Chapter One

"You are a Traitor." Darian declared loudly, his voice echoing in the hall and in my heart like a sharp blade, and I swallowed hard.

I looked at my husband's eyes in this moment, and it was void of any warmth or recognition of me or our relationship. He looked at me like a stranger, and treated me as such in this moment.

"S-Sultan please listen to me" I pleaded, ignoring the fierce glares from the council members as I crawled forward to where my husband sat.

"I am not guilty of any accusations labelled against me. I have never met any of the expatriates apart from when we held the welcome ceremony. This is all a misunderstanding" I said, my words tumbling over each other as I struggled to form a cohesive statement.

"I did not know confidential information about our Kingdom was in our bedroom up till this moment, Sultan. You have to believe me please" I urged, and a sneer rose from behind the Sultan.

"Lies Sultan!" A voice rose up, and my eyes widened as I saw it was my mother in-law standing up from where she was seated.

Her eyes were filled with venom, and she glared at like a speck of dust, not worthy to be on her feet.

"Sultan, Zara has been going in and out of the palace without any escort for the past few weeks but I saw it as nothing. If I had known this was what she was doing, I would have informed you of it" She announced, and my heart tightened.

I always knew that Darian's mother never liked me, but I did not expect that she will do this. Even after I clearly told her I was planning a suprise for Darian and would not want it to be compromised. If I had known this would have been the reward of my years of deep love and sacrifice for Darian and his family, I would not have gotten married to him.

But then, what choice did I have in my fate? From birth I was bethrothed to Darian and there was nothing I could do to change it.

"Mother, but I clearly told you why I did that" I muttered, and she only looked at me in disdain.

As she was about responding to me, a firm voice stopped her 

"Ruby, that's enough. You are not supposed to interact with the accused in anyway" he rebuked, and she glared at him before pointing at me with a thunderous expression. 

"I knew Zara would be trouble from the moment I met her, Elder. I said it countless times she is not worthy to be Queen, but no one listened to me. Now see what this useless girl has done now" 

Her words caused me to stumble, my stomach churning with nausea. I turned to see what my Darian thought of her words, and on seeing his indifference it became clear as day that he had no belief for this girl he knew from childhood. 

"But why can't he believe me?" I asked myself, unwilling to give in. 

Darian's trust in me is crucial as the Sultan. Only a word from him can end this all, it can stop this case in its tracks. Darian has countlessly stopped various more heinous crimes and offenses committed by his careless nephews and nieces from entering court, and till now not a word has been said against them. 

So why is he unwilling to speak for me? Why does he want me to go through this?

"Anyway" another council member said, breaking through my thoughts. I looked up to see them going through the pictures and files in front of them.

"Zara, the evidence presented here proves that you inded exchanged emails containing Akhar's economic trade and security secrets with an expatriate. Moreso, we also have a witness" he continued, and I froze.

"Who could have witnessed a crime I did not commit in the first place" I wondered, and as the person entered I gasped loudly.

Standing elegantly, dressed in flowery native gown and adorned with exquisite jewelry was Maya, Darian's friend who is now a good sister to me. Since she arrived a month ago, she immediately warmed up to me and we have been close friends since then. But in this moment she looked quite different, dressed up like a royal member would.

 What the heck is going on?

Maya moved hesitantly, almost nervous to be in the room but I could see the warm nudge of encouragement from Darian's mother as she moved to stand before me. She stood guiltily and I felt bile rise to my throat.

I stared at her in confusion, what did she have to say when she knew I was innocent?

"Zara, I'm so sorry but I can't do this anymore" she began, her voice choked and looking guilty. 

"I told Darian everything yesterday, all about the plan you made to get money from the expatriates by selling the information." She said, and I felt my body go weak.

What is she saying? Why is she lying against me as well? The whiplash I felt was immeasurable, but I forced myself to speak up.

"Maya, why are you doing this? I never told you anything like this" I defended fiercely, and she looked at me silently. 

"Zara, just beg silently like I did yesterday. I did not think Darian would forgive me but he did." she encouraged me, and I could feel waves of anger pouring out from Darian.

"You did it for money, Zara. There's no need to hide it anymore" she announced loudly and my temples throbbed as i heard the mumurs of disappointment ripple through the council members.

Maya came and knelt in front of me. Holding my hands firmly, her sympathetic gaze quickly turned to a cold look as she held my hand tightly.

"There's no escaping this, you fool. Just leave my fiancée quietly and never come back" she whispered covertly, and I stared at her in shock.

"You did this?" the words slipped out in a whisper, and her cold quiet chuckle put the pieces together as I stared at the diamond ring on her left hand.

This was why Darian would not bother to save me, he did not love me. I was never going to be worthy of Darian's trust... or love.

 As I gazed from her to him, I could now see the missing pieces falling into place, why Mother liked her from the minute she walked in and Darian could never refuse her. Everything I did in order to win Darian, even the secret suprise was her idea and it somehow always failed miserably. This was a conspiracy, and I was never going to survive it.

I am only an inconvenience to Darian and the future they planned. I fell limp to the ground, watching as she walked past Darian who gave her a reassuring nod before his gaze fell to me and my heart burned.

His jaw clenched as he asked coldly "Do you have anything to say for yourself Zara?"

As I looked round the hall to see their scorned gazes, I knew it was of no use now. I sat silently, waiting for my punishment to arrive and he only glanced to his sides for a brief moment before speaking again.

"For the crime of exchanging national trade secrets with a rival country, you are found guilty" he declared.

"You are hereby issued a divorce, and after you sign you are sentenced to exile from Akhar. Leave at once and never show your face again" his words struck me like a blow.

I expected the divorce, but exile? How could Darian do this to me? 

Where do I go from here?