Summary
Valentina’s world shatters when Aethelred, her childhood betrothed, returns—no longer the shy boy she knew, but a commanding and powerful man. He declares their engagement binding, contradicting her belief it dissolved years prior. Aethelred reveals a kill order issued by Duke Edgar, the noble Valentina is now promised to marry. He confronts her with an intimate and provocative question about her new relationship, provoking her to lash out violently. Unfazed, his intense gaze burns with fixation as he presents an astonishing offer: align with him, and he will grant her dominion over the entire continent.