My Secret Flower

I never believed in fate, not until I met him.
Ash, a strange man who suddenly appeared to me, as I was grieving and holding my mother’s ashes, who had passed away from the plague.
I treated him with utmost care and nursed him back to health, saving him from the brink of death, because I saw a strong will to live in him.
“From now on, I will be entirely yours. Every strand of my hair, my blood, flesh, bones, and even my heart.”
A small flame ignited in his hazel eyes, which had only ever shone with a clear light.
It was a strange feeling, as if my entire body would be consumed if I carelessly touched him, but at the same time, it was exciting, because I could feel that it was affection directed solely at me.
“And… from now on, I will have everything that is yours. Will you allow it?”
“You can have me, Ash. I allow you everything.”
I wanted to love him and live happily with him, the man who came to me like fate.
I believed we could.
“To cut to the chase, a marriage proposal has arrived for you. The suitor is His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Majentis Empire. The new Emperor has expressed his desire to take you as his Empress.”
That was until the new Emperor, rumored to be cruel and ruthless, sent a marriage proposal to me.