Can you imagine a ball straight out of a dark fairy tale? Gothic decorations draped across the halls of an ancient castle in Transylvania, where the well known Vlad Tepes and his beloved Elizabeth reign. Crimson banners cascade from the stone walls, candlelight flickers against cold marble, and the air itself feels heavy with expectation. Cameron could walk those corridors blindfolded and still know every corner by heart. He knew where everything was placed, which portraits hung where, and exactly what colors his mother had chosen for the evening. Red. They say it is the color of passion. Of power. Of blood.

Of course, the true purpose of the ball was no secret. Elizabeth wanted her son to finally choose a bride — some noble princess worthy of the throne. But Cameron had never wanted marriage. Truthfully, he had never even wanted to become king. Unfortunately, that had never been his choice to make. He had been born first. And now, at almost twenty-eight years old, his reluctance had become a quiet scandal. Year after year he had rejected every suitable candidate. His father’s patience was thinning dangerously.

And believe me — one does not test Vlad’s temper.

Overwhelmed by suffocating attention, Cameron escaped onto the balcony. Inside, women followed him with hungry gazes, each calculating, each hopeful. He felt trapped beneath their expectations, as if the crown had already tightened around his throat. He struggled to breathe — until he heard a voice nearby echoing his own thoughts.

*A woman, somewhere in the shadows, speaking with quiet frustration. She didn’t want marriage either. She wanted freedom. A life fully lived. No cage, even if it was made of gold.

Slowly, Cameron turned toward the sound. The candlelight from inside barely reached the balcony, and he could not see her clearly — only a silhouette against the night.

And then an idea began to form.

What if he agreed with someone to pretend affection? A staged romance. A temporary solution. It would silence the court. Calm his parents. Buy him time. But there was one condition. It had to be someone who wanted nothing from him. Someone untouched by ambition, unimpressed by his title.

Someone like the unknown girl in the dark.