Evelina Rothsfield was a princess marked by a curse—one etched not in scars or spells, but in the haunting brilliance of her crimson eyes.
Gleaming like forbidden rubies, they were seen not as a gift, but as a harbinger of ruin. In a world where scarlet irises foretold calamity, Evelina veiled her gaze beneath layers of somber black, shrouding both her eyes and the truth they bore.
Born amidst the tragedy of her mother’s death, her very existence was deemed a sin—her life condemned from its first breath to be lived beneath the weight of guilt and sorrow.
Upon reaching womanhood, Evelina was nearly bartered away to the infamous Archduke Arsene Rockfield—a man whispered about in hushed tones, painted in rumor as a mad tyrant or a merciless tormentor of women.
And yet, what she found was a truth that defied every tale.
He looked upon her not with cruelty, but with reverence—as though she were a treasure no crown could contain.
“I cannot bring myself to imagine a world in which you do not exist.”
His voice, steeped in aching devotion, was matched only by the softness in his eyes as they rested on Evelina, wrapped tenderly within the safety of his arms.
