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The Reluctant Lady of Tarse: Chapter 2

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  The Unseen Hand Milara Aderic had always known that her life was not her own. From the moment of her birth, she had been a tool in her father’s hands, a pawn to be used for whatever purpose suited his ambitions. The legitimacy of her birth mattered little to Womclar Aderic, the powerful and calculating head of the Aderic family. To him, she was simply a means to an end—an asset, a bargaining chip. And today, that truth was about to take on a new, more painful form. It all began in the private chambers of the Aderic estate, a room that had witnessed more than its share of deals, betrayals, and schemes. Milara sat before her father’s massive oak desk, the same desk where countless letters had been signed, treaties forged, and alliances secured. She had always been a silent observer to her father’s machinations, but today, she was to be at the center of them. Her father, Womclar, stood by the window, his sharp eyes watching the distant horizon. He was a man who had spent years culti...
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The Reluctant Lady of Tarse: Chapter 1

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The Return of the Unexpected Milara Aderic sat in the parlor, her back stiff against the hard chair, feeling as though the weight of the world was bearing down on her. The room felt colder now than it ever had, the fire in the hearth flickering weakly, casting long, dancing shadows across the floor. The distant ticking of the grandfather clock was the only sound in the otherwise silent room. Across from her, her husband stood—his frame taller and broader than she remembered, his dark eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her stomach tighten. Lucan von Tarse, the man her father had forced her to marry, had returned. Alive. And not just alive, but victorious. Milara couldn’t reconcile the image of the rough, silent mercenary she had married in a hurried, meaningless ceremony months ago with the man who now stood before her—a man whose presence seemed to fill the room, imposing and undeniable. She had thought of him often during his absence, but only in the context of his inevita...
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The Reluctant Lady of Tarse: Prologue

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Milara Aderic sat rigidly in the dimly lit study, her father’s cold eyes boring into her as though she were nothing more than a pawn in his elaborate game. The heavy oak desk separating them felt less like a barrier and more like a stage for her sentencing. Her father, Womclar Aderic, the esteemed head of the Aderic family, leaned back in his chair, his expression impassive as he delivered her fate. “Become Lucan von Tarse’s wife,” he repeated, as if it were a simple request rather than a decree that would uproot her already tenuous existence. Milara tightened her grip on the folds of her dress. Years of neglect had left her no room to protest; she had learned that lesson well enough. She was the illegitimate daughter, the shadowy reminder of her father’s indiscretions. Her purpose in this family had always been transactional—and now, she was to be the bargaining chip. “I heard he’s a mercenary,” she said, her voice steady but low, masking the whirlwind of thoughts in her mind. “An orp...
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