CHAPTER ONE: THE YOUNG LADY RUINED THE MEETING
ROSE AMARA'S POV
Kingdom, throne, blood, gold, and power. You have nothing if you don't have any of these. It involves more than just being at the top. No one can touch you or others nearby if you are high enough. Nobody looks at you because they are afraid of being blinded by the non-negotiability you reflect back at them when they do.
That’s why I don’t and will never stop.
They respect me more as I rise through the ranks, and one day they will all submit to Grandpa's family name.
The Amber of the West
“We’re Amber, especially you… You’re The Rose Amara…We don’t bend knees. Everyone else does.”
With my mother's words engraved deep in my heart, I took the stairs.
To be anticipated from the East Fortress, the mansion is enormous. The great hallway features light marble flooring and is reached by sweeping marble staircases. The central Chesterfield sofa, the pillars, and even the carpet are all rimmed in gold. There is a picture depicting angels and demons engaged in combat in the center of the vaulted ceiling. That generally causes people to pause and gaze at the fine detail that was added to the picture.
However, it's also frequently the last thing they see before being "taken care of." We not only invite our friends here, but also our rivals.
Heaven and hell. Angels and demons.
River Amber, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that my father was lyrical in that sense given his upbringing. His ancestry dates back to the beginning, commencing at the end of World War II with my grandparents; he was not just the ruler of one of the most prosperous kings in London and Russia.
I am part of that bloodline.
In fact, I’m the only one who can protect it anymore.
I chose the red dress that gives me a strong edge today. I don't even have to put on my beige coat; it just hangs there. It's a habit I inherited from my dad. My ginger hair is styled in a sophisticated bun. I don't have a lot of makeup on, but it's many layers thick, giving me a thirty-year-old appearance rather than a twenty-eight-year-old one.
In this realm of monarchy, being young is a vulnerability, and there is no way I will allow them to take advantage of any of my flaws.
At the foot of the steps, a glowing face abruptly stops me. My great-cousin Bella, who is completely straight and little, grins at me when she sees me. In fact, her entire body is, including her frame, lips, and nose. Her enormous blue eyes are the only thing that are large.
It’s like staring straight into the calm of the tropical ocean.
She is dressed modestly in a long-sleeved garment that falls just above her knees. Her orange hair is pulled back in a low, tidy ponytail by a long ribbon and is a few shades lighter than mine. She wears no makeup at all, as usual. Her grin wavers momentarily, and all of a sudden, my alarm bells sound. I unleashed the ravenous mama bear on me.
“What is it, Bella?” I asked.
“It’s…” She shakes her head. “Nothing, Rose. Have a nice day.”
“Bella.” I spoke in my no-nonsense tone that she knows no one should challenge. “You can either tell me now, or we can stand here all day until you do.”
She bites her bottom lip, peeking up at me from underneath her naturally thick lashes. That should mean she’s close to letting it out.
Ever since I was brought into the royal world, I always thought I only had my father, and that was enough considering he was the stronger King in this place...
Then, though, Bella came to live with us thanks to my great-uncle Raven, River's youngest brother. I was thirteen when I first met her. She had just turned five. She used to gaze up at me as if she could see the entire world and as if I were going to save her from whatever life she was living at the time.
We instantly became best friends—or more like I became her protector, as she’s too fragile to be out there in the world.
Fifteen years later, she still considers me the same way she did before.I step closer to her, lower my bag to my side, and try to remove the sternness from my tone. Bella trusts me, but she also told me I can be scary, not towards her, but scary in general.
I don't want my cousin to feel that way about me, but if it's necessary to keep her safe, I won't just be a threat; I'll blast the earth's surface to pieces.
I place a hand on her shoulder, stroking it gently. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” She nods twice.
“Then what aren’t you telling me?” Bella bites her lower lip again. “You won’t be mad?”
Unlike most of the royals who have a noticeable London accent, she speaks English in a perfect American accent, probably because I’ve been teaching her since we were young.
“I will never be mad at you.” I smiled at her, which is possibly the warmest type of smile I can offer to anyone.
“Papa said…he said…”
“What?”
She gulps. “He said I needed to get ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“You know.”
“Unless you tell me, I am not a mind reader.”
“F-for…marriage.”
“For what?” I snap, and she flinches, her shoulders turning rigid under my touch. I internally cursed myself for frightening her and took several seconds to calm down. “Did he mention who he’s marrying you off to?”
