10. The Empire's Academy

Isla’s POV

I don’t know how I managed to get to my room and when I fell asleep. All I knew was that I was on the floor when I woke up. Actually, the sound of someone knocking on the door, followed by the housekeeper’s voice, had woken me up.

As I sat up, listening to the voice of the housekeeper instructing me to come downstairs.

My bone ached, and the throbbing pain in my heart hadn’t vanished. I felt weak and tired to make things worse. Dario’s words echoed in my mind.

I sighed. The pain in my chest was increasing with each passing second. I felt like I could explode any minute from now. So this is how rejection felt. It was worse than I ever imagined.

I wished Padre was here with me. His hands wrapped around my body would wash away the feeling of pain that I was experiencing right now. At that moment, my eyes landed on the teddy perched at the corner of my bed.

My father had given me that teddy on my eighteenth birthday. I got on my feet, heading to the corner of the bed. Tha