A Mother's Embrace
In the heart of a powerful dukedom, two sisters grow beneath the gaze of nobility and royalty.
Ophelia, the eldest, is the embodiment of grace — gentle, radiant, beloved by all. Yet behind her warm smiles lies a secret known only to her family: a mysterious illness slowly consuming her fragile body.
Selara, the youngest, is her opposite — fierce, sharp, and destined for the battlefield. Trained as a knight, she lives not for courtly elegance but for strength and honor. Though deeply devoted to Ophelia, Selara harbors a quiet resentment toward the crown prince, whose presence steadily steals her sister’s time and affection.
When Ophelia marries the crown prince and ascends the throne as queen, joy seems to bless the kingdom. She gives birth to twins — a boy and a girl — while Selara marches to war, carving her name into legend through blood and steel.
But even warriors are not spared from heartbreak.
Amidst the brutality of war, Selara finds love in the arms of a gentle medical soldier. For the first time, she allows herself dreams beyond battle — dreams of peace, of family, of a child growing beneath her heart. Yet fate proves cruel. She loses both her unborn daughter and the man she loves, claimed by the merciless tides of war.
Grief hardens Selara.
Victory follows her like a shadow.
Then tragedy strikes once more.
Ophelia dies under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a blind daughter — a child blamed for the queen’s death. Neglected, scorned, and hidden away within the cold northern wing of the castle, the girl grows in loneliness while the kingdom mourns its fallen queen.
Upon hearing of her sister’s death, Selara’s sorrow erupts into fury. On the battlefield, she becomes something terrifying — sweeping through enemies with a vengeance so relentless it earns her a feared and whispered name.
Five years later, the war ends.
Selara is summoned back to the capital — not as a celebrated knight, but as a bride. Bound by duty, she is commanded to marry her sister’s widower, the king himself.
Yet within the gilded halls of the palace, Selara uncovers a cruelty far greater than war.
Her niece — Ophelia’s forgotten daughter — has been shunned, blamed, and cast aside, while another child, born from envy and deceit, is cherished in her place.
Now, Selara must navigate a court steeped in secrets and betrayal. Haunted by loss, bound by duty, and torn by a forbidden, slow-burning romance with the king, she rises not merely as a queen — but as a protector.
For vengeance may shape kingdoms.
But a mother’s embrace…
Can rewrite destiny.