She shakes her head once while staring at her flat shoes. “He just said I need to get ready. Does…does this mean I can’t continue my studies?”
Her voice breaks with her last sentence. Few things affect me this deeply, and Bella is definitely at the top of the list. Seeing her in pain is like having one of my limbs cut off.
I lifted her chin and she stared up at me with a wretched expression. There are no tears because she was brought up to be the perfect royal daughter from a young age.
For her, crying isn’t a weakness like I consider it. In Bella’s dictionary, tears aren’t ladylike and shouldn’t be shown in public.
The fact that she wants to express her sadness, but can’t, digs the knife deeper into me.
I forced a smile, stroking her hair back. “You don’t need to get ready for anything. I’ll talk to your father, and none of this will happen.”
Her expression lights up. “Really?”
“Have I ever made a promise and not kept it?” A gentle spark invades her expression.
“Never,” she answered with delight.
“Go study and don’t worry about this. Since you have exams coming up, you don’t need to come to the company.”
“I want to.”
Bella has been attending for about a year. She pursued an engineering job, which is considered to be worthless in our field of work by everyone. She selected it freely and without restraint, therefore I was the only one to support her. She is an expert at numbers, so it would have been a waste not to use it.
“As you wish. Where’s uncle?”
“He’s in the dining room…but you might not want to go in there. Uncle River is having a meeting with the rest of the royals.”
“Of course, he is, and let me guess, West, North and South Chambers are in there?”
“Umm…yes.”
Why am I not surprised that Uncle brought up the whole marriage thing when that pest was around?
“Go back to your studies, Bella. Don’t let any of this get to you.” She hesitates, then blurts, “Be careful. You know they don’t like you there.”
“They will dislike me more after today.”
“Rose…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful,” I said to please her, even though I was already plotting a war. She steps forward and hugs me. “Stay safe, Amara.”
Then she takes moderate steps up the stairs.
Unless Bella says my second name, I've never liked it. When I moved in with him, he stated that my mother called me Rose because she loves a rose and that the Russian name Amara belonged to my late grandmother. Since her death, only Bella ever calls me that anymore. Father and Uncle Raven were too, when they were not mad at me. Let’s just say, he’ll have no names for me today, because I’m fully prepared to ruin his meeting.
The headline for tomorrow's news will be "The young lady ruined the meeting," as I wasn't invited to the meeting.
CHAPTER 2: THE MARRIAGE I NEVER EXPECTEDROSE AMARA’S POVAfter the passing of my mom seven years ago. My parents have made a commitment. I have to be married down south. My mother and father met there. However, I have nothing to offer him, because I had had a romantic relationship with Ethan, the West Chamber's heir.Working covertly and setting up meetings with the security group, the support group, and the four clans, the operational wing of the East fortress—I endured the worst of times. Even hiring the prominent leaders whom they trusted more than their own families was something I did.My grandpa passed to me the black book, which details the contacts the royals have with powerful individuals. Whoever holds that book, he claimed, is destined to reign. It goes without saying that no one in the brotherhood would have tolerated a woman ruling over them without first killing me.Although I didn't want to, my father has now given me the family name. To preserve the honor of my family
CHAPTER 3: MEET THE KINGS AND HEIRS ROSE AMARA’S POVAs my father had instructed, I pushed open the dining room door and entered with my head held high.The leaders of an elite group may easily intimidate someone. Uncle is one of the majority of those who have been to jail. While it is shameful to the outside world, it is a badge of honor for any clan member.King of the West Nathan is seated at the head of the table. In his fifties, he is elderly. His once-blonde hair has totally turned white over time and is now recognizable. Because of his denial of rejecting treatment, the cancer did not result in the loss of his hair, which has made him appear older.I try not to glare at him now that I know he’s trying to ship Bella off to one of those ruthless men who will eat her alive.In his role as the sovereign, Hades moves from my side to his right. Ryen, the general, is seated to his left. Hades is on a par with him in terms of power, but Ryen plays a more important function that invol
CHAPTER FOUR: HE'S BACK ETHAN’S POV I'm here in front of the people I used to be a part of, who welcomed me into their homes at age 26 because River, my previous boss Leonard, liked me a lot. It's different now. The strain feels like a whip waiting to rip open my back. I used to be popular with most of these men because I was the City's strongest hitman. I was the only one of their soldiers who could match my abilities. I carried out all of their dirty work and killed those they needed to be killed. They used to like me, but now that I've been gone for so long, they are unhappy. The fraternity forbids anyone from leaving, at least not alive. A person can only quit by dying. My attention drifts from Raven, River's younger brother, seated at the head of the table, to his elite circle. Everyone is looking at me oddly except Nathan, my loving daddy, who knows the situation. And she, too. To see my little mafia princess better, I cock my head to the side. In actuality, she is seate
