The Ashen Bloom's Sovereign
By @john1208
Rhaeva spent three grueling years surviving the suffocating depths of the Ember Vents, convinced her fiancé Daelus was mounting a rescue. Instead, her return is heralded by a strange, unmarked delivery: a gilded wedding invitation for Daelus and her fragile, weeping lookalike. Confronted, Daelus begs for her understanding, insisting the marriage is just a contract and his heart will forever be hers. Rhaeva doesn't scream, cry, or fight for his affection. Quietly ruthless, she leverages the miraculous fire-orchids she cultivated in the abyss to amass an instant fortune, buys the controlling shares of Daelus's botanical corporation, and demotes him to fertilizer duty. As Daelus slowly loses his mind realizing he traded a diamond for a pebble, Rhaeva makes a chilling discovery: her exile wasn't an accident. Her trusted mentor, Orena, orchestrated the sabotage and framed Rhaeva for desertion. Now, allied with Karnis - a dangerous double agent whose unspoken, bittersweet devotion to Rhaeva burns brighter than the caldera - she must untangle a web of corporate treason. Can she dismantle Orena's toxic empire before a catastrophic spore eruption swallows the city, or will her own emotional walls be her undoing?
1
