Aiden was twenty-one—an age where most people leaned on family, but he had long learned how to stand alone.An orphan since childhood, he carried his life on his own shoulders. Mornings were spent rushing to college lectures, afternoons buried in part-time work, and nights quietly devoted to studying under the dim glow of a desk lamp. It wasn’t easy, but Aiden had never expected it to be. He was close now—just a few steps away from graduation, and an internship that promised a future he had built with his own hands.

He wasn’t what people typically called “masculine.” He didn’t care much for loud crowds, sports, or proving himself in ways others did. Yet he wasn’t trying to be anything else either. He was simply… Aiden. Quiet, thoughtful, and a little distant, like someone who lived more in stories than in the real world.

And maybe that was true.

Because if there was one thing he truly loved, it was reading—especially comic books and tragic love stories. There was something about them that pulled at his heart, something raw and painfully beautiful. Stories where love wasn’t easy, where it demanded sacrifice, where it sometimes ended in heartbreak instead of happiness… those were the ones he couldn’t forget.

One afternoon, as the golden light of sunset filtered through the college windows, his friend handed him her phone with a teasing smile.“Since you love sad stories so much,” she said, “try this one. It might ruin you.”

The title was simple yet intriguing: Crown of hearts.

Aiden felt a spark of excitement the moment he held it. That familiar thrill—like stepping into a world that would leave a mark on him.He started reading that very night.

And he couldn’t stop.

Page after page, he found himself drawn deeper into the story. The writing was mesmerizing, the emotions vivid, the characters painfully real. Before he knew it, he was already halfway through the ebook, his heart quietly tightening with every chapter.

The story revolved around a queen—powerful, graceful, yet trapped in a fate she couldn’t escape.She stood at the edge of an impossible choice.

Love… or power.

A kingdom that demanded sacrifice, and a heart that refused to let go.Aiden paused for a moment, his fingers resting lightly on the page. Something about the story felt heavier than it should, as if it wasn’t just fiction. As if it was trying to tell him something.

He exhaled softly, unaware that this book—this one story—was about to change his life in ways he could never imagine.