CHAPTER FIVE: TO BE WED ROSE AMARA 'S POV I nod as guards go before me after promising to make the car ready. I remind myself to say hello to the workers again whenever I pass them so I don't come out as a bitch. I'm marching down the hall, feeling like my heart will burst into consuming flame. I don't mind behaving that way with the brothers in the brotherhood, but with the staff, it's a different thing. I learned from my father and Mother to respect those who are beneath me and to hate those who are against me. To catch my anxious breath, I pause at the corner. It nearly feels like I'm finishing a run because of how quickly my chest rises and lowers. The scene I saw inside, though, was worse than escaping. It was a long-lasting, terrifying race. No matter how hard I try, my legs can't help but tremble. They have finished supporting me for the day. As the pillar with the gold rim blurs, I hastily remove the signs of annoyance from my eyes. That's it. It is done. Being a membe
CHAPTER SIX: PLAN OF HIMETHAN POVUnderneath the ice-cold exterior, she burned and crushed the feminine side of her before it could emerge. I gaze at Rose's back as she leaves the house. I have no doubt that she is not conscious of the slight sway in her hips because of how she walks, with assurance and broad steps.But it's not entirely gone.The idea of breaking into her life and exploiting those hidden, secret features of hers makes my lips tremble. My gaze follows her to the entrance even though Eya, one of her most faithful warriors, meets and follows her outside.Yes, only Rose would choose a woman as one of her closest guards. She always did things differently and flipped the world on its finger.She thinks she can fight beside me but doesn't know that the fight has been going on for a long time. She can only complete the task she was given because she cannot change the hand dealt to her.Watching her tear up would be painful, but winning without sacrificing anything is useles
CHAPTER SEVEN: PLAN OF HERROSE AMARA POVDespite my best efforts, I can't seem to focus my attention. Even taking breaks to meditate doesn't help, though I do that.I have trouble focusing for the rest of the workday.So, when I sit in my office and look across the library, my head rests on my leather chair. I had the worst college experience, having to take the majority of my coursework online. However, I still managed to earn a degree in business management.To do it, I didn't need my family's last name. I worked hard and independently to complete it.I struggled so hard to get here, and yet I'm still expected to marry someone that has a considerable part of pride. Belle will suffer the price if she doesn't switch to being the woman that Ethan would marry.I'm not naive. I know that my position is primarily due to my father's influence. I'll be fired or demoted as soon as he's gone, and I have no control over it since I'm a damn woman.When my phone vibrates, I pick it up. As soon
CHAPTER EIGHT: He left, AgainCHAPTER 8: He left, AgainOn this wedding day, I feel as if I'm attending my own funeral. As if a key part of my being is slowly fading, an emptiness grips me. Perhaps this part of me died a long time ago, but I'm only now feeling its absence.I never imagined happily ever after or romantic weddings. Instead, I was drawn to stories of hideous beasts and demons. Such memoirs, I believed, carried more truth than fairytale ending.Maria clung to her conviction in her white knight and the fairy tale she had created for herself, in the words of a great author. Her feelings for her husband had grown stronger as they grew older. Despite the obstacles in her path, Maria persevered till her fairy tale ended happily.Such a life seemed unattainable to me. My personal path to marriage, on the other hand, was not what I had anticipated. I was sold like cattle to the highest bidder. As I look in the mirror, I see myself dressed in a modest white dress with lace that c
CHAPTER 9 To be continuedI'm lying on my stomach, gazing through my rifle's scope.Even though Hades was a strict security guard, he could not eliminate the invisible soldiers on the roofs, especially in remote areas.Additionally, because the church is low, all nearby structures may be used as sniper nests. After all, this is London, where tall buildings are a surefire way to accomplish goals.I focus on the altar, where a stunning woman stands beside Raven. I close in till I can see her well. She looks magnificent in white, almost like some messed-up angel that descended to punish people.Rose's expression, though, is anything but angelic. The twisting of her lips and the reddening of her delicate neck, pleading for my fingers to wrap around them, are visible even though she is still hidden behind numerous layers of makeup.She's become an expert at bottling her rage, but not enough to trick me. After all, when she attempted to tame or at the very least conceal her impulsive attit