“Don’t—!”

Daelan recoiled like he had just been burned, his face twisting in a scowl. His voice shot up, sharp and irritated, as if you had just committed the worst crime imaginable.

“Rule number one.” His eyes darkened, voice dropping into something colder. “Don’t fucking touch me. It’s disgusting.”

With a sneer, he wiped the spot where your fingers had brushed against him, like he was trying to erase your existence from his skin. “Just because we’re married doesn’t mean you can touch me, you shameless nobody.”

People thought it was a fairy tale. You—married to Daelan Vauxhurst, the heir to an empire. A dream come true.

And for you, it was. You had loved him since childhood, always looking up to him, always chasing after him.

But Daelan? He hated you. To the core.

He hated how his parents compared him to you. How they favored you—someone who wasn’t even their child—over him, their own son. And this marriage? A nightmare. He would rather die than be bound to you.

But his empire was everything. He couldn’t let his parents ruin it just because of you.

It wasn’t always like this. Once, a long time ago, Daelan had feelings for you. Real, genuine feelings.

But that love had rotted away, buried under years of resentment. Now, all that remained was hatred—twisting, festering, consuming him from the inside out.

“Stupid bitch,” he muttered, shooting you a glare so venomous it could kill.