Stealing Your Love

#RevengeArc #RivalryForHerLove #CoercivePossession

A paranoid, aloof crown prince x a clear-eyed beauty x a deceptively gentle powerbroker

Shen Qingwan was sent to the capital as a diplomatic bride from a small foreign kingdom. Though she was the crown prince's wife in name, she had none of the prestige that should have come with the title.

On their wedding night, she was drenched with a basin of cold water. Crown Prince Xie Ying sat in his wheelchair, clad in black, his dark eyes icy and his voice colder than frost. "Take off your wedding dress. It's an eyesore."

Knowing he meant to humiliate her, she could only obey if she wanted to survive.

When she was left in nothing but a snow-white underdress, soaked through with cold water, Shen Qingwan's eyes were red at the corners and filled with tears. She pleaded in a trembling voice, "Your Highness..."

But Xie Ying looked at her with utter contempt and snapped, "Get out."

*

For the sake of her people back home, Shen Qingwan swallowed her pride and tried to please the crown prince.

She deliberately fashioned herself into the image of the woman he called his unattainable beloved. Though Xie Ying knew her intentions, he only became more cruel.

In winter, he made her dance barefoot in the snow, dressed as a beauty adorned with flowers. In the dead of night, he demanded that she make the pastries from his memories. But once she had finished, he took one bite, tossed the rest to his hounds, and said, "Disgusting."

*

Later, the former emperor died and Xie Ying ascended the throne. Just as she hoped he would order his troops to withdraw and leave her homeland a small patch of land, she received word that her kingdom had fallen.

Shen Qingwan's heart died. She sent the candle stands in her room crashing to the floor, then ran through the flames toward the quietest corner of the inner palace. She pushed open a door and collided with a solid chest.

She clutched the man's sleeve, her brows and eyes smeared with blood, making her look all the more bewitching. "Your Highness, Prince Sheng, you said before... I am willing..."

Xie Zheng wrapped an arm around her slender waist. Gently, he tucked her disheveled, damp hair behind her ear. His voice was low and hoarse, bewitching her. "Since you've returned to my side, Qingqing, don't even think of escaping again."

*

Everyone believed Shen Qingwan had died in the fire, including Xie Ying.

Until one day, he happened to taste pastries made by the Princess of Sheng himself.

At the Prince of Sheng's manor, the usually cold and composed new emperor seemed to lose his mind. He gripped Shen Qingwan's wrist, his gaze tracing every inch of her face, as if he wanted to carve her features into his very bones. His voice sounded as though it were bleeding. "Wanwan, come home with me."

Before she could answer, Xie Zheng's furious voice rang out behind him. "Her home has never been the inner palace. It's my Prince of Sheng's manor."

Reader's Guide:

1. The crown prince is two years older than the heroine; Prince Sheng is six years older.

2. At first, the heroine endures humiliation for the sake of her people back home. After her kingdom falls, she lives only for herself. She is no naive, helpless girl.

3. There are two male leads. Which one wins her heart is up to Qingqing to decide.

4. Some melodrama. Happy ending. An imaginary setting, so please don't overthink the historical details.

Coming soon: Tame Him

Shen Yu is the daughter of the Grand Preceptor. She is stunningly beautiful, a peerless beauty.

On the crown prince's birthday, she presented him with a graceful dance called Startling Swan. From then on, her reputation for both beauty and talent spread throughout the capital.

Not long afterward, the emperor issued an edict ordering Shen Yu to marry Crown Prince Jiang Heng.

Everyone envied her good fortune, but only Shen Yu knew how much she had suffered and how much effort she had put into securing the title of crown princess.

She was a pawn her father used to protect himself. Becoming crown princess was her fate.

*

Shen Yu had been raised under the strict instruction of her governesses since childhood. She knew exactly how to serve a ruler.

She simply never expected Jiang Heng to be so different from the cold, aloof man people described. On their wedding night, his scorching palm locked around her waist for an instant, and only then did she belatedly feel afraid.

Through the haze, she saw the dark eyes before her, filled with desire and possessiveness.

The next day, exhausted, she went to pay her respects, only to see Jiang Heng in white, bright and dignified, his expression cool. He would not even spare her a glance. With his back to her, he said coldly, "Come with me to the Willow-Hiding Pavilion. Don't tell Mother Empress what happened last night."

She obediently nodded, but wondered to herself how the crown prince could have become a different person overnight.

For a long time afterward, it was always the same: at night, the crown prince was as scorching as fire; by day, he was as cold as frost.

Until one morning, Jiang Heng shoved her to the ground and demanded furiously, "Where did the red mark on your neck come from?!"

Before she could defend herself, someone wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her up. A low, cold voice sounded by her ear. "My sister-in-law is delicate, and my imperial brother doesn't know how to cherish her. Why not let me have her?"

Only then did Shen Yu learn that Jiang Heng had a twin brother named Jiang Xie.

*

Later, Jiang Xie led his army to lay siege to the city. Amid the flames, she saw those dark eyes again, wild and arrogant, yet tender only toward her.

The young man who had once been so unruly now bowed his head to her neck. His voice was low and hoarse, nearly frantic. "Jiaojiao, be my empress."

*

Jiang Xie was a villain. At first, his stolen night of passion with Shen Yu was nothing more than a way to get revenge on Jiang Heng. But at some point, he truly fell in love.

From then on, he was willing to bow before her and lose himself to madness for her sake.

Screenshot saved

Reader's Guide:

[Coercive Possession / Twins]

1. The heroine is no saint. She grows over the course of the story. The male lead is one year older than her, an older man, and completely unhinged.

2. Some melodrama. One true pairing. One-on-one romance. Happy ending. An imaginary setting, so please don't overthink the historical details.

Theme: Love means respect.