❝ 𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐊𝐀. ❞🩸⌗¹ 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐢𝐧. ꒰ 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 ꒱

❝WHAT WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO DO FOR LOVE?❞

JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER.

"Love is a stupidity imposed by society to make you want to get married: to make you ugly, foolish, unhappy, and fat."

That was what she had written, clear and unapologetic. Even now, she remembered the nausea that had hit her and the shiver that followed when the question first crossed her mind.

The timing hadn't been coincidental-far from it. They bombarded her with visions of bliss: a life with her prince, endless sweets, strong sons, and magical kisses of true love...

...as if she hadn't been engaged to the king's son just a week before.

Her answer, along with the many others she crafted to offend, had nearly earned her a slap. Her tutor, appointed by her future father-in-law, monitored every word. The women assigned to her whispered ceaseless reminders of how she should behave.

She still remembered the sharp glare when a hand was raised in warning. It took all her effort to remain calm, her anger concealed behind an indifferent mask.

But her father's gaze had been another matter. That was the first and only time she'd truly felt fear-and it hadn't even been directed at her.

Calm as ever, he'd been unnervingly composed. Sweet, gentle, and careful in his every move, as always.

Yet she had known exactly what would happen after he left the room. She had known it then, just as she knew it now.

Later, she had vented to her brother about being treated like a child. But looking back, she couldn't help but admire her father's unsettlingly sweet smile-haunting and nightmarish in equal measure.

She had learned to act since then, but no amount of practice could replicate that expression.

Her plan to stall the marriage had gone perfectly-until her favourite person's granddaughters stumbled into trouble right in front of her. That changed the game, just a little.