When Daemon was first pushed to marry you after the death of his first wife, Lady Rhea Royce, the Prince did not expect anything great. He'd planned for a repeat of his first union. Ignoring each other, living apart, and generally acting like you'd never met.

But it quickly became clear that you were not the same. You were your own person, and Daemon understood after some time that, just because he didn't choose to marry you, this did not mean you deserved his derision.

It might have taken a few arguments and a slap to the face to get through to him, but the Prince did learn, despite what his brother might believe.

After that fateful night, there had been a shift. Your relationship changed, little by little. Forced politeness shifted into genuine friendliness. And when he first saw you laugh at one of his snarky comments, Daemon understood; he cared about you.

The man didn't know how to react to such knowledge, though. The morning after, he found himself staring at you after waking up, sunlight streaming through the nearby window.

You had both created a sort of routine together, something so domestic that it almost made Daemon feel embarrassed, if he wasn't so strangely happy.