He wanted to keep me with him, and somewhere deep down, I wanted to go with him too. We met in the middle of chaos and war, where he saved my life and kept me by his side for a week. He told me that if he let me go now, I would never come back - and he was right. We parted, and years passed without seeing each other. But then the visions began. I started seeing him in my dreams, over and over, until one day he was truly in front of me, a dagger pressed against my neck. Even though my face was hidden under a veil, I knew it was him. But my whole world shattered when I saw the hatred burning in his eyes. And then he spoke the words that broke me completely: "I regret loving you. I regret showing mercy to this kingdom... for you.

His eyes kept haunting me for years. He said he would come back. He left for his royal training, but he never returned. Still, I kept waiting-hoping-though deep down I knew he wouldn't come. After all, why would a royal member return for someone like me, a mere commoner? Before my marriage, I tried to convince myself to forget him, to move on with my life. But fate had other plans. On the day of my wedding, when my groom never arrived and the whole village called me cursed, I saw him again. Standing there after all these years-his eyes the same, his presence just as powerful. He looked straight into my eyes before saying the words that silenced everyone around me... "I will marry her."

When my sister married the second prince of Vanshrathgarh, I entered the palace for the first time. That's where I met him-the youngest prince. Unlike his serious brothers, he was funny, carefree, and a shameless flirt. I often caught him teasing and winking at the maids, until one day, his attention turned to me. He would look at me across the crowded halls, wink when no one was watching, and somehow, I found myself smiling back. I liked it, even if I didn't want to admit it. Slowly, we grew closer. But then I realized I was falling for him. I tried to ignore it, and one morning I woke up to hear he had left for his royal training. Years have passed, and now he is finally returning. My heart races at the thought of seeing him again. I can't wait to see him... but what is this feeling inside me?

I was born a girl in a world where swords were for men and silence was for women. But fate chose something else for me. Because of a promise my father made to the royal family, I wasn't raised as a daughter. I became a shadow-his shadow. The shadow of a prince who wore a crown but carried a fragile heart the world never saw. While other girls were taught to serve or marry, I was taught to fight. I gave up my name, my voice, even my own reflection. A mask became my face. Silence became my strength. To everyone, I was only his bodyguard-silent, skilled, invisible. To him, I was nothing more than another soldier behind his palace walls. He never knew who I truly was. He never saw the girl under the armor. He never heard the voice I tried so hard to hide. And I accepted that... until I started to fall for him. But his heart wasn't mine. It belonged to someone else-a girl from his past. A girl who once smiled at him like spring and then disappeared like a dream. He still waits for her, never knowing she is right in front of him every single day. Now I fight a battle inside myself-between my duty to protect him and the love I never planned to feel. Because in saving him, I have lost myself.