A middle\u2013aged woman named Trudy, who had been smoking and studying a photograph, looked up. She stubbed out her cigarette, walked over to Honora, and began to unwrap the bandages. She then gripped Honora\u2019s chin, turning her head from side to side. \u201cSo this is Regal City\u2019s former number one talent. Not bad looking at all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honora felt a wave of disgust. The woman was dressed in expensive clothes, but a long, jagged scar ran down her face. And, most strikingly, her two front teeth were made of gleaming gold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
SLAP\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Honora could react, a sharp sting erupted across her cheek. She clutched her face, stunned. Trudy blew on her reddened palm. \u201cYou were just thinking how disgusting I look, weren\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honora\u2019s mind went blank. She clutched her cheek, too afraid to speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat good is a pretty face? You all end up as playthings for rich men anyway. So drop the high\u2013and\u2013mighty act. If you work for me, you leave your dignity at the door.\u201d Trudy sneered, returning to her sofa. She leaned forward and tapped the ash from a new cigarette into an ashtray.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears welled in Honora\u2019s eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTrudy\u2026 I wasn\u2019t thinking you were disgusting,\u201d she explained, shaking her head. \u201cAnd I don\u2019t care about dignity anymore. All I want is to live and get revenge on my enemies. I\u2019ll give up anything for that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least you know your place,\u201d Trudy said, taking a file from her assistant and tossing it onto the table in front of Honora. \u201cThis is your new job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honora picked it up and began to read.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trudy took a sip of coffee to wash away the taste of tobacco. \u201cAs Regal City\u2019s former top talent, I\u2019m sure you have many skills. From now on, you will be an instructor at my finishing school. Your job is to recruit vain, ambitious, and beautiful women who have no connections. Tell them we will teach them how to climb the social ladder and catch the eye of Regal City\u2019s elite bachelors. Tell them we can help them escape their lowly lives and become someone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She continued, \u201cAlso, let them know that this academy holds a secret, exclusive party every year. The guest list includes powerful figures from every field imaginable. If any of them catch the eye of one of these men, it will be their chance to soar to new heights.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Honora understood immediately. Her job was to procure beautiful young women for the pleasure of powerful men. The promise of social advancement was just the bait.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand, Trudy,\u201d Honora said obediently. \u201cI will not waste this precious opportunity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trudy was pleased with her quick uptake. \u201cNext year\u2019s enrollment target is one hundred students. That means you need to recruit at least ten beautiful young women every month. Can you handle that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Honora replied. \u201cI won\u2019t disappoint Mr. Lincoln or you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:34\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter Day\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trudy waved a dismissive hand to her assistant. \u201cTake her and get her settled.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the assistant led Honora through the academy, she saw several other attractive women practicing their posture, their speech, their very mannerisms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t want to work a dead\u2013end job for pennies your whole life, then your youth and beauty are your greatest assets,\u201d an instructor was saying. \u201cIf a rich man desires you, you will have the world at your feet\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Listening to those words, Honora clenched her fists, her heart burning with resentment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 559 A middle\u2013aged woman named Trudy, who had been smoking and studying a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-throne-of-thorns-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}