With quiet urgency, she gathered the heavy folds of her lehenga in trembling hands and slipped away from the celebration.

The palace corridors stretched endlessly around her, silent now, emptied of laughter and music. Only the soft echo of her footsteps followed her through the marble hallways as she hurried toward the nearest washroom.

Inside, cold tiles met her bare feet.

The silence there felt different. Too still.

She leaned over the sink, trying to clean the stain marring the delicate fabric, her fingers moving carefully over the embroidery while her breathing slowly steadied. Water dripped softly into the basin. Somewhere far away, faint music still lingered from the festivities outside.

Normal.

Everything should have felt normal.

But it didn't.

Not anymore.

The moment she stepped back into the corridor, darkness swallowed the palace whole.

The lights went out without warning.

A sharp breath caught in her throat as the hallway plunged into complete silence. No chandeliers. No footsteps. No distant voices.

Nothing.

Her pulse began to pound painfully inside her chest.

"Lights ko kya hua...?" she whispered into the darkness, her own voice sounding unfamiliar to her ears.

For the past two days, nothing had felt right. Every moment carried an unease she couldn't explain, a strange heaviness that followed her like a shadow. And now, standing alone inside a darkened palace.

Fear settled beneath her skin.

She began walking faster.

The corridor stretched endlessly ahead, shadows spilling across the walls like something alive. Her heartbeat echoed louder with every step. The air itself felt colder now, pressing against her from all sides.

Then-

A hand suddenly wrapped around her waist.

A gasp died against a palm that clamped tightly over her mouth before she could scream.

She was dragged backward into darkness.

Her body collided against a wall with a soft thud, breathless panic surging through her veins as a tall figure trapped her between himself and the cold stone behind her.

For one terrifying second, she couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Could only stare.

The dim emergency light filtering through the corridor barely illuminated his face, leaving most of him hidden in shadows. But his eyes-

His eyes burned.

Dark.
Intense.
Unforgiving.

They held her there far more effectively than his grip ever could.

The world around them disappeared into silence.

No music.
No voices.
No palace.

Only him.

And the terrifying closeness of his body against hers.

Her pulse fluttered wildly as his gaze slowly dropped to her lips before rising back to her eyes with something devastatingly possessive lingering inside it.

Then he spoke.

Low.
Rough.
Close enough for his breath to brush against her skin.

"Will you marry me?"

The question shattered through the darkness between them.

Her eyes widened instantly.

That voice.

Recognition hit her like lightning.

A trembling breath escaped her lips as fear and disbelief tangled painfully inside her chest.

"You...?"

His arm tightened around her waist before she could pull away, dragging her flush against him. The force of it stole the air from her lungs. Beneath her palms, she could feel the violent rhythm of his heartbeat matching her own.

Her fingers trembled against his chest.

His gaze never left her face.

"Will you marry me?" he asked again, slower this time. More deliberate. Like a promise disguised as a question.

Pain shot through her wrist as his grip tightened further.

Tears welled helplessly in her eyes.

Her voice cracked under panic. "Never..... let me go..."

But something dark flickered across his expression at her refusal.

Something dangerous.

He stepped even closer somehow, leaving no space between them at all. The shadows around them deepened, swallowing the last traces of distance and reason alike.

"Perhaps you misunderstood me," he whispered softly.

His fingers curled tighter.

"You are marrying me."

Not a question.

A verdict.

Fear trembled through her body as tears slipped free despite every attempt to stop them.

"This is wrong..." she whispered brokenly.

For the first time, something shifted in his eyes.

The fury softened. Not completely. Never completely.

But enough.

Enough for his thumb to brush slowly against her tear-stained cheek with devastating tenderness.

Enough for his voice to lower into something almost gentle when he murmured

"This is the most right thing I will ever do."

·༻𐫱༺·

The wait is almost over!!!! 

What did you think of the prologue? Share your thoughts with me!

Remember? I am new to this. Please be kind?

Xoxo

-Kateryna