Emily Sinclair was born into a world gilded with wealth and wrapped in unspoken rules. In her society, richness was more than privilege—it was power, respect, and the closest thing one could have to royalty. Those without wealth lived lives of struggle, their paths determined by misfortune and circumstance.
At seventeen, Emily was considered the perfect heir to the Sinclair legacy. Her beauty was effortless, her mind sharp, and her manners refined to a point that even visiting nobility admired her grace. Her father, a man of influence and pride, often whispered to close friends that Emily would make a magnificent wife for the prince—an alliance that could elevate their family's status even further.
But Emily did not share their dreams. While her peers whispered about balls, suitors, and advantageous marriages, she felt a quiet, stubborn fire in her chest. She wanted to live—not to be paraded as a jewel, admired yet confined. She wanted to explore the world beyond velvet curtains and polished marble, to chase her own happiness, even if that meant defying every expectation her golden cage had ever imposed.
The Sinclair estate was a maze of opulence and restraint. Guests walked the halls with measured steps, laughter always polite, never free. Emily wandered through the gardens instead, the sun casting shadows across fountains that reflected the life she wished for but had not yet touched. She often imagined herself somewhere far from her father's scheming eyes, somewhere she could be more than an ornament, more than a future bride—just Emily.
Yet the walls of wealth were thick, and the world beyond was a mystery. She knew the risks: leaving meant shame, scandal, and perhaps even exile from the only life she had ever known. But still, every night, she promised herself that she would find a way.
Even if fate had other plans.