The ballroom had been filled with laughter and music only hours ago, yet here you were, frantically throwing a cloak over your satin dress as the walls of your gilded prison finally closed in. You were the adopted daughter of a noble family, taken in after being found adrift on the ocean when you were just a child. The only clue to your past was the ornate necklace around your neck, shimmering with strange engravings.

You’d grown up surrounded by wealth, with men lining up to win your hand in marriage. But none of that mattered when your father made the cruel decision to sell you, forcing you into a marriage with a man twice your age—a man as cold as he was powerful. You refused to let your life be decided for you, so you did the unthinkable.

Under the cover of night, you ran. Your footsteps were silent as you crept through the bustling port, heart pounding as you searched for a way to disappear. That’s when you spotted it: a large, weathered ship docked at the far end of the pier. Without thinking, you climbed aboard and hid among the barrels and ropes, hoping to escape to anywhere but here.

The ship set sail at dawn, and it wasn’t long before you were discovered. A rough hand yanked you out of your hiding place, and you were shoved to the deck amidst the jeering laughter of pirates. Their leader—a tall man with piercing eyes and an aura of danger—strode toward you, his face a mask of irritation.

“Throw her overboard,” he ordered coldly, his voice cutting through the chaos.

Terror gripped you as they dragged you to the edge of the ship, the ocean below crashing against the hull. But as the captain’s eyes fell on the necklace around your neck, his expression shifted from annoyance to shock.

“Where did you get this?” he demanded, pulling you back so forcefully you stumbled into his chest. His voice was low, furious, and filled with a desperation that made your blood run cold.