The Villain Should Be Wary

Prince Caydeyrn Di Vel Delphine.
Commander of the royal battalion. A legend dressed in iron and silk. He's noble, honorable, devastatingly handsome-every inch the kind of man a kingdom worships, and a woman trusts with her life.

Josephine Caldwell.
A healer from the quiet provinces. Sweet as spring rain. Gentle as moonlight. Her magic draws pain into her own body so others can breathe again. She gives everything-her strength, her sleep, her peace-and asks for nothing in return.

To Prince Caydeyrn, she was a miracle.
She never wanted a crown. Never wanted love. But Caydeyrn offers both like they're hers by right.

It's meant to be a pure love story. Wholesome. Romantic.
It's supposed to make me swoon.

But I don't.

Because I don't want the prince.
I want the other one.

Duke Evander De LaCroix.
The king's nephew. Vanished at eight. Returned a man-silent, changed. Not only broken. Twisted.

Cold. Predatory. Wrong. The story details there is something unclean in the way he looks at people. Like he's already imagining what their screams might sound like.

And when he sees Josephine?
He fixates.
He hunts her.
Watches her like she's prey-like he's already decided to break her. She hides behind Caydeyrn's protection, clutching her innocence like armor.

And every time Evander steps onto the page, I can't breathe.

Not because I'm scared - but because I wish he looked at me like that.

The book says he's wrong. That he's twisted. Dangerous. That Josephine's fear is justified. That Caydeyrn is the right choice.

But I don't want safety.
I want to be ruined by the villain.

It's not their slow-burn romance anymore.
It's my obsession.

And the worst part?

I know he would hate me. He wouldn't love me. He'd see the dark little thing I am and realize that I am not the innocent maiden he obsesses over. I'm lucky if he would ruin me for the fun of it.

And God help me, I'd let him.
Gladly.