She was once a slave, neglected and broken before being restored to her rightful place. She is a Duchess, but a hybrid one: half-vampire, half-human. She is the one and only of her kind. She is known as Isabella Valentina dos Santos As a prospective bride, will she choose to give her hand to the human prince she has always loved gently or a vicious vampire who desires her so blatantly? A heated competition. Wicked plans, treachery, love, conflict, and desire... She must overcome all odds in a world where her mere presence has the power to change everything. She was only a myth. She is about to be a legend.
Chapter 1 Intro
"I promised you, didn't I?" He mumbled, without concealing his pleasure.
She stood motionless, attempting to hide her tears from him. Her heart was gradually breaking into
Pieces, sharp and stinging as glass. She didn't want to give in to her grief or express it to him at all. She stared out the window like a stubborn statue, watching the snowflakes slowly blanket the winter garden in silence, unwilling to speak.
His strong arms wrapped around her waist, embracing her, and he rested his head on her shoulder, tenderly kissing her neck. She shivered when she felt his icy breath.
"I always said you would be mine..."
A shiver ran down her spine, not from the icy breath on her neck, but from a deeper, more primal fear. She didn't move, her gaze fixed on the swirling snow outside. His words echoed in her mind, their true meaning obscured by a veil of possessiveness."
"You promised," he murmured again, his voice a low growl. "But did you truly understand what you were promising?"
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating, as she weighed the weight of his words, the weight of her own unspoken secrets. The snowflakes outside seemed to dance in a silent, mocking ballet. Finally, she spoke, her voice barely a whisper above the winter wind howling outside.
"Perhaps not," she said, the words laced with a dangerous ambiguity. "But then again, perhaps neither did you."
She turned in his arms, meeting his gaze with a newfound intensity. Her eyes, usually soft and trusting, now held a flicker of something cold and calculating. A secret fire ignited within her, fueled by a mixture of fear, defiance, and a chilling realization."
"Tell me," she continued, her voice gaining strength, "what exactly did I promise you?"
His smug grin faltered for a fleeting moment, replaced by a flicker of surprise. He recovered quickly, however, his eyes hardening to match hers.
"Everything," he said, his voice a low rumble.
"Everything," she echoed, a single, humorless laugh escaping her lips. "A curious word, wouldn't you say? So broad, so... open to interpretation."
She leaned in closer, the warmth of her breath sending a tremor through him. "Perhaps," she purred, her voice laced with a dangerous sweetness, "it's time we both learned the true meaning of that promise."
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