The War Bride
Once childhood friends, now reluctant strangers—Lady Clara Valdemont and General Darrell Storm are bound by an arranged marriage meant to unite two feuding houses. Once allies, the Storms and Valdemonts were torn apart by betrayal and bloodshed. Now, the kingdom’s fragile peace rests on the shoulders of a bride and groom who barely speak.
As Clara walks down the aisle, memories of the boy who used to tease her and teach her how to fish clash with the man waiting at the altar—stoic, cold, and unreadable. Darrell has not forgotten the past, nor has he forgiven it. Their vows are spoken through clenched teeth, their first kiss a mere brush on the cheek.
This is not a love story born of fate—it is one that must fight to be written. In a kingdom of politics, pride, and pain, can two broken hearts learn to beat as one again?
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Chapter: Ch 38: I knew nothingThe morning was bright, almost too bright, as if the world had chosen to forget the uneasiness of days before. Spring had fully taken hold, the air soft, the sky a washed blue, and the garden lined with plants no longer dull and filled with life.I stood by the tulip beds, my fingers brushing on the petals the shade of blush and gold. The air felt light and the beauty spring brought soothed me.A bubbling coo of a baby came behind me.I plucked a tulip and turned around.Coral stood there, her hair catching the morning light, her gown paling against the fresh greenery. In her arms, she carried Julian, wrapped in snug white linen. A maid followed close behind, carrying a basket and a blanket draped over her arm.My first instinct was to turn away before she saw me. I wasn't ready, not with Juliane gnawing on my mind, not with confusion curling tighter in my chest everytime she came to my mind.But her gaze was already resting on me.So I smiled. A small, practiced, polite..... anything
Last Updated: 2025-12-23
Chapter: Ch 37: Lies and Worries I sat there, teacup cooling in my hands, but the taste was lost on me. My mind circled back again and again to the duke's words yesterday, as though they were words imprinted in my mind. I couldn't pry them off.Juliane.A name I had never heard until yesterday. Yet now I held a new secret I had no business holding. Was it a secret even? Coral never mentioned the name. Not once. Her husband was a guilt she held in her heart. Just wistful sighs and half–smiles. To others, he was deceased. And never a brother to a man who now haunted my mind.I tried to read, but the words on the page slipped away. I tried to embroider, but I ended up with a million pricks in the same spot. I gave up and sat by the window, watching the gardens where it had all happened yesterday. The willow still stood there, a witness to it all.Who was lying?The question had made me sleepless. Coral's tears and guilt stricken face, the duke's genuine expression, a rawness he was ashamed to show, .....who was I goi
Last Updated: 2025-08-12
Chapter: Ch 36: Juliane and JulianMy steps fell softly over the gravel path, my cloak brushing against the flowering hedges. It was peaceful here, deceptively so. I breathed in deeply letting the warmth of the sun settle over my skin. Just as I rounded the lilac arch, a blur of movement startled me. A wild hare darted across the path, no more than a whisper of fur and muscle. I gasped, frozen for a moment, stunned by it's speed. I didn't know they were so near the residence. The groundsmen should be worried of burrows being dug in his garden. As I was staring at where it dissapeared to, and arrow whistled past my ear, grazing the air with deadly precision before burying itself in the bark of the willow tree just ahead. I screamed, the sound torn from my throat as I stumbled backward and fell hard onto the path, gravel biting into my hands. My heart thundered in my ears and the world started spinning for a second. "Lady Clara!" Boots pounded the ground. The duke appeared in my vision as I blinked up. Bow in hand
Last Updated: 2025-08-09
