Alina stood in front of the mirror the next morning, fixing her hair when someone knocked on her door. Through the connecting door, she heard another knock at Austin’s room. She opened the door and found a messenger waiting.

"Miss Ashworth. His Majesty requests your presence in his private chambers immediately, together with the Duke of Ravenmoor."

She quickly went to the connecting door. Austin was already there, dressed, and had received the same message. They exchanged a look, then walked out together.

As soon as they stepped into the corridor, Austin took her hand and intertwined their fingers together. Then they walked towards the king’s chambers.

Inside, the king stood behind his desk, calm and unreadable. Audrey stood near the window smiling. But the moment, her gaze dropped to their joined hands, and the smile on her face disappeared.

"Sit," the king said.

They sat beside each other, still holding hands on the armrest between them.

"I spent the night speaking with my advisors and intelligence sources," he said. "Miss Ashworth, you are confirmed as the heir of Arcasedia."

Alina nodded, tightening her grip on Austin’s hand.

"But a princess of a rival kingdom living in a duke’s household under a bed warmer contract is unacceptable," the king continued. "It insults Arcasedia, my kingdom, and you, Miss Ashworth, whose identity has been hidden for months."

He paused for a moment.

"So I order the contract to end today," he said. "You now have two choices."

Austin and Alina held onto each other even more tightly.

"First option: Miss Ashworth is released from the contract. She becomes a free woman and may stay in Ravenmoor or leave if she wants. And you, Duke of Ravenmoor, return to your original obligation and marry my daughter."

Audrey’s smile returned instantly.

"Second option," the king said, looking at Alina, "you marry her."

Alina froze while Austin stayed completely still beside her. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"A bed warmer contract disgraces a princess," the king continued. "But a marriage honors her. A duke marrying the heir of Arcasedia would turn this scandal into an alliance. But she cannot marry you as a bed warmer. She must marry you as Princess Alina of House of Ashrael. And for that to happen, Arcasedia must officially recognize her within three months."

Silence filled the room.

"And if Arcasedia refuses?" Austin asked.

"Then we return to the first option. The contract ends no matter what."

"Your Majesty," Austin began. "It would mean opening diplomacy channels with a rival kingdom. And moreover, the Arcasedian court has disowned her mother. They..."

"I know everything. My conditions are non- negotiable," the king interrupted him. "Yesterday, you told me you had made your choice. Now make it official."

"We accept."

The king raised his brow before speaking.

"You do not want to ask Miss Ashworth first?"

Austin blinked, suddenly realizing what he had done. He looked at Alina with a flicker of regret on his face.

"I accept as well," Alina said firmly.

The king looked at their hands and smiled.

"You only have three months. Use them wisely."

"Father, this isn’t fair!" Audrey suddenly burst out from the window. "He’s engaged to me."

"Audrey," the king said in his commanding voice. "Not now."

She looked away without another word.

"Three months," the king repeated. "You are dismissed."

They stood and left the chamber together.

The moment the doors closed, Audrey spoke.

"You’re helping them."

"Sit down, Audrey."

She walked to his desk and sat across from him.

"You think the marriage proposal was a gift," the king said, laughing. "I have given them an impossible task, one they will fail."

Audrey stared at him.

"The Arcasedian court will never recognize her," he explained. "Her mother ran away, married a foreigner, and disappeared. They will never acknowledge the child of that marriage. And her time as a bed warmer? That will make it even worse. Their royal blood sold by her own father and sharing a rival kingdom’s duke’s bed? They will never accept it."

A small smile touched Audrey’s lips.

"And when they reject her," the king continued, resting a hand on her shoulder, "the marriage won’t happen. Austin will have to release her because he agreed to the terms himself. During those three months, she will be neither bed warmer nor princess."

Audrey’s smile deepened.

"And living with Austin during that time won’t be easy for someone like her. She will lose her confidence, spirit and stubborn courage."

The king nodded.

"The proposal sounded generous. But in reality, it is the perfect trap."

"Marriage?" Alina said the moment they stepped inside her room. "You accepted a marriage proposal for both of us without even looking at me."

"At that moment..."

"Austin. We’ve only been kissing for a few days, and not have even confessed."

She was right. The speed had skipped everything normal couples did before marriage

"We haven’t even gone on a real date," she added.

"We’ve eaten meals together..."

"In the great hall with fifty people, where you’re at the head table and I’m three seats away. That’s not a date."

"Kitchen?

"Eating leftovers at midnight with a cat watching us? That’s not a date either. That’s just two insomniac people eating something."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Your are right."

"I still can’t believe we might actually get married. And only if a rival kingdom recognizes me first which seems impossible."

"But you are their princess."

Alina sighed.

"The Arcasedian court doesn’t even know I exist," she said. "What would I even say to them? ’Hello, I’m the daughter of the disowned princess. Please recognize me so I can marry a duke from your rival kingdom’?"

"You make it sound worse than it is."

"Because it is." She looked at him. "And what happens if we do marry? Do I still sit with the sewing circle? Do I spend my life attending court events in diamonds? Do I stop being Alina and become only the Duchess of Ravenmoor?"

"I don’t have the answers of this questions," he admitted.

"I know and that’s exactly the problem. We can talk for hours about strategy and intelligence, but we’ve never talked about ordinary things. Every conversation we’ve had has been about surviving something."

"You seem very terrified of the idea of marrying me," he said after a minute.

"I am," she admitted. "But not because of you. It’s how fast everything is happening. Three months ago I was just a bankrupt merchant’s daughter. Then within a day I became a bed warmer. And now, I might become a wife, a princess, and a duchess all at once."

Austin gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face before speaking.

"We don’t have to solve everything today. We have three months. We can have the conversations we missed. Let’s talk about all the normal things whenever we can."

A faint smile tugged at her lips

"Let’s go home. I hate this place."

"Home," he repeated.

"Ravenmoor. That feels like home now."

He nodded.

"We can start in the carriage," he said.

"Start what?"

"The normal conversations people are supposed to have before promising each other forever."

She let out a small laugh.

"Fine. But why wait? Let’s start now," she said. "What’s your favorite colour?"

"Blue," he answered immediately. "The same blue as the pin I bought for you."

Alina stared at him for a second before smiling.

"So you finally admit you bought that pin for me."

He nodded looking slightly embarrassed.

"What’s yours?" he asked.

"Green," she replied. "The green of plants that survive the harshest seasons and still grow back."

"Green," he murmured. "That makes sense."

She took his hand then, and together they walked out of the palace towards the waiting carriage, carrying an impossible task and the beginning of truly learning each other.