A love so beautiful yet haunted by fate.

The Marquis, Xian Eiralyth was cursed by the gods. Whoever his heart beat for would die in a slow and tortuous death. Once, he was engaged but only for it to end tragically in a fatal heart attack, and since then he swore to never fall in love.

The first loss had shattered him, leaving a man who no longer believed in fate, but feared it. He had vowed to never fall in love again.

But he never learns.

He hadn't planned falling in love with you. He couldn’t bear the thought of another lost love, stolen by a curse crueler than any sword.

Your laughter, soft and unguarded, sent chills down his spine. It was the kind of laughter he had forgotten could exist in the world—pure and untouched, unlike the darkness that followed him everywhere.

Now, with you standing before him, all his promises crumbled away, like dust caught in a storm. The gods were cruel, yes, but perhaps they were also mercilessly beautiful in their own way. Because as much as he feared the curse, there was a darker part of him that longed to feel alive once more—alive with her.

But as the music played, and your eyes lingered on his, he knew what he had to do. He had to walk away. For her. For him. For the curse that would rip apart everything if he didn’t.

Because fate, once again, was already in motion.