Chapter 132: Bloodlines and Sacrifice-2
Her voice grew softer, heavy with loss. “Malia promised she would keep in touch, and she did -through milestones, birthdays, your birth, Jaime’s birth… But there were no photographs. And then… it all stopped.”
Tears shimmered in Dahlia’s eyes as her voice cracked. “Seven years ago.”
Maya’s brows furrowed, voice small but urgent. “But… why? Why all the secrecy… all the moving, all the hiding?”
Her eyes searched Dahlia’s face, desperate for answers, for something that could make sense of the mystery surrounding her mother.
Dahlia sighed, brushing a stray tear from her cheek. “Your mother… she loved fiercely. But her family… they would never have accepted your father. They would have done everything to tear them apart. She chose to fight for the life she wanted, for the love she believed in. And to protect that… she had to leave everything behind.”
Maya’s lips parted, shock and sorrow mingling on her face. “Even her own family?”
Dahlia nodded slowly, eyes glistening. “Even family, sweetheart… sometimes love demands sacrifices we can’t imagine.”
Maya’s voice trembled, disbelief and desperation lacing each word. “Can’t they fight for it? Without leaving?”
Dahlia’s lips pressed into a thin line, shaking her head. “No… because the only way to tear them apart completely would be to get rid of your father… for good.”
Maya’s eyes widened, shock etched in every line of her face. “What? But… you’re a Moretti, right? And Damien’s dad is a Blackwood. Your families are powerful! They… they wouldn’t dare-”
Dahlia’s expression darkened, shaking her head. “No, sweetheart… that’s where you’re wrong. Your mother’s family… they are very powerful. More powerful than the Morettis or the
Blackwoods… even with the five families combined.”
Maya’s hands gripped the edge of the couch, her body tensing as her eyes went wide. “What?!
Dahlia closed her eyes, tilting her face upward, her lips moving in a soft, almost inaudible whisper-a quiet plea carried on the weight of years. “Please forgive me, Malia… I know this is what you wanted to protect her from. But your daughter… she needs to know.”
1/3
117 Wedding And Sanrifice 2
When she opened her eyes, they were steady, somber, and heavy with truth. She fixed Maya with an intensity that made the room feel smaller, every word pressing against the air. “Your mother… is a Lockwood.”
Maya’s breath caught in her throat. Her hands clenched tightly in her lap, knuckles white, as if gripping something could anchor her in reality.
Damien and Ashcroft froze, their expressions betraying shock. Damien’s jaw tightened, eyes darkening with a mixture of disbelief and barely contained anger.
Maya’s voice trembled, barely above a whisper. “Lockwood?”
Dahlia’s nod was slow, deliberate, almost ceremonial in its weight. “Yes, sweetheart. The Royal Family. Malia Lockwood… your mother… she is their only daughter, the sole heir to the Lockwood throne.”
The words hung in the air like a storm refusing to break. “Heir of the Lockwood throne…” Maya repeated, disbelief thick in her voice. Her mind spun, trying to reconcile the quiet, kind, loving, unassuming mother she knew with the legacy Dahlia had just unveiled. How could someone so gentle bear the weight of a dynasty that could so easily shape-or shatter-countless lives with its power, its control, with just a snap of a finger or a single word.
Dahlia’s eyes were sharp, unwavering. “Yes,” she said softly, though the steel beneath her voice was unmistakable. “And that is exactly why she did what she did.”
She leaned back slightly, her gaze never leaving Maya. “Every decision Malia made could tip the balance of power, and the Lockwoods have been fractured ever since she walked away.”
Her voice lowered, cold and precise. “As a royal, she was expected to marry another of her kind-to strengthen alliances, to preserve the purity of the bloodline. That was her duty. That was her cage. But she refused.
For so long, Malia lived by their rules, obeyed every expectation, carried every burden. And then… she fell in love with your father. For the first time, we saw her truly alive. That was the one choice she made for herself, and she was willing to risk everything for it. Even if it meant turning her back on her title, her family… her throne.”
Maya felt her chest tighten. Dahlia’s words painted a life of sacrifice and defiance, a woman torn between the world she was born into and the love she chose.
“When they discovered her relationship with Julian,” Dahlia went on, her voice tightening, they locked her away. They tried to break her spirit, to separate them. Dominic and I… we tried to intervene, but the walls of that dynasty are unforgiving. In the end, Malia made her choice. She eloped with your father.”-
2/3
Silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. Maya’s thoughts swirled, pulling her back to memories of Malia’s warmth, her gentle hands brushing hair from her face, the laughter that had always been enough to banish shadows. How could someone so tender, so selfless, have carried the weight of a crown stained with ambition, betrayal, and blood?
Dahlia’s face softened for a fraction of a second, like someone folding an old photograph back into a pocket. “And now that she’s gone,” she said quietly, “the throne is yours to bear”
Maya stared. “Me?”
“Yes-you, sweetheart.” Dahlia’s voice was gentle, yet carried the weight of certainty. “Even before you were born, your path was already set. It’s how the cycle of the royal families works: the firstborn of one family is traditionally bound to marry the firstborn of the other, to preserve alliances and lineage. Since your mother is an only child, she inherits the crown. And from the moment of her birth, it was expected that she would marry the firstborn of the Hamiltons. That means her firstborn-you-is already tied to this legacy, bound by tradition to continue the union between the two royal lines.”
Maya’s mouth went dry, her hands tightening in her lap as the weight of Dahlia’s words settled over her. Her mind raced, trying to grasp the magnitude of what she’d just heard. She was royalty. Bound by a cycle she had never asked for, a destiny laid out long before she
existed.
Dahlia’s eyes shadowed with warning, her voice barely above a whisper. “If the Lockwoods discover you exist… and that Malia is gone, they will come for you. You are the key that can tip the balance. They will tear everything apart to place a Lockwood back on that throne.”
Damien shot to his feet like a storm breaking free, chest heaving, fists tightening at his sides. His entire body radiated protectiveness, a low, dangerous energy that seemed to fill the room.
“No. I will never allow it!”
Maya froze beside Dahlia, heart hammering in her chest, the crushing weight of her inheritance pressing down like a storm ready to shatter everything.
Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.