My uncle discovered I was in love with him. My forbidden secret was out. And just like that, I was gone.

My dad died in a car crash, leaving me utterly alone, a heartbroken orphan.

Julian Harrison, an old family friend, significantly older than my dad, and the city’s wealthiest man, took me in.

He was ten years my senior, and he insisted I call him Julian.

From that day on, he spoiled me rotten, like I was the city's reigning princess.

If I wanted the stars, he'd find a way to get them for me.

If I craved the moon, he'd try to pluck it down.

That all changed on my eighteenth birthday.

I snuck into his study, snatching his ring, and traced it over my skin.