Chapter 1 PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

In the sun-drenched kingdom of Klbas, where gilded spires stretch towards an endless sky, the pulse of tradition is the kingdom's very heartbeat. Here, Prince Tarkan is a man forged in the crucible of duty. Groomed from birth by his pragmatic father, King Ozzan, and his iron-willed mother, Queen Faya, Tarkan's life has been a path paved with obligation, each step leading inexorably to the throne. His destiny, as they see it, is to be sealed with a strategic union to Lady Lamar of House Ferrand, a woman whose political power is the key to securing alliances that could safeguard Klbas for generations. Yet, the heart of a prince is not a kingdom to be conquered. His remains irrevocably tethered to Mia Ritchard, the fiercely intelligent and independent daughter of a former palace nanny. She was the ghost in the machine of statecraft, his childhood confidante whose laughter filled the hushed, sacred corners of the royal library, where the scent of aging parchment and whispered secrets wove a bond deeper than the court could ever comprehend.

Four years ago, that bond was not merely broken; it was shattered. Bound for diplomatic studies abroad, Tarkan left Mia with a desperate, rain-soaked kiss and a frantic promise to defy their worlds for her. But a deafening silence followed him across continents, a void where her letters should have been, carving a wound that festered into bitter resentment. Heartbroken and adrift, Tarkan buried his pain beneath carefully constructed armor: the reckless charm and easy smiles of the "Playboy Prince." He became a fixture in the glittering capitals of Europe, but each hollow conquest was a failed exorcism, a futile attempt to erase the memory of Mia's sapphire eyes and the silent promise they once held.

Now, Tarkan has returned to Klbas, honed by diplomacy, yet the wound of the past remains unhealed. As fate plays its hand at his grand welcome ceremony, an unexpected reunion with Mia reignites the dormant spark between them into an inferno of unresolved questions and undeniable longing. With Queen Faya, the master puppeteer, maneuvering him toward his betrothal, Tarkan faces an impossible choice: the crown that demands his head or the woman who holds his heart. In a kingdom where tradition is a gilded cage and love is the most dangerous rebellion; he must not only unravel the four-year-old mystery of Mia's silence but also find the courage to shatter the cage and fight for a future he can truly call his own.