Chapter: Ch 35: Sweetened bitterness The embroidery needle paused between my fingers, hovering over the delicate floral needlework that no longer held my focus. I'd tried all morning to quiet my mind with the meticulous stitch work that my mother once claimed could cure even the most restless soul.But not today. Not when my soul felt like a wound still bleeding and aching.A knock sounded on the door."Come in," I said without looking up.My maid, Lara, stepped in quietly, her hands folded before her apron. "My lady."I nodded, resuming my needlework with feigned calm."I've brought you a fresh pot of tea," she said, setting the tray down on the side table. "And....some honeyed biscuits."I nodded, again.She didn't budge."Thank you, Lara," I said my voice shadowed with tiredness. "Is there anything else?"She hesitated. "Lord Darell and the his grace went out hunting in the southern woods."I didn't reply, but my hands stilled.She then continued, carefully. "I told Lady Coral as you instructed. That you were unwell
Last Updated: 2025-07-27
Chapter: Ch 34: The day of small hurtsI placed the teacup down with careful deliberation, the porcelain making a soft click on the tray. I rose from the chair, smoothing the folds of my skirts as I stood.Darrell looked up, his eyes briefly catching mine."I'll return to my tasks then," I said, my voice steady despite the strange ache forming in my chest.But as I turned to leave, his voice came again. "We're not done with the ledgers.""We?" I turned to look at him. Who was 'we'? He'd been working on the ledgers alone. He nodded, then put his head back down on the ledgers. "My lord," I called. "I've been seated there, just sipping tea, while you work alone on the ledgers you called me here for.""And?" What was wrong with this man? His nonchalance, him acting like whatever he was doing wasn't strange. Him making me the strange one."Thank you," I said, sighing. "I enjoyed the breakfast. And watching you work the ledgers was quite inspiring and I've learnt a lot.""Have you?" He asked, still not looking up."Yes, My l
Last Updated: 2025-07-24
Chapter: Ch 33: wife in the office The next day arrived with a pale hush, the kind that signaled the seasons were changing. The chill no longer bit as sharply, and the frost that once clung stubbornly to the windows had begun to melt into soft beads of dew.I sat at the vanity, fingers deftly adjusting the ribbon at my collar, my gaze distant.Yesterday, after Darrell left my chambers, I'd finally opened my letter.It was from my mother—gentle, warm and full of the things I hadn't realized I missed so much. She wrote of quite hopes for my well being, her prayers reaching across the miles. She mentioned that my father had with my brothers to help quell a riot near the southern border. And that once it was resolved, my brother Edmund and his wife, who was now expecting, would be moving into a new home of their own.A simple letter.But it had left me aching.The world was changing. My world. I was playing wife. I was no longer the go—merry young lady of the mountains. And the letter reminded me that.I reached for my glo
Last Updated: 2025-07-22
A Girl Can Only Dream
Lisa Moon never imagined that a wax-sealed envelope from her high school best friend—who just happens to be a prince—would turn her quiet blogging life upside down. But when she’s invited to the glittering kingdom of Veloria for a month of garden parties and royal indulgence, she packs her doubts and flies across the world in search of magic.
She expects champagne. She doesn’t expect Cassian Velarion—the prince’s mysterious and devastatingly handsome uncle, who she accidentally walked in on wrapped in nothing but a towel at an airport spa.
What begins as awkward tension quickly ignites into something far more dangerous—desire, secrets, and the kind of chemistry that makes rules irrelevant.
But not everyone wants to see Lisa and Cassian together. Victoria Beyers, a cold and calculating noblewoman, will do anything to drive them apart. Jonah, Lisa’s high school ex, isn’t ready to let go. And as the truth about Cassian’s past unravels, Lisa must choose between the life she thought she knew and the love she never expected.
In a world of royalty, revenge, and red roses, A Girl Can Only Dream is a dazzling modern fairytale about forbidden romance, second chances, and finding your place in someone else’s palace.
