In a world of power and privilege, love is the ultimate rebellion."
In a society where arranged marriages dictate destiny, love is a dangerous game.
Aiden Baldwin has always honored his family's legacy, bound by duty and expectations-until Karlie Co...
"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." - Robert A. Heinlein.
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"Karlie waited until the house was silent, ensuring everyone was asleep before slipping out of bed. The night air was crisp, and she knew it would be even colder by the lake. She pulled on a jacket, grabbed a blanket, and quietly made her way outside.
I'm going to need this, she thought, clutching the fabric to her chest.
Her heart felt unbearably heavy.
So this is what it feels like to be utterly broken. To need someone like I need air. As much as I love him, I know I can't have him. I have to marry Anthony; it's just the way it is. Besides, Aiden has Ariel.
Each step toward the lake felt heavier than the last. The stillness of the night mirrored the emptiness inside her.
She wanted to cry, to scream, to run—but none of it would change anything.
Why won't he come? Even if just to see me one last time?
The thought settled in her chest like a weight, suffocating and inescapable.
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Aiden's POV:
Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up." - James Baldwin.
"Aiden arrived at the lake, securing his horse nearby before settling onto the familiar patch of grass. He had been waiting for over an hour, but still, she hadn't come.
At first, he sat still, staring at the water, lost in thought. Then, restlessness took over, and he found himself pacing back and forth, hands clenched into fists. The urge to ride to her home, knock on her door, and demand to see her was overwhelming.
But he knew he couldn't.
He exhaled sharply, rubbing his fingers through his hair, frustration boiling beneath his skin.
Maybe she's given up on us.
The thought tore through him like a blade. He knew he wasn't himself—between the drinking, the sleepless nights, and the hollow feeling in his chest, he had become a shell of the man he once was.
