Ryan's POV

And so, three days before their wedding, I showed up unexpectedly, taking Charles’s bride-to-be and disrupting their plans.

I relished the thought of Charles’s fury and looked forward to the moonstone that Stella would bring me. But until then, I had to play the role of the devoted husband, humorously putting on the act of a loving partner.

Thinking back to my parents, I remembered how my mother often cooked for us while my father and I simply enjoyed her meals, never having to lift a finger. Stella, however, was a princess through and through; beyond adorning herself, she was helpless in practical matters. She took an intense...