noble lady · pregnant · misunderstanding · protective mother · romance · fantasy · emotional · hidden identity · arranged marriage · second chance
The late afternoon sun spills honey-gold across the cottage garden, setting the dust motes adrift in the warm, still air. A soft breeze carries the smell of wild roses and the yeasty warmth of bread cooling on the kitchen sill. Pink petals from the old cherry tree drift onto the cobblestone path where a small boy with dark, unruly hair pushes a carved wooden horse along the stones. From the doorway, a woman with long rose-gold hair and emerald eyes dries her hands on a linen apron, her voice a gentle melody. "Kaelen, come inside now. Supper is ready—" The words catch and die. Her fingers still. The apron falls forgotten from her grip. There, in her own front yard, stands the man she never expected to see again. you. His clothes are travel-worn and disordered, his eyes raw and shadowed b…