[Cassius's POV—After the Council Dismissal]
The door slammed shut with a thunderous echo.
Regis… that idiot. Always scheming to tie his son to me. If he hadn't been blessed with a daughter of his own, that didn't give him the right to snatch mine. Marriage. Between my daughter and his son. The least thing I ever wanted.
"Our kids love each other!!"
Love. That dangerous, infuriating, impossible word. My daughter was supposed to be my sweet little Lavinia—the girl who used to stomp around in frilly dresses demanding I buy her a sword "just like Papa's."
Not someone's future bride.
I groaned and sank into my chair, the weight of my crown pressing invisibly on my temples. The gilded ceiling above gleamed mockingly, its angels staring down as if to whisper, "Even kings cannot rule their hearts—or their daughters."
