Chapter 6: The Burden of a Lie
Kian Fenix had never desired the title of heir. It was never something he cared for. The Fenix empire, vast and powerful, had always been his father's domain—never his. He had no interest in the weight of the crown, the chains of responsibility that came with it. To him, it was a suffocating role, a life of obligation, not one of freedom. But despite his disinterest, he knew one thing: it was always going to be his—by blood, by birthright.
However, Kian had always loved his older brother, Dmitri. Dmitri, the one who was meant to carry the legacy. Dmitri, who had spent his entire life vying for the approval of their father, seeking a throne that Kian, in his quiet way, had never wanted. Dmitri, who Kian believed would be a better ruler, even if he wasn't the legitimate son.
No one knew the truth. No one knew that Kian was the true heir. The world saw Dmitri as the future, but the truth was far darker. Dmitri was the product of a lie—a lie that Kian's father had crafted to protect his public image. The world believed Dmitri was the firstborn son, the legitimate heir, born of the "first wife" who had died under mysterious circumstances. But that wasn't the truth.
Kian's mother, the only wife Thaddeus Fenix had ever married, had given birth to him—the true, legitimate son. But there was no place for him in the world his father had created. Kian had long accepted that his fate was to remain in the shadows, hidden behind the false front of his brother's role as the heir.
Dmitri, on the other hand, was a different story. Kian had seen the hunger in his brother's eyes—the desperate desire to be more than just the bastard son of an empire, to claim something that, in truth, was never meant for him. His older brother had spent years trying to prove that he was worthy of the title, fighting for a role that wasn't his, driven by a need that Kian never shared.
It wasn't that Kian resented Dmitri's drive. Quite the opposite. He respected it. He had always wanted his brother to have what he believed he deserved. The throne. The power. The position. All of it. In Kian's quiet, unobtrusive way, he had always been content to step aside, to let Dmitri claim what he thought was his. It was a sacrifice that Kian had made out of love, because he believed that Dmitri, who had always longed for the position, would be happier carrying the weight of the empire.
But Dmitri's resentment toward him had never been easy to ignore. Even though Kian had willingly let his older brother take the position, Dmitri saw it differently. He saw it as charity—a gift Kian had given him, out of pity. Dmitri hated the idea that Kian, the true heir, would ever give him anything. He believed the empire's future had been handed to him out of generosity, and it twisted his love for his brother into something far darker.
Kian had never wanted the empire, yet Dmitri couldn't see that. To Dmitri, it wasn't a choice. It was an insult. And that resentment burned between them, a chasm neither of them could cross. Kian's selflessness only deepened Dmitri's hatred. The more Kian stepped back, the more Dmitri believed he had been slighted. The truth, though, was that Kian had no interest in the power that Dmitri so desperately craved.
As Kian prepared for his 18th birthday—an event that would force him further into the public eye—he found himself contemplating the inevitability of it all. The celebrations were coming, and with them, the growing pressure of expectations. The world would soon recognize him, officially, as an adult, as the future. But that future wasn't something he wanted. He didn't want the empire; he just wanted to be left alone.
His thoughts lingered on Dmitri. The man who would carry the title, whether he liked it or not. The man who would be hailed as the ruler of the Fenix empire, despite the truth that everyone already knew: Dmitri wasn't the real heir.
But Kian had never wished for anything more than for his brother to be happy. It wasn't about power. It wasn't about wealth. It was about seeing Dmitri content with the legacy, even if it meant Kian would never sit on the throne.
The lies that held their family together would never be undone. Kian knew that. His father had created this world, and it was one Kian couldn't escape, even if he never truly wanted to belong in it.
As his 18th birthday drew closer, Kian's mind was clouded with thoughts of the future. A future he didn't want, but one that would eventually be his to shape. And as the day of his birthday approached, he felt the weight of his family's expectations growing heavier by the minute. The truth would never be known, not for a long time—if ever. Dmitri would always be the public heir, and Kian would always remain the shadow, watching from the sidelines, content to be nothing more than the hidden king of a kingdom that would never be his to rule.