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Chapter: Ch 22: Who's not ready?The next day, the castle felt different.Lighter. Louder.Cole had thrown a party with the enthusiasm of someone determined to prove that he could throw one. Music drifted through the halls, glasses clinked, laughter echoed against stone walls.For what felt like a long time, I could finally breathe.Cole was everywhere at once. Laughing, greeting the guests, playing the perfect host. Megan hovered nearby, radiant and relaxed. Seeing them together eased something in my chest.I told myself yesterday was a fluke.Cassian was nowhere to be seen. It felt as if he was avoiding me. Victoria arrived fashionably late.She didn't announce herself. She never needed to. Conversations shifted as she entered, heads turning , attention bending to her direction. She looked unbothered, as if the night had always belonged to her.I had drank more than I should have.One glass had turned into another, then another, the warmth spreading through my veins until the room started spinning. The music was g
Last Updated: 2025-12-28
Chapter: Ch 21: The fishy hotelThe hotel was breathtaking in the way only old money new how to be.Everything smelled faintly of citrus and another scent I could not quite pin down. Victoria took it all in with the ease of someone who just didn't belong here but like she owned the place. Wouldn't be surprised if she did."This hotel," she said as we were led to our table, "is one of my favourites. Me and the owner go way back." She smiled, a small knowing smile. "I practically watched it grow from renovation disaster to this."Jonah murmured something impressed. I just nodded.Before we even sat properly, victoria already had the menu in hand. She barely glanced at it."We'll have the aged salmon," she told the waiter smoothly. "And the house wine. The older bottle. Not the one the tourists gets."The waiter nodded and then quietly disappeared.I hadn't even opened my mouth."You'll love it," she said turning to me. "It's a simple local cuisine. But people trying to modernize it ruined it. But here they follow the
Last Updated: 2025-12-28
Chapter: Ch 20:Past wants to be futureThe next day I awoke with a heavy resolve on my chest.Whatever had sparked between me and Cassian, I had decided it needed to be forgotten. Guilt didn't suit me, and fear.....fear of discovering how deep my feelings ran, suited me even less. Especially when opening them would cost me one thing I was afraid to lose. Cole.After breakfast, I lingered in the corridors , restless and unsure of what to do with myself. That was when One of the staff noticed my unease and gently suggested a distraction." The museum downtown is open today," the woman said . "It's quiet and most people find it grounding."So I went.The museum was hushed and cool. Paintings stared at me from another century, faces long gone and blissfully unaware of modern guilt and inconvenient attraction.I let out a slow breath.I allowed myself to hope that Cassian, like so many artefacts preserved behind glass, could be locked.I wandered slowly through the museum, my footsteps soft on the polished floor. Glass cases gl
Last Updated: 2025-12-23
Chapter: Ch 19: A friendship and a whatever ishBy the time I made it back to my room, I had stumbled thrice and fell twice. Tears wouldn't stop falling from my eyes. I wasn't crying because of him....my buttock was in a lot of pain. I was lying to myself.I was embarrassed. Why did I tear up before him? When did I become so pathetic?Luckily no one was around to witness my breakdown. An ugly one at that. Snort and all. I loathed him.I was now on the bed, lying on my stomach, my head nestling on my folded hands. My mind denied me rest. It dragged me through every encounter with him, and how horny I must've acted. I had sworn after that terrible dating with Daniel, I had grown immune to it all. But with Cassian, I was a mess. Emotional. Wanting. Pathetically wanting.I was alone in this dangerous yearning.Or was this just a swell of hormones? Come to think of it......With a sharp inhale, I fumbled for my phone on the nightstand, swiping at the screen with trembling fingers as I opened my period tracker.Two days late. My stomach
Last Updated: 2025-12-23
Chapter: Ch 18: A walk and a fallMy boots sank slightly into the softened earth as I wandered through the garden. I had taken my blog pictures already, and now I was just walking.Cole had left for the main palace. Megan had dragged Sarah to some fancy tea party she'd gotten invited to. I had the castle to myself.Or so I thought.And then, at the corner of my eye, I saw something move.A blur of white fur zipped past the path ahead, fast enough to make me stop in my tracks. I turned quickly.Nothing.Maybe it was a trick of the light. Another rustle. Then a puff of something white peeked out from behind the edge. I squinted, stepping closer.A round face.Black eyes like shiny beads.A soft, panting grin."....oh my god," I whispered, dropping to a crouch.The Samoyed puppy bounce out from the hedge like a little cloud come to life, tail wagging, fur fluffy and dew or whatever it was clinging onto it. He let out a happy yip and came charging to me, it's grace forgotten."Hi there," I laughed as he crashed into my
Last Updated: 2025-12-23
Chapter: Ch 17: Ghosts and Confessions The rain was still pouring. It was soft, persistent, the sky had forgotten how to stop since it ripped open in the afternoon. Thunder rumbled distantly, a growl that rolled through the castle walls.I stirred.My room was dark now, the dim light of the afternoon already gone. Only the flicker of lightening illuminated the space in brief silver bursts. I blinked, groggy, eyes adjusting to the shadows.I had just had a much needed nap.I sat up slowly, my limbs heavy from sleep. I stretched my hands before hastily brushing the hair from my face. Another flash of lightning cracked through the sky.....and it illuminated a figure.Seated on the armchair next to the closet.I was not alone.My heart stilled before picking up a fast paced. I became nauseous.I squinted into the dark, rubbing my eyes, hoping my grogginess was tricking me. But when the next bolt hit, the figure was still there. No longer leaning back but now seated up.My back straightened, the hairs at the back of my head on
Last Updated: 2025-07-24
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