Choose Me (Crown or Fire #1)
Chapter 1
Chapter One
Beatriz Cruz wasn’t made for the United Republic of Westhaven.
She didn’t have the pedigree. She didn’t have the empire. But somehow, the wealthiest nation on Earth had still invited her in.
It arrived on a Tuesday afternoon. A heavy envelope with the St. Ives University crest, stamped in maroon and gold wax like a royal seal. Like it belonged to another world.
Bea froze. Her heart stuttered.
“It’s here,” she whispered.
The street around her vanished. No more kids bundled up in puffy jackets, building lopsided forts. Just the weight of the envelope in her hands.
She bolted up the steps, nearly slipping on a patch of ice hidden beneath a light dusting of snow. Her hand shot out, catching the railing just in time, heart pounding in her chest before she steadied herself and pushed forward.
“Umma!” Her keys fumbled. The door slammed behind her. “Umma!”
Her mother poked her head out of the kitchen, dark hair pulled into a bun.
“What’s all the yelling?” She spotted the envelope and paused. “Is that…?”
Bea held it up like a found treasure. “St. Ives.”
Not just a university. The university. The crown jewel of the United Republic of Westhaven, known simply as the UR. A sovereign nation of islands located between Tahiti and Hawaii, built on bloodlines and global empires.
Her umma’s eyes went wide, immediately understanding. “Papa’s still at the port. Overtime.”
Bea’s breath came too fast to steady. “It’s heavy. That means something, doesn’t it?”
“Video call him. Now.”
Her fingers trembled as she pressed on his name.
Her father answered on the fourth ring, bundled in his thick winter coat, a knitted scarf pulled tight around his neck.
Behind him, shipping containers glinted dully under the overcast sky, cranes moving steadily in the distance.
His breath fogged the screen as he spoke, a testament to the biting November air.
“Bea, what’s up?”
“Papa, it’s here. St. Ives!”
His whole face lit up. “What’re you waiting for? Open it, mija.”
She did.
Dear Ms. Beatriz Cruz,
Congratulations. We are pleased to offer you a full scholarship for admission to St. Ives University as part of our Exceptional Women Program.
She blinked. Reread the line. Then again. Her name was really there. On their letterhead.
There was probably a classy, sophisticated way to react to this. Bea had never learned it.
She didn’t mean to scream, but the sound escaped her. She pressed the letter to her chest like it might vanish. Her mother pulled her into a fierce hug.
“You see? I told you. Hard work doesn’t lie,” her umma said, eyes bright.
Her father’s voice was thick with pride. “I’ve got goosebumps. And it’s not because it’s two degrees.”
Bea’s throat tightened as she looked at them.
Her mother, part-time librarian, full-time anchor, had filled their home with books and the smell of kimchi-jjigae and paella.
Her father, who worked hard to provide for them, always asked about her day if he got home in time.
If he didn’t, he would tiptoe into her room after she was asleep, press a gentle hand to her head, and murmur a blessing in Spanish, the way his mother used to.
Through their example, she had learned how to work. Through their belief, she had learned how to dream.
And somewhere deep inside—long before she understood the words for it—she had learned something else, too: what it meant to be the only one.
The only daughter. The only chance.
Maybe that was why she carried this need. To belong. And to build. Something bigger than herself. Something that could hold all the dreams her parents once made room for.
The Exceptional Women Program was the most competitive in the world. Everyone knew the UR was male dominated, and St. Ives even more so. And yet, when it came to women, the system was precise.
They didn’t open the gates wide. They opened them just enough.
Just enough to let a few others in. And give them the chance to alter the course of their lives.
It wasn’t the kind of place you stumbled into. She was just Bea, daughter of a Korean immigrant and a Spanish port supervisor, so she had tried not to get her hopes up.
Until the envelope arrived.
She skimmed the rest of the letter, unfolding it further. A second card slipped out.
You are warmly invited to the Welcome Gala, sponsored by King Global Capital, to mark the beginning of the new academic year and celebrate our esteemed Scholarship recipients. Formal attire required.
Her pulse jumped.
She’d studied the firm in her first finance class. And now she’d be at their gala?
She grabbed her phone, thumbs flying.
BEYA SLAYA: I GOT IN!
CLAIRE BEAR: OMG, OF COURSE YOU DID!!! WE ARE CELEbrATING TONIGHT AFTER I FINISH WASHING DISHES!!!
Best friend since kindergarten. Ride-or-die since glitter gel pens and matching jelly sandals. Telling Claire made it real.
Bea laughed, wiping her eyes. Her mother was still beaming. Her father was watching like she’d just hung the stars.
Some part of her had always believed this moment would feel perfect. But now that it was real, it felt…enormous.
She already knew the girl who opened that envelope wouldn’t be the same one who came back.