Chapter 233

AURELIA’S POV Shame clung to me like a second skin. No matter how many times I told myself I had nothing to be ashamed of, I couldn’t stop the burning heat in my cheeks as the doctor cleared his throat and delivered his verdict. “She is fine,” he announced, his tone coldly professional, as if I were just another patient. “Pure.” The word echoed in the silent room. My stomach twisted. This wasn’t vindication—it was humiliation. To be tested like livestock, to have my worth measured in front of an audience—my parents, Draven, Seraphina—was more degrading than anything I had ever endured. I dared a glance at my parents, praying for comfort in their eyes. But my father’s gaze was lowered, stiff, his jaw clenched so tightly the vein in his temple pulsed. My mother wrung her hands, not even daring to look at me. It was as though I had committed some shameful act by existing, by being doubted in the first place. For a fleeting second, Draven’s bloodshot eyes softened, his grip loosening as if