The Cursed Alpha Prince's Replacement Bride-Chapter 48: Asking Lila About the Letter

{Third Person}

Alexander listened without interrupting, his movements unhurried as he ate. Then he threw out another question.

"And your younger sister"

Amara’s grip on her fork tightened slightly. "...What about her?" she asked, calmly.

"How is your relationship with her?"

This time, she didn’t answer immediately. She lifted her gaze and met his eyes directly. There was a brief pause before she asked, "How do you expect it to be?"

Alexander did not react to the deflection. "Are you close to her?" he asked again, more precisely.

Amara held his gaze for a second longer before looking away. "Our relationship is normal."

"And by normal, you mean?"

Amara exhaled softly, as if mildly inconvenienced. "Our personalities are very different," she said. "So co-existing peacefully is out of the question."

Alexander nodded once, as if filing that away. Then he asked, "Who do your parents favour more?"

Amara didn’t hesitate this time. "The younger one, of course." There was no emotion in her voice. "It’s normal in every family."

Then, almost immediately, she added, "Your Highness, the food is getting cold."

Her reminder was subtle, yet clear enough.

Alexander did not press further. He simply returned to his meal, and just like that, the questioning stopped. But he had already heard enough.

Amara wasn’t close to her sister and wasn’t favoured by her parents. A "normal" family, that didn’t quite sound normal.

His suspicions sharpened.

When Alexander finished eating, he set his cutlery down and stood. Amara glanced up briefly but said nothing.

But before he could take more than a few steps, a familiar blur of ginger fur darted into the room.

"Meow—!"

The cat ran straight toward him and, without hesitation, leapt onto his leg, climbing up onto his arm as if it had every right to be there.

Amara’s eyes widened. "Ginger—!"

Alexander looked down at the cat now perched on him. His expression hardened. Then, without warning, he grabbed it by the neck.

Amara’s heart jumped into her throat. For a split second, she thought he was going to kill it. But he didn’t. Instead, he turned, walked back toward her, and held the cat out.

She quickly reached out and took Ginger from him, clutching it protectively against her chest.

Then, he simply turned and walked away without sparing any of them another glance.

It was only after he disappeared that Amara released the breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

Ginger squirmed slightly in her arms, completely unbothered. And just then, Mrs. Woods entered, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Lady Amara," she began gently, "you should not be cold toward His Highness. He was only trying to get to know you."

Amara let out a soft scoff. "Get to know me?" she repeated. "He was interrogating me."

Mrs. Woods shook her head lightly. "I don’t think so. His Highness may have felt he neglected you and wanted to close the distance."

Amara looked at her immediately. "If he is sorry like you claim," she said, her tone sharp, "why didn’t I hear an apology from him just now?"

Mrs. Woods opened her mouth, then closed it. She had an answer, but couldn’t mention it now. The royal family members do not easily apologize to others.

Amara looked away, clearly done with the topic. But after a moment, she spoke again, more casually.

"How does getting a job here work?"

Mrs. Woods blinked, surprised. "A job?"

"I’m bored," Amara said plainly. "I wake up every day with nothing to do. If not for Ginger, I would have lost my mind already."

Mrs. Woods hesitated before replying, "Women married into the royal family are not permitted to work. However, if you wish to occupy yourself, you can inform His Highness. He will grant permission and make arrangements."

Amara immediately shook her head. "No." The response came too fast. "I will manage."

She didn’t miss the implication. Everything had to go through him, and that was the last thing she wanted.

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Human Clan.

Anthony sat comfortably in the living room, his attention fixed on the television as the evening news played.

The soft glow from the screen reflected faintly on his face, but his focus seemed divided, as though something else lingered at the back of his mind.

After a while, he reached for the remote, lowered the volume slightly, and called out, "Bring me the newspaper I left this morning."

"Right away, sir."

The butler returned shortly with the neatly folded paper and handed it over. Anthony took it absentmindedly, flipping it open—but before his eyes could settle on the page, something clicked.

