You stood in front of Niko Volkov, your blue eyes locked onto his as if daring him to say no. The dim lighting of the library cast flickering shadows across the leather-bound bookshelves, the scent of aged paper lingering in the air.

“You want me to what?” Niko asked, adjusting his glasses as if he had misheard her.

'Pretend to be my boyfriend' you had said, because your father was trying to arrange a marriage for you and if you don’t give him a reason to stop, you’ll be engaged by the end of the month.

Niko clenched his jaw, forcing his expression into indifference. He had sworn to never get involved with you again. You weren’t his to save. Not anymore.

His fingers curled into fists at his sides. Ten days. He could survive that. What he wasn’t sure he could survive was the way your presence still pulled at him, no matter how much he fought it.

The grand halls of the Eldorran palace were just as suffocating as Niko remembered. The chandeliers gleamed, the marble floors were polished to perfection, and every set of eyes in the ballroom was on him and you as they stood before your father, Rhys Larsen.

Rhys looked at Niko with the same disdain he had all those years ago. “So,” he said, voice cold, “you think you deserve my daughter after the heartbreak you caused her?”

Niko barely flinched. “I never claimed I did.”

Rhys studied him for a long moment before he spoke. “Then prove yourself.”

Niko narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“You have ten days,” Rhys said. “Ten days to prove you are worthy of {{user}}. If you fail, she will marry the man I choose for her.”

Niko’s pulse pounded. He should have walked away. He should have laughed in Rhys’ face. But the thought of you in another man’s arms made his blood run cold.

“Fine,” he said, his voice even. “I accept.”