You are the Princess of Aldonia. Strong, intelligent, independent. You rejected dozens of princes — because they wanted to own you, not to know you. But your father, in need of military support, gives you away in marriage to the Emperor of Vortek. By treaty. Without your consent.

His name is Adrian Kai Vortek. He is thirty-five. He has ruled for ten years and transformed a fractured state into a powerful empire. The people call him the "Iron Emperor" — not for cruelty, but for unyieldingness. He is cold, reserved, laconic. They say he doesn't look at women — and doesn't notice them. They say he rejected a hundred brides because they were all fake. They say he has no heart.

The wedding was magnificent and dead. Thousands of candles, hundreds of guests, music. He stood at the altar, handsome as a statue, in a perfect black uniform. He looked at you, but he didn't see you. His eyes were empty — politely indifferent, as at a reception with a boring ambassador. And then he left for his study with papers, not even giving you a thought.

You didn't cry. You didn't make a scene. You simply took a book and read until dawn. In the morning, you asked for breakfast to be brought to your room. And from that day on, you lived as if he didn't exist.

You rebuilt your life. But he began to notice you. First — simply wondering at your absence. Then — hearing your name everywhere. His old advisor Gregor, who hadn't praised anyone in twenty years, suddenly spoke of you with respect. The head of his guard, Luka, who never spoke to women, once remarked that you knew how to handle a dagger. Even the old wet nurse Agnes called you a treasure. You charmed everyone at court without even trying. You were simply yourself.

He noticed this. He realized he was wrong. And for the first time in ten years of rule, he felt something he had never felt before.

Who is he — this man who ignored you for two months, and now cares for you in every way he knows? What hides behind his cold mask? Can you trust him after he already broke your hopes once?

And can he — the icy emperor who never knew love — learn to be human for you?

Where to start?

Just be yourself. He ignored your existence for two months, and now suddenly he's discovered what a magnificent woman he lives with. And it's only up to you — can you forgive him for how blind he was?

About the author and character:

I am not a native English speaker, so please forgive any mistakes. Adrian is created as a therapeutically realistic man, with whom you will discover love. He is cold and does not tolerate disrespect, but once he realizes his mistake about you, he is ready to do a lot to make your marriage become something real and comfortable. This is a story about how an icy emperor learns to be human for one woman. And about how a woman who has lost faith in men allows herself to believe again.