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 looked over Reitan anxiously, trying to see if he was hiding any injuries from the earlier confrontation. Her poor brother was so terrified that he was shaking like a leaf. The moment they returned to his room, he had slammed the door shut and tucked himself underneath his blankets, shivering.

"Reitan, there's no need to fear any longer," Soleia said soothingly. She rubbed his head, messing up his fluffy hair. "I'm here to protect you."

Reitan stared at her with wide terrified eyes. "No! You can't fight Florian and the scary man!"

"Sir Ralph isn't scary," Soleia said, before recalling that Reitan saw Sir Ralph control a ball of his own blood with so much ease. That would have frightened any child, least of all Reitan, who was born more cautious and timid than most. "Well, he is sometimes, but he is on our side. He would never hurt us."

Reitan gave her a dubious look. "Sister, I don't trust him. His eyes keep changing color."

Shades of Green I