He looked up and asked slowly, "Did Amara send any letters to me?"

The butler straightened. "Yes, sir. About two weeks ago."

’So she wasn’t lying.’ Anthony’s fingers paused against the paper. Then, he lifted his gaze fully now, his expression sharpening. "Then why wasn’t it given to me?"

The butler hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering, "Miss Lila took it, sir. She said she would deliver it to you."

Anthony stared at him, saying nothing for a moment, then gave a small nod. "You may go."

The butler bowed and left.

Anthony remained seated, the newspaper forgotten in his hands as his thoughts shifted. There was no anger on his face yet, just quiet calculation.

A few minutes later, Matilda walked in. "Dinner is ready," she said gently.

Anthony looked up, then stood, placing the newspaper aside. As they walked together toward the dining room, Matilda glanced at him.

"What is it?" she asked. "You look troubled."

"I just confirmed from the butler that Amara did send a letter to me a few weeks ago. But Lila took it." He told her briefly.

Her brows drew together slightly. "Then you will have to ask Lila about it."

Anthony nodded. "I will."

Then they took their seats at the dining table, and the servants began serving dinner. Not long after, Lila walked in.

She wore a soft smile, her expression bright and effortless. "Good evening, Mum. Dad."

Matilda smiled warmly. "You took your time coming down."

Lila slid into her seat gracefully. "I was on the phone with Torin."

Matilda exchanged a brief glance with Anthony before asking, "Are things really that serious between the two of you?"

Lila gave a small laugh, as if the question was unnecessary. "Mum, we wouldn’t have gotten engaged if we weren’t serious."

Matilda sighed lightly but said nothing more. Anthony, however, spoke next.

"I would like to meet the Fishers," he said calmly. "After that, we will arrange a proper engagement ceremony. Something fitting." He allowed a faint smile to appear, then added, "My daughter will not have something so important done quietly."

Matilda nodded immediately. "Of course."

Lila smiled, but she didn’t agree right away. "I will speak to Torin about it first," she said smoothly. "He can inform his parents."

"That’s fine," Anthony replied.

They resumed eating, then, after a few minutes, Matilda spoke again, casually. "By the way... about Amara’s letter..."

Lila’s hand paused slightly above her plate, but only for a second. She looked up, her expression shifting into mild confusion. "Letter?"

Anthony placed his cutlery down. "The butler said you took it from him to give to me."

Lila blinked. Then, slowly, as if recalling something distant, her expression changed. "Oh... that letter."

She let out a small breath, shaking her head lightly. "That night, you had both already gone to bed. I didn’t want to disturb you, so I kept it to give you the next day."

She frowned faintly. "But I must have misplaced it. I looked for it, but I couldn’t find it again." Then she lowered her gaze slightly, her voice softening. "I’m sorry, Dad."

Then she paused briefly before adding, "I didn’t even read it. Maybe if I had, I could have at least told you what it said."

Matilda’s expression softened immediately. "It’s fine, dear. Don’t worry about it."

Anthony looked at her for a moment, his gaze steady. Then he said calmly, "Next time, leave such things to the staff. If that letter had been important, we might have lost something valuable."

Lila nodded quickly. "I understand, Dad. It won’t happen again."

The tension passed, the conversation shifted, and dinner continued. But beneath the table, hidden behind her composed expression, Lila felt a quiet sense of relief settle in. She had handled it cleanly. Still, a thought crossed her mind.

’How did he find out?’

In the end, she concluded that it had to be either Amara or the butler who mentioned the letter to her father.

Her lips curved faintly as she lowered her gaze to her plate.

—

The next afternoon, Torin called.

"Hey," his voice came through warmly. "How are you?"

They spoke for a while—light, easy conversation, nothing out of place.

Later that evening, they went out together to enjoy a quiet dinner amidst soft laughter.

Lila looked relaxed, perfectly at ease. And not once did she mention what her father had said about meeting his parents.