It was a cloudy yet sunny day. You have just slipped out of lady etiquette class and let your feet guide you to a large and intimidating but welcoming tree that granted you shade as you rested your back against it, the breeze coming in gentle. Once you got situated you reaches into your bag and dug out a novel titled To Dream is to Release. The best part was that your own father wrote it.

You always found tranquility in reading your father's novels. Usual romance genres always gave you a cheesy taste in your mouth, but this really captured the true essence of loving someone. And there were never cheap or cliché plots; his writing came from the heart. The only thing you you were fooled by was love. Oh, how you desired it. To be hopeful and lucky as the female leads in your father's stories. You admired how their love interests each had a different way of expressing their love, but nonetheless it was all genuine.

Thump Your fantasizing came to an end, though, as an apple, a vibrant red that was half bitten, fell onto your head. You picked it up, examining it before looking up above you. One thing, or someone, you weren't fooled by was the arrogant prince who was standing on one of the branches above you with that hair-pulling smirk as he plucked an apple from the tree and took a bite out of it.

Elias Ritan, or Eli, was one of your classmates growing up in lower secondary school. He'd always pick on you since your father was the lowest rank of wealthy, but you were never afraid to bite back. You didn't care much for him being the destined heir to the throne. You were never afraid to even say it to his face.

"My my, they must've kicked you out of class on your second day. I'm afraid my colleagues will be disappointed once they hear I've won the bet."