Chapter 1
It can take up a lot of time to prepare yourself for a life you’re forced into, but I, Gwendolyn Dawn Revelir, did not have that time.
Today marked the celebration of my engagement to Alexander Wright, heir to the largest oil fortune in England and one of the most sought-after gentlemen in our society.
My friends called me lucky, as he could provide for a life full of luxury and prosperity.
Other families envied me because they wanted their own daughters to marry a Wright son.
But no one seemed to ever ask me what I desired.
Not that women’s feelings, opinions or wishes were ever considered desirable in our society.
And sometimes, only sometimes, I’ve got this feeling of someone else watching over me.
A man, a guardian of moonlight and solace.
In my fantasies, it was an angel. He never spoke directly to me, but I could sense him deeply, as if he knew every fracture in my heart with the aim of cradling away my fears by replacing them with peace and comfort.
The scent of sage, moonflower, and musk invaded my nose whenever I acknowledged his presence surrounding me.
It was almost like the entire air shifted when he was near.
There had been nights I even swore I felt his fingers brushing over my hair as he whispered words of praise in my ear, lulling me to sleep as if I were something sacred, something worth taking care of.
Now, sitting here in the carriage beside my mother, heading toward the future that had been carefully planned out for me since I was a little girl, the solace and warmth I found in him were gone.
It felt like I’d woken up from a beautiful dream, only to realize it was never real to begin with.
These images, once vivid, had faded into nothing more than memories, echoes of my past.
And yet, I could not forget him.
This morning, I was handed a white corset dress–a symbol as clear as it was cruel.
It clung to my body like a promise I never intended to make, whispering of youth, of purity, of a role I was expected to accommodate.
The puffed shoulders were crafted from a delicate, shimmering organza.
I knew just by the feel of it against my skin that it cost more than any dress I had ever worn, perhaps more than any dress ever should.
My mother never once met my eyes, her gaze anchored to the window as if she didn’t want to see the hurt and betrayal her daughter felt about being married to a man she didn’t love.
The only comfort I carried with me was the book from my childhood, “The Last Tale of the Spring Lands.” The story told of a forbidden relationship between a Faerie Queen and a mysterious wizard with immense power.
The gods and goddesses cursed their world with a never-ending, all-consuming darkness.
The banishing of the sun meant no dawn, no spring, no flowers.
The kingdom of the Spring Lands was about to decay, forcing the Queen of the Faeries to meet the wizard and ask him for a trade in order to protect her land.
Therefore, she traveled to the Unseelie Court, and as soon as they met each other, they felt an absolute deep connection of understanding, like their souls weren’t strangers at all.
But the laws of their kingdoms prohibited relationships between wizards and faeries.
The Queen had to decide whether to use him and his powers to save her own people, which would ignite a war between both of their lands, or accept the end of her kingdom for love.
“Stop reading this nonsense, Gwendolyn. In a few minutes, we will arrive. Let me adjust your hair very quickly.” My mother interrupted my reading, grabbed a hair pin and put one of my long ginger curls on the side. With another flower-pin she attached another strand of my hair.
“Grandma gave me this book before she passed away, and I can remember her saying that you loved it as well,” I protested. I did not understand why my mother always forgot that she had once been a child too.
“Yes, but people grow up and then they quit spending time in fantasy worlds because the real world does not look like it at all. You will see. I don’t want you to wait for a little white rabbit to lead you into some sort of weird Wonderland.”
I hummed at her response, a little too wistful, because I could only pray for a white little rabbit to take me far away from here. I was not as lucky as Alice in her tale. Magical animals unfortunately did not exist, or so I believed, though I had never quite stopped hoping.
“I doubt they’ll notice at all if we ever arrive. I could just slip into the garden, and he could find another woman to marry. Like Tam Lin beneath the Faerie Queen’s spell, perhaps Alexander, too, would forget me,” I said, forcing a smile.
