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

"Duke Elsher!" The meek-looking servant stiffened, his voice quivering as he tried to stand in Orion's path. He was a frail-looking thing, stick-thin at best, and still he tried to use his body to block the corridor. "Please, Your Grace! His Majesty has given clear instructions that the Princess is not to leave her chambers―"

"Don't make me ask you again," he said, his voice low with warning. "Where is the royal physician? How do I find the infirmary?"

The servant closed his eyes shut, his lips trembling as he said, "My apologies, Your Grace, but I cannot―"

Orion did not have the patience to listen to the rest of the servant's speech, not when Soleia was quite literally dying in his arms. He easily side-stepped the man, his long strides quickly leaving the man behind.

Royal Infirmary