Flashback 4 years ago, 7 days before Elara and Reynand's wedding.
"You slut! Don't you realize this marriage is the only thing keeping our family name from ruin?" Elara's father roared, yanking her by the hair and hurling her off the bed. She crashed into a wooden chair, a sharp jolt of pain stabbing through her waist.
"F-Father… I… I…" The agony stole her breath, leaving her words broken.
She tried to rise, but his grip on her hair sent her head spinning. What sin had she committed to deserve this?
Ever since her father was caught in an illegal brothel scandal last year, their family had suffered. If not for an old nobleman's intervention, he would've faced the King's wrath. But that kindness came with a price—Elara had to become the man's fifth concubine.
