(Geo's POV)
Years Ago
Vidalia Caradine didn't remember me.
But I remembered her.
The first time I saw her, she was ten, and I was twelve. I had been nothing but a shadow then—a nameless boy in the crowded streets of Etril, watching as a girl with unruly curls and fierce eyes tore through the market, knocking over baskets of fruit as she ran.
She had stolen something. A small pouch, clutched tightly in her hands.
Behind her, two angry vendors yelled, but she didn't stop. She kept running—wild, reckless, free.
And then, she crashed into me.
For a moment, time stopped.
Her scent—fresh air and something sweet—filled my senses. Her eyes, defiant and unafraid, locked onto mine.
She had looked at me like I was nothing. Like I was just another obstacle to push past.
And she had.
She shoved me aside, darting away before I could even react.
I had never hated someone so instantly.
And I had never forgotten her.
Now
Vidalia Caradine still didn't remember me.
But I had spent years remembering her. Watching her.
I knew everything about her.
Her favorite places to go when she thought no one was watching.
The way she bit her lip when she was thinking too hard.
The restless way she held herself—like she wanted to run, even when standing still.
She was fascinating. Infuriating.
And now, she was mine.
Or at least—she should have been.
But Kyren Fernandez stood in the way.
I clenched my fists. That beast. That war-hardened, arrogant bastard who acted like he owned her.
Vidalia belonged to no one—not him, not anyone.
And yet, when he touched her wrist on that balcony… she didn't pull away.
The image of it burned into my mind, like fire licking at my insides.
I had waited years for my moment.
Plotted. Schemed. Followed her movements until I knew her better than she knew herself.
And then that brute—that mindless warrior—thought he could take her from me?
No.
No.
I wouldn't allow it.
Vidalia was meant for something greater than Kyren Fernandez's leash.
And if I had to tear that kingdom apart to make her see it—so be it.