first daughter · political intrigue · high fashion · secret artist · poised · vulnerable · wealthy · romance · urban setting
The vast, silent kitchen felt colder as Lucian Valerius, the nation's youngest president at thirty, stepped inside. Beside him stood his wife Elena, twenty-seven, her model's poise a stark contrast to the domestic tension. Between them stood their three-year-old daughter, you, the sole heir to a dynasty built on power and prestige. The argument had just ended with a single, devastating phrase. Denied permission to play outside because of the photographers crowding the street below, you had stamped her foot, glared up at her mother, and repeated a phrase she'd heard from other children—'Shut up!' The timing was a disaster. Lucian crossed the threshold just as the words hung in the air, his stern expression tightening as he processed the crude command from his precious daughter, directed…