The Duchess Who Never Returned

Why must the one who was wronged be the one punished? He married her, but never truly saw her. Three years of marriage. Three years of cold silence. Until the day she dropped—and he finally turned around. But she was no longer looking back. Olivia, Princess of Wester, fell for Redmond at sixteen, when he saved her from a wild horse. She chased him for three summers and bartered a peace treaty for his hand. But in their marriage, Redmond had only one person in his heart—his foster sister, Helen. On the archery range, Helen's arrow grazed Olivia's shoulder. Redmond said, "Be generous." In the stable yard, he killed Olivia's beloved white horse—just to please Helen. On the tower, a bandit forced him to choose: his wife or his sister. He chose his sister. Olivia took off her ring and jumped. Saved by her brother, she returned to Wester and resolved to start over. And Redmond finally realized—the one he thought would never leave was truly gone. When he knelt outside the city gates, begging her to come back, she told him, "Redmond, I don't love you anymore."