Promise In Pearls

Fifteen pristine pearls. One promise she never asked for.

Marette has always known that love-real, lasting love-is not for her. The gods have woven a world where Bonding is a privilege reserved for the elite, and she and Keon have never belonged to that world. Their stolen moments, fleeting and passion-laced, have always been enough. Or so she thought.

But tonight, under the moonful gaze of the gods, Keon offers her a promise wrapped in pearls-a future she never dared to want. Torn between desire and doubt, between the weight of tradition and the ache of something more, Marette must face the question she's always avoided: Is love worth the risk of wanting more?

Tides may keep them apart, but one truth remains-some promises are impossible to forget.