ROSE’S POV

I sat in the lecture hall, waiting for my first class to start, and I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.

Business Management 101. My first real college class.

The room was filling up slowly—students chatting, pulling out laptops, sipping coffee. The air smelled like fresh notebooks and nervous energy. I felt it too, that flutter in my stomach, but mostly excitement. This was what I’d fought for. What I’d dreamed about when I was just a maid scrubbing floors back in the kingdom.

A real chance to learn. To grow. To be part of Damien’s world in a way that wasn’t just standing beside...