saltedpepper

When powerless, unfavoured Princess Soleia was arranged to marry the newly titled Duke Orion Elsher, she assumed they would find love eventually.

Who knew that her father would send off her husband mere hours later to fight a war?

Soleia was left alone to deal with an impoverished fief, a crumbling estate, and spiteful, vindictive relatives of the Duke who all wished to see her gone. 

She couldn’t leave― there was nowhere else to go. Soleia desperately wanted her husband to return so he could offer her a helping hand. However, when he did, he returned with Elowyn, a woman he claimed was his true love. 

A woman hellbent on taking her place as the rightful Duchess, no matter what she had to do to get Soleia out of the way. 

Mistreated, misunderstood, and miserable, Soleia was eventually thrown out of the estate she helped build.

Fortunately, when one door closes, another one opens. Unknown to Soleia, a man more powerful than her husband had been watching her, waiting for the right time to snatch her into his gilded cage. Duke Elsher had been foolish to let go― but the crown prince of Raxuvia wouldn’t make the same mistake.

***

Prequel to Stolen by the Rebel King.

The Hidden King's Stolen Wife

Soleia's eyes widened with surprise, her body stiffening for a brief second before rationality quickly deployed back into her brain. She pushed and shoved, but Orion's arms trapped her like an iron cage, keeping her locked still.

In the end, she did the only thing she could think of, biting down hard on his lip.

Instantly, Orion hissed in pain before stepping back, instinctively letting go of Soleia. She stumbled back into Ralph's awaiting arms, and likewise, Elowyn was there to catch Orion when he moved away from Soleia.

His thumb ran against his bottom lip, the trail of red that was smeared across his fingerpad glistening against his toned, olive skin. Likewise, Soleia wiped the blood off her lips.

How ironic. For an action that should've been romantic, both of their kisses had to end in pain.

"Orion!" Elowyn called out, carefully checking his face. "Are you alright? Oh gosh… There's so much blood…"

Blood Ring III