"In a world of ancient prophecies, mystical creatures, and forbidden love, Princess Aethera is forced to marry the enigmatic King Vladimir of Azania, a vampire kingdom shrouded in secrets. As she navigates the treacherous landscape of her new life, Aethera must confront the darkness within herself and the evil forces that seek to destroy her. Will she succumb to the devil's desire or will she rise above the shadows to claim her true destiny? Dive into this epic tale of love, magic, and self-discovery, where the lines between good and evil are blurred, and the stakes are higher than the heart can bear."
A long sigh escaped her lips as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She stared at her doll face and couldn't help but blame her bad luck for coming into this world as a princess. She hated the fact that she had to get involved in an arranged marriage. A marriage she'll be stuck in for the rest of her life.
"You are looking so beautiful, Aethera."
Aethera looked at her mother's reflection in the mirror. She was stopping herself from rolling her eyeballs because if she did then her mother would probably lecture her all over again about acting like a princess. Which is dumb.
Celestia sighed and turned Aethera around. She knew that her daughter wasn't happy with this wedding, but what could she do? This had always been the norm of every royal family. No royal family in history has been recorded to have gotten married due to love. It has always been about gaining more power; marriage is nothing but a path to more power between two kings, and there's nothing that can change that.
"I know you are not happy with this wedding, Aethera, but please, I am pleading to you as your mother. Don't do anything that we question your father's honor. Please, Aethera." Celestia pleaded, holding her daughter's hand firmly. She knows her daughter; deep down, she knows that Aethera might have agreed to go along with the wedding, but she knows that her daughter wouldn't stand still. She knows that her daughter would retaliate and try to find her way out of the marriage, but if she did, that would bring nothing but disaster for their kingdom.
Aethera stared deep into her mother's eyes. She didn't accept nor reject her mother's pleas. She was only doing this wedding because of her mum. If it was left to her, she would have run away from the kingdom a long time ago, but still, she decided to stay back, only because her mother was still here, and she didn't want to hurt her.
"Your Highness, his Highness wants you at the wedding ceremony," Lya, Aethera's maid, stated with her head bowed down.
Celestia nodded her head, planted a kiss on Aethera's forehead, and left for the wedding ceremony.
Aethera slumped down and for the first time in years, a tear escaped her eyes.
"Princess!" Lya called and ran to meet Aethera, squatting beside her.
"I don't want to do this Lya, I don't." Aurora cried, tears falling from her eyes. She was acting strong all along, telling herself she could, but as the wedding drew nearer, she knew she couldn't. She knew she wouldn't be able to handle this whole thing. She wasn't ready to marry a man, who was known to be a devil. Was she ready to sacrifice her entire life for a man she doesn't know or even care about? No, she wasn't. She still had this dream deep in her heart to explore the whole world, to go against the whole damn princesses' rules, to be independent and do what she wanted with no one telling her what and what not to do. Unfortunately for her, she knows it's a dream, a dream that's far away from her reach, and no matter what she does, she won't be able to reach it.
"Princess," Lya uttered sadly, pulling Aethera into a hug. The rule of the kingdom was against the friendship between a maid and a royal family because they believed that maids are the only servants who are capable of hurting you and also betraying you at the same time. But still, her princess never treated her as a maid, she treated her as a sister and best friend. The first princess showed her love despite her coming from a poor family. She knows that Aethera was always acting rebellious but that was only because she wanted to be free from the duties of being a princess, of being a royal but who would have known that because of what she did, she would end up being forced to marry a man who was no less than a devil. A man who was known to be heartless and won't hesitate to kill anyone that comes his way. This how bad her princess's fate is.
Aethera stared into space, this was her fate, her fate to be doomed her whole life. Her fate is to never experience love and to be doomed her whole life. She hated the fact, that she had to live her whole life, listening and following a man's orders.
She still remembers her father's last verdict to her when she was caught, sneaking to the western gate of the kingdom. A place that royal families were never allowed to go. Why? Because it was believed that vampires resided there. A superstition that she found stupid. Vampires don't exist; deep down, she knows it was all a lie. She was curious to know what was behind those walls, but who would have known that that would lead to her destruction? That would lead to her father, forcing her to marry a man she doesn't know and has never met her whole life.
Her father's deep voice kept replaying in her mind. "Aethera will be getting married to the king of Azania and that's my final verdict. And if you dare to go against this Aethera, I'll make sure you regret it."
That was it, that single statement changed her whole life completely. Maybe she deserved all this after all. She wasn't expecting more from her father; after all, he had never looked at her with love in his eyes, and he never talked to her like a father but as a king.
Aethera stood up, her eyes burning with a new determination. She won't crumble because of this. Her father might have done this because he was trying to punish her, but she'll make sure that no matter what happens, she'll make him regret his decision, and she will make sure to make life hell for her so-called husband.
Lya sighed when she noticed the new look in her princess's eyes. She could only pray that her princess wouldn't do a thing that could lead to her being punished again.
