooded grounds. Instead, I slipped through a gap in the back fence I'd discovered on day three.

A twenty-minute hike through mountain trails brought me to the small town of Cedar Falls.

At Thompson's Car Rental, a bored teenager barely looked up from his phone when I approached the counter.

"Need something reliable for the day," I told him, sliding cash across the scratched formica.

"How about that Chevy?" He gestured toward a bland silver sedan. "Two hundred for twenty-four hours."

I put on my most innocent smile. "That sounds perfect."

The paperwork took five minutes. He didn't ask for ID beyond glancing at my license.

The drive took an hour through winding mountain roads.

The estate sat in a valley so remote it didn't appear on most maps. Exactly how he preferred it.

I parked outside the iron gates and sat for a moment, gathering my courage. This conversation would determine everything.

Then I got out of the car the started to approach the main house. Before I could reach the front door, massive paws thundered across the courtyard.

An enormous Rottweiler came out of nowhere and hit me within seconds, his front paws slamming into my chest. I went down hard, gravel biting into my palms as I hit the ground.