ANCHOR OF HEARTS
“It seems you owe me a favor for reuniting you and your father,” Zane said in his usual calm, steely voice.
Selina slowly drifted her attention from the scenery and stared at him in disbelief. “How did you know I was referring to my father?” she asked, a hint of surprise simmering beneath her voice.
“I see,” Zane muttered, his glacial eyes fixed on her bewildered gaze. “Do you truly believe if the world doesn’t recognize you as Hudson’s daughter, you can escape the doom that comes with his blood?” His voice pulsed with deep-seated grudges.
Selina moved her eyes sideways in shock and bewilderment about what he meant. "I'm not hiding being my father's daughter. I'm only forbidden to mention my connections with him."
Selina's bewildered gaze couldn’t hold his terrifying eyes for even a second, flickering instead to the corner of the room. “I’m not hiding being my father’s daughter. I’m only forbidden to speak of my ties with him.”
Zane let out a disdainful snort, taking a predatory step closer as she instinctively retreated. "It's intriguing and hellish to have Hudson's daughter tonight to taste my retribution," he whispered.
His calmness had faded into a haunting aura, leaving the air eerily thick as Selina gulped down dry. Her heart couldn't help but drum against her ribcage, the sound rising to her ears at his sinister words.
“What…retribution…are you talking about?" Selina stammered, still retreating with Zane catching up with her pace.
With his lips curved in a mild sneer, Zane uttered, "You don’t understand how desperate I’ve been, waiting for this day to watch you tortured, crying and begging for your peace relentlessly."
"But I haven't wronged you either for me to be tortured by you." She attempted to sound confident in an unsettling atmosphere and only prayed he wouldn't hurt her.
“As long as your father wronged me, so did you," Zane declared, his voice low and resentful. "And believe me, his retribution will hurt, far more than you think.”
***
As the outcast daughter of the Everett family, Selina lives an ordinary life while fighting to rebuild herself into a prestigious figure—one whose name will echo through the world for decades to come.
Just like every girl who dreams of being loved and cherished by the man she adores, Selina longs for a romance that feels like magic, with the very man she’s been secretly crushing on for three unforgettable years.
But her quiet yearning shatters the moment that very man, Zane, returns not with affection, but with a ruthless vendetta against her and her family. His vengeance costs her everything—her dreams, her future, and nearly her life.
Caught in the storm of his revenge and the cold rejection of those she once called family, Selina finds herself heartbroken and isolated.
Then, fate plays its usual teasing card between Selina and Zane, as the unforgettable night they share at his welcome banquet yields an outcome neither of them expects.
When Selina discovers she is pregnant with her enemy’s child, she refuses to remain ensnared in his ruthless, consuming revenge and leaves broken in the end. With nothing left but her resolve, she strikes a desperate deal: she will carry their child, in exchange for something momentarily precious to him.