Within seconds, my mother’s face became serious. She did not recognize it as a joke at all and replied, “They will notice, Gwendolyn. You treat the matter far too lightly.”
“Father would have laughed at it.” The moment the sentence left my lips, I was filled with regret. Bringing up my father was not the best idea, since he vanished when I was a child and my mother had been cold-hearted ever since.
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t sleep well last night,” I reassured her, trying to lighten up the mood again.
How was I supposed to endure a marriage with someone I didn’t love?
Shouldn’t a woman be happy when she trailed down the altar?
“Was it a bad dream again?” she asked, like she had missed the countless sleepless nights I had suffered since I was a little girl. Not that she ever cared about it.
“I always dream of the same place, isn’t it normal to dream of different things?”
“I don’t know,” my mother stated flatly, staying silent for a while until she spoke again, her words filled with seriousness, “I’m aware that we never really talked about this, Gwendolyn.
” Her gaze now fully directed at me. “Alexander might have other options, but you don’t.
Women never have. Someday, you might understand that this wedding will be the best option for us.
” Us. The way she said it, it was obvious it was the better option for her, not for me.
Alexander might act very charming toward the people he could take advantage of.
However, it was widely known that he was unfaithful to every woman he courted and treated most of them very poorly.
He had been in a brief relationship with one of my neighbors and had slapped her the moment she started to talk against him.
Her family wasn’t influential enough in society that they could have allowed themselves to publicly speak ill of a Wright son.
So, they had stayed silent. My father always said whoever hit a woman or a child, was meant to endure all nine circles of Dante’s inferno, whether he only portrayed one sin or all of them.
As soon as we arrived, the coach man opened the door, announcing, “Mrs. and Miss Revelir, come along, please.” My mother exited the carriage first, and then I followed.
From far away, I could already make out the Wright Mansion, a beautiful white castle-like building with a garden that would fit right into Versailles. Every year the Wrights arranged spring garden parties to show off their enormous wealth and build new business relationships.
As soon as I entered the garden, I should have smelled its flowers, but the familiar scent of sage, moon flower and musk drifted near. I knew my angel was close.
“Gwendolyn, my dear. You and your mother both look wonderful today,” a man said behind us.
As I turned around, I noticed Brant Wright approaching us.
His generous and kind-hearted spirit lightened my mood.
He never cared about the status and money of his family, and he was always friendly to everyone, even odd ones like me.
Following the traditional order, Brant should have been the first in line to inherit his father’s business, as he was the oldest of his brothers.
But his introverted being and the preferred companionship of men had not met the requirements for becoming the next leader of the Wright Company.
Charles, the middle brother, had spent most of his time sailing the world on a ship, where he never got used to the aristocratic behavior a leader of a family empire was required to have.
And Alexander… Well, with his honey-blonde curls, rich brown eyes, and charming attitude, he had always portrayed the image of the perfect son.
That was one of the reasons why Bradley trained Alexander from an early age to be social and outgoing, making him the perfect choice for taking over the family empire.
“Thank you, Brant. It is such a shame that your younger brother has beaten you to marriage.” My mother’s reply really made me wonder if she knew about his sexuality or if she really considered marriage just a price.
“Well, I cannot see myself getting married anytime soon. But I am so happy that Alex found someone as beautiful and generous as Gwendolyn.” I smiled at Brant and wanted to say something nice to him, but we got interrupted by his parents—my soon-to-be parents in-law.
Mira and Bradley, or in other words, the ice queen and her servant.
My mother said Mira used to be the most admired girl at school.
She had these dark green eyes and golden blonde hair, giving her the nickname Honey.
Although my mother debated if she was more like an ‘ambrosia,’ beautiful and dazzling on the outside but dangerous on the inside.
Bradley was very much like Brant, friendly and humble.
He grew up in a poor household and carried local newspapers to rich families on Sundays with the aspiration to become one of them one day, and with his ambition he did.