One day, all of a sudden, her former fiancĂ© Ethelred appeared before her eyes. The frail, pampered young boy she once knew had become a strikingly handsome wanderer. âFiancĂ©? What are you talking about? Itâs been six years since we broke off our engagement.â âWhat are you⊠talking about? When did we break it off?â In the hand of her former fiancĂ©âwho didnât even know he had been rejectedâ was a letter ordering him to assassinate her. The problem was that the sender of that letter, Duke Edgar, was none other than the man Valentina was about to marry. And an even bigger problem⊠was that this cunning former fiancĂ© had no intention of ever letting her go. âWhat about this question? That day, after your secret wedding ceremony⊠did you consummate the marriage before witnesses?â Valentinaâs mind went completely blank. Yet she understood better than anyone what he was trying to achieve with his provocation. She clenched her teeth and slapped him across the face, but Ethelred, his voice filled with mockery, whispered: âOh, really? You didnât even complete a single step required to become a true married couple.â The air grew heavy as her breath began to falter. Ethelredâs jet-black eyes, burning with strange, uncontrollable heat, surrounded her like flames. ââŠChoose me. Iâll make you the empress of the continent.â