Chapter 1
I was the "fake princess" despised by the entire realm, and also the current Crown Prince’s wife.
Everyone had been waiting for him to abandon me.
Yet year after year passed, and the Crown Prince only grew more deeply in love with me.
Until the day he fell from a cliff and lost his memory.
He forgot that I was the younger sister he had cherished for seventeen years, and how he defied all moral order to keep me by his side.
He forgot all the entangled love and hatred between us.
He even forgot that we had a three-year-old child.
The entire court rejoiced. The King and Queen acted without hesitation:
With a single imperial decree and a divorce edict, they erased me and the child from his world completely.
It was clear how much the King and Queen despised me, even abandoning their only grandson.
Within half a day, my child and I were sent out of the capital.
The carriage jolted along the road, and I was still in a daze.
After being confined for so long, sudden freedom felt unreal. It was so light it almost made breathing feel unfamiliar.
I took my child and changed our identities, heading south to live in hiding. I opened an inn and learned to live an ordinary life.
The noise of the streets, warm bread and coffee… I thought my life would end like this.
Until that day, when I went to pick up my child from the school as usual, someone suddenly blocked my way, holding a blade.
Out of nowhere, a man blocked my path, brandishing a knife.
The man’s voice was low, but carried an undeniable authority.
"You have two choices."
"Either become my woman and enjoy a lifetime of honor and wealth."
"Or you die."
I looked at the familiar man in front of me and stunned.
Good.
He might have lost his memory, but his madness hadn’t changed at all.
I used to be the fake princess everyone in the Lunaris Empire despised.
Seventeen years ago, the Queen gave birth outside the palace, and by a twist of fate, I was swapped with her baby. So I lived as a princess for seventeen years, and Payton Vargas, the crown prince, spoiled me rotten the whole time.
He was the Lunaris Empire's most honored heir, but he was born with madness in his bones.
The night my true identity was exposed, the palace walls were stained with blood. Payton stormed into my chambers, sword in hand, his black robes reeking of blood. His eyes were red as blood, and he gripped my wrist so tightly it felt like he might crush my bones.
He said, "Veda, you're destined to be my woman."
There was no room for negotiation, no compromise.
Overnight, I went from being cherished in his palm to being the crown princess trapped at his side.
Everyone called me shameless, said I took what wasn't mine, seduced the crown prince, and didn't care about decency.
The King and Queen hated me to their core. They used to treat me like family, but now they just wished I'd disappear completely.
But after seventeen years together, and afraid of Payton's crazy side, they couldn't bring themselves to kill me. They had no choice but to let me stay in the East Palace.
Amid all the scorn and restrictions, I gave birth to our son, Kellan Vargas, who had just turned three.
The little guy was delicate and perfect, like he was carved from precious gemstone. He looked just like Payton, especially those eyes. When he smiled, they curved into little crescent moons. He was my only comfort in that lonely palace.
Payton might have been mad, but his love for me and our son ran so deep it was almost scary. His possessiveness was outrageous. He wished he could tie me to his waist and never let me go.
I thought I would be stuck in that beautiful prison for the rest of my life. Until a year ago, when he went hunting, he fell off a cliff and woke up with no memory of anything.
He forgot I was the sister he'd cherished for seventeen years, forgot how he broke every rule just to keep me close, forgot all the messy love and hate between us, and even forgot about our three-year-old son.
When the news reached the capital, the whole court erupted in celebration. The King and Queen acted instantly. With one imperial decree and a set of divorce papers, they wiped me and Kellan from his world without a second thought.
They even discarded their only grandson like an old shoe.
Before leaving the palace, I knelt outside the King's hall all night, from dusk till dawn, begging the King and Queen to let me see Payton one last time, pleading with them not to throw us out.
The Queen didn't even look at me, her voice colder than ice. "Veda, you've stolen the throne for seventeen years. The King and I have already shown mercy by letting you live. If you dare show your face to the crown prince again, none of your blood relatives will live to see another day."
My heart froze. In the end, all I could do was hold my clueless little Kellan as they practically dragged us out of the capital.
The carriage jolted as we passed through the city gates, and for the first time in forever, I finally felt a wave of relief.
After being confined for so long, sudden freedom felt unreal. It was so light it almost made breathing feel unfamiliar.