Chapter 1

In a damp and dark prison cell, a woman was sitting on the cold floor, hugging her knees. One piece of rough and thin gown for prisoners was no help to maintain her body warmth. It's been a week since she was sentenced to a lifetime in prison without parole. The prisoners who were trapped inside its walls would die of despair or lose the will to live.

Arabella Karterios

The woman was once the duke's only daughter and a princess of the great empire of Balsten. Even though she was of noble identity, she couldn't escape this damned destiny...

There was no expression on her face, and her black eyes resembled those of a dead person. She already died from the inside from the moment her only brother was executed and from the moment she lost her everything. The prideful noble lady no longer existed. She was no different from a corpse that kept breathing.

Squeek!

The hallway's iron door opened with a creaking sound, and someone was approaching her prison cell. Arabella saw a woman dressed in a large hooded robe appear in front of the iron bar. When the woman took off her hood, she could see her face clearly. There's no way she could forget this woman's face, even after death.

''Hello, my lovely cousin.''

Arabella raised her eyes and looked at the woman but said nothing.

''It looks like you're doing well in this place. Maybe prison was where someone lowly like you belonged in the first place.''

The noblewoman stared at Arabella with cold eyes and looked her up and down. Then the corner of her lips lifted into a smirk. She looked like she was having so much fun looking at Arabella's pitiful state.

The woman was Roxie Mabelle. The daughter of Count Mabelle, also Arabella's cousin.

''I've been praying to god and waiting for this day to come. Since this might be the last time we see each other, I will tell you the words I have contained within me for all these years.''

Roxie took a step forward and sat near the prison bar.

''I wanted to kill you from the moment you appeared in front of me. A lowly beggar like you never should've become a princess. All this misery would not have happened if you just disappeared. Everyone hated you and wanted you gone, but you stupid bitch dared to stay.''

Yes, she was right. If Arabella had chosen to disappear from their sight, none of this tragedy might have occurred, and she would never have lost her everything.

''Oh, is it because you were a homeless beggar before the duke found you in the streets. So you had nowhere to go. That's so sad. Haha ''

The woman didn't even try to contain the laughter that came from her mouth. At this moment, she smiled so brightly, as if she became the happiest person in the entire world.

''You deserve to die miserably in this dark hole, all because you didn't know your place.''

Roxie truly looked forward to this very moment for a really long time. She did everything she could've done, even shamelessly shook her hips on top of a man, just to see Arabella's fall.

''In case you didn't know, tomorrow is my wedding day. Finally, I will marry the man of my dreams and become the future empress of this empire. Alex and I are so happy that we found each other. Alex said he was so grateful to have met me and also was grateful that he didn't end up with a bitch like you.''

When Roxie said the name of the man she loved in the past, it felt like someone had stabbed her right through the heart.

Alex. Alexander Van Hinsbergh, the second prince, the future emperor, and Arabella's ex-fiancée.

She loved Alex from the bottom of her heart and tried her best to get him to love her back. But after all her effort to please him, he cheated on her with her cousin.

Arabella still remembered that day, the day he tore her heart out and stepped all over it like it was nothing. All the terrible memories from that day began to flood her mind.

***

Arabella went to the palace to see Alex, to have a talk with him to decide on their wedding day. She had always dreamt of getting married to him, and just imagining it made her heart fill with thrill.

But she received the biggest shock of her life the moment she opened his bedroom door. Her fiancé was lying in bed with another woman. The woman in question was her cousin, Roxie Mabelle.

Arabella couldn't proceed with what was happening in front of her eyes. She didn't want to believe this. She looked again at the two of them as if confirming that it wasn't a dream.

When she regained her consciousness, she went straight to the bed and grabbed Roxie by her hair.

''How dare you! How could you do this ?''

The next moment, Alex snatched Roxie from her grip and hugged her as if he was protecting a small weak animal. Roxie started crying while Alex tried to comfort her.

''What's going on here? Explain to me right this instant !'' Arabella shouted.

Alex didn't even bother to look her in the eye. He looked at Roxie to see if she was hurt somewhere. How could he worry about another woman when his fiancée is right in front of him?

''This is exactly what it looks like.''

His words hit Arabella like a blow to the stomach, and she was momentarily speechless. She couldn't even believe her ears. She must've lost her mind.

''Are you saying that you're cheating on me with my cousin? How could you two do this to me? Don't you have any shame?''

She wanted to hear him try to explain himself. But unfortunately for her, he looked at her with indifferent eyes, just like how he used to look at her every time he saw her.

Arabella looked at Roxie, who's in the embrace of Alex.

''From the beginning, your purpose was to seduce Alex and get in his bed. I should've known this from the moment you said you wanted to meet my fiancé!''