What would you sacrifice for the person who taught your heart to beat?
Mara Kim has spent her entire life unwanted—hidden away, forgotten, and raised far from the wealthy family that was never truly hers. But when she’s suddenly brought to
Roseland City after her grandmother’s death, Mara is forced into a world that was never meant to accept her.
At the elite Isteros High, where power is measured in blood and money, Mara becomes an outcast overnight—hated by her perfect, untouchable sister Solyn Nguyen, and crushed beneath the cruel hierarchy of a school ruled by the rich.
And then there’s Atreus Singh.
The school’s feared Dark Prince.
Solyn’s betrothed.
The boy Mara should never look at twice.
Dangerous, cold, and ruthless, Atreus singles her out, turning her into his personal target. To everyone else, it’s just another act of cruelty.
But Mara begins to notice something no one else sees—
the way his gaze lingers…
the way his hatred feels almost like protection…
the way he looks at her like he already knows her.
Because he does.
As anonymous letters become her only escape, Mara unknowingly confides in the one person she fears most. And while her bully tears her apart in the daylight, a stranger slowly pieces her back together in the dark.
When the truth finally surfaces, it changes everything.
Their love is forbidden.
Their world is merciless.
And some choices don’t come without a cost.
As jealousy turns deadly and secrets unravel, Mara finds herself fighting not just for love—but for survival.
And when her life hangs by a fragile thread, Atreus is forced to make an impossible decision:
let her go… or give up the only thing he has left to save her.