I am Raven Blackwood, the daughter of the esteemed Asher and Astrid Blackwood. My parents died in a rogue attack, and the only hope I had was my chosen mate, Caleb Flynn. I thought I got all the happiness in the world when I got married to him, but on my wedding night, he brought his fated mate to our wedding room. The mate, he couldn't reject. I would've let go of her if she hadn't provoked me, and naturally, I did what anyone would've done in a situation like this. I attacked her. There's a rule that if any person attacks another person without a reason, then he/ she is punished with 20 whippings, but since I am the Luna, I was given another option: apologize to my husband's fated mate. Bow down and apologize to the person who took away my happiness. He must be joking. Rather than bowing, I took not 20 but 50 whippings to remember this humiliation for the rest of my life. Feeling tired, I decided to leave, as my father also thought that Flynn was the better alpha than me. But as I was leaving, I came to know that my parents' death wasn't just a normal rogue attack case. It was more than that. The plan was simple. Avenge my parents, the humiliation I suffered, and start afresh, but what am I supposed to do when the Lycan king starts tailing me? How the hell am I supposed to react when he says he wants to marry me, and that he will destroy everything in my world if I keep refusing him? Not to mention how he hates me. "I can't marry you because I hate all the males with the alpha syndrome, and I am already married," I barked at him. "And? I don't see why that's a problem. Let me make it clear, Raven. I want you, and I will do anything to get you, even if it means I will have to turn this world upside down," He smirked. How am I supposed to get on with my plans like this? Not to mention the rogue head who is strangely interested in my matters more than I am. Oh, and did I mention I had to go through a process of awakening my powers that even I didn't know of?
Rumors swirled around Jason Wood, the captivating billionaire, and his sudden interest in Kayla Rence, the seemingly insignificant daughter of the Rence family. "They say Jason's lost his mind," one gossipmonger whispered. "That Rence girl is ugly, stupid, and yet... she knows things." Countless anti-fans rose, determined to expose Kayla's "true face" and save Jason from her supposed clutches. But as they dug deeper... "What? The pianist Lily is Kayla Rence?" "What? The mastermind behind ZN, the international hacker organization, is Kayla Rence?" "What? The enigmatic agent ruling the entertainment industry is also Kayla?" "And she's a gaming genius?" Anti-fans' scathing comments transformed into awestruck whispers: "What useless idiot, who are you trying to deceive? She's my idol!" Just as the public reeled from these revelations, three imposing figures emerged: the young Masters of the Reynold family. "Let me introduce our sister," one growled, eyes flashing. "If you want to live, get lost!" The crowd trembled, cowed by the family's formidable presence. Kayla's multifaceted persona left everyone wondering: How many more secrets did she conceal?
"In the shadowy streets of Manhattan and Milan, a deadly game of power and passion unfolds. When artist Aurora 'Rory' Thompson witnesses a brutal murder, she's forced into a fake marriage with Leonardo De Luca, the ruthless Mafia kingpin behind La Ombra Noir. Their explosive one-night stand has become a toxic obsession, fueling a dangerous dance of loyalty and deceit. As Rory uncovers Leonardo's dark secrets, she must choose between her art, her freedom, and her soul. Will their twisted love redeem him, or will it destroy them both?
During her three years of marriage with Brendan, Adeline had become as humble as dust itself. However, what she got in return wasn't love and affection, but endless indifference and disdain. Worse yet, when the woman in Brendan's heart suddenly showed up, he further distanced himself from her. Finally, Adeline couldn't stand it anymore and asked for a divorce. After all, why should she stay with such a cold, distant man? The next one would surely be better. Brendan watched as his ex-wife left with her luggage in tow. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he made a bet with his friends. "She'll definitely regret leaving and will come crawling back to me in no time." After hearing about this bet, Adeline sneered. "Dream on!" A few days later, Brendan ran into his ex-wife in a bar. It turned out she was celebrating her divorce. Not long after, he noticed that the damned woman seemed to have a new suitor. Brendan was starting to panic. The woman who had clung to him for three years suddenly didn't seem to give a damn about him. What was he going to do?
While Sienna reached the pinnacle of her success, Julian remained the forgotten son of his family, the one who had secretly stolen her first kiss in the shadows of the night. As Sienna hit her darkest moment, Julian returned home, leaving his life behind, only to witness her tears glistening in the moonlight as she reluctantly accepted another man's proposal. When Sienna needed Julian more than ever, he had risen to a position of power and had become her most steadfast pillar of support. "Please marry me." There was no one else in the world who could love Sienna as deeply as Julian did.
Eliza Greer was abandoned by her mother, raised in an orphanage, and sold to the Burns family at 19. Even though she marries Mason Burns, the other people in the Burns family look down on her for her poor identity and want to try every way to bully her. Unexpectedly, they all failed. Eliza's hidden identities are gradually revealed in one incident after another, which astonishes everyone.
After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Sophia Drake braced herself for the worst when she was forced to move across the country in the middle of her junior year. Desperate to escape her shattered home as soon as she turns eighteen, her plans are disrupted by the enigmatic and captivating Ashford twins. Sophia can't fathom the intense attraction she feels for the twins and tries to avoid them at every turn. As she's thrust into an unfamiliar world, her past demons resurface, making her question her true identity. Will Sophia flee from her past's secrets, or will she embrace her destiny and take control of her future?
Ethan always viewed Nyla as a compulsive liar, while she saw him as aloof and insensitive. Nyla had cherished the notion that she was dear to Ethan, yet she felt coldly rejected when she realized her place in his heart was insignificant. No longer trying to break through his coldness, she stepped back, only for him to alter his approach unexpectedly. She challenged him, "If you trust me so little, why keep me around?" Ethan, who had once carried himself with pride, now stood before her with a humble plea. "Nyla, I've made mistakes. Please don't walk away from me."