On the day of our engagement, my fiancé Tristan never showed up.
He had raced off to the snowy mountains after his late swordmaster's daughter, who needed a special kind of frozen soil for her dying white orchid. He was worried about her safety. So he just left.
By the time he came back, the guests were gone. I had become the laughingstock of every noble family in the capital.
He wasn't even sorry. He actually had the nerve to explain it to me like I was the one being unreasonable.
"That orchid is the only thing Liana's father left her. It was dying. The frozen soil on Silverhorn Peak was the only thing that could save it. The cliffs there are dangerous—I couldn't just let her go alone."
"I swore I would take care of her for life. But because of our arranged marriage, I had to settle for keeping her as a secret mistress. I already gave you the title of Viscountess, the wealth, the status. All I'm asking is to change the date of one party. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"
"You already have so much, Thea. Can't you just let her have this one thing?"
But he forgot one thing.
I am the heir of House Winston. The future Duchess.
I was born with power in my hands. I am not some accessory he can weigh and measure and toss aside when it suits him.
If he wanted to play the knight in shining armor for a poor little Cinderella, then he should be ready to lose everything.
