Blurb：
Embark on an unforgettable journey through the magical realm of Eldoria! Dive into a world where brave heroine Elara, mysterious warrior Kaelen, and the legendary Dragonstone shape destinies. This epic fantasy novel weaves together thrilling adventures, ancient prophecies, and heart-pounding battles. Perfect for fans of high fantasy, magic systems, and intricate world-building. Discover why readers are obsessed with the enchanting lands of Eldoria and its unforgettable characters like Elara and Kaelen. Grab your copy today and unlock the secrets of the Dragonstone!
Content：
In New York’s Upper East Side, there were two heirs. One was a speed-obsessed daredevil dominating the racetracks, the other was a brilliant actuary who controlled the flow of capital.
Born into powerful families and polar opposites in temperament, yet they grew up side by side as each other’s only best friend.
They had fought over girls and bickered endlessly over racing bets.
However, at fifteen, there was one thing they did in perfect unison. They each put on the same roughly carved bronze badge.
They were trinkets Mia had idly made during a craft class, marked only by a faint “M” scratched on the back.
Back then, Mia was seated in the last row of the classroom. Her background was a complete mystery to everyone.
Yet they wore that badge for ten whole years.
Whether standing on the F1 podium or locking in billion-dollar trades at the exchange, the cheap little badge on their chests never changed.
Until Ella showed up.
She was the cherished daughter of a rising conglomerate family. She hand-stitched two gold-thread fabric patches and gifted them to them.
The patches looked so ordinary they looked like the kind of trinket you would find three for a dollar at a flea market.
And yet, they both replaced their bronze badges with her plain patches.
Mia did not say anything. She simply folded away an old newspaper clipping with a photo of the three of them smiling together.
That night, she called her father in Sicily.
Her voice was emotionless.
“Papa, I accept the marriage arrangement.”
Chapter 1
POV: Mia Valente
My father’s voice brimmed with excitement on the other end of the line as he said, “Great! I’ve been telling you to come home for three years, but you insisted on staying in New York. I’ll book the wedding venue right away. Let me look at the earliest date we can get—”
I cut him off.
“Make it a week from now.”
“But that’s so soon! Don’t you want to spend some time getting to know your fiance first?”
I replied flatly, “There’s no need for that. It’s just a marriage of convenience. I’ll come home the day before.”
He was about to say something else when someone pushed the door open.
Without another word, I hung up.
Ella walked in while carrying a huge bouquet of roses. She nonchalantly asked, “Mia, are you going somewhere? But we have the ball next week!”
I glanced at the roses in her arms. My tone was calm but distant. “Sorry, but I’m a little allergic to pollen. Could you take the flowers out first?”
After saying that, I opened the window.
Ella, however, started crying behind me. Then, she accidentally knocked the vase to the floor and shattered it.
Roses were scattered everywhere. She stammered through her tears. “Mia, I didn’t know you were allergic. Leo and Max always bring you flowers. I just thought you must love them. I didn’t mean any harm. I’ll clean up the mess. Please don’t be mad at me, okay?”
Before she could finish her sentence, Leo De Luca and Max Moreau, who had seen everything from outside, burst into the room.
Leo lunged for Ella’s hand in concern, while Max kicked some of the broken shards toward me without hesitation.
In the chaos, one of the shards grazed my leg. The sting made me crouch down instinctively.
However, neither of them so much as glanced my way. Their eyes were fixed solely on the fragile, innocent Ella.
Leo, always the hothead, noticed the small cut on her hand and snapped at me. “What the hell is wrong with you? She’s not your darn maid. She always cleans up your room for you whenever you’re busy. Did you really have to hold it against her over something so trivial?”
Max adjusted his glasses. There was a flash of concern in his eyes. “That’s enough, Leo. Let’s just get her to a hospital.”
Leo shot me a searing glare. Then, he grabbed Ella’s hand and walked toward the door.
Before they stepped out, Ella timidly said, “It does hurt a little, but I don’t want Mia to be upset. Maybe you should check on her. I’ll be fine with just some ointment.”
Max shook his head. “What if it gets infected? Better to have a doctor look at it.”
Even Leo, usually too hot-blooded to care, nodded in agreement.
Ella, however, glanced back at me with a torn look on her face. “But Mia doesn’t look well.”
Leo snorted. “She’s just faking it for us to feel sorry for her and stop blaming her. Ignore her.”
“Not everyone is as kind as you are,” Max added softly as he tucked a strand of hair behind Ella’s ear without sparing me even a glance.
As I watched their figures disappear down the hall, I knew it was time for me to leave.
Chapter 2
POV: Mia
Before Ella walked into our lives, I was the one who mattered most to Leo and Max.
I came from an old mafia family from Italy, but when I was fifteen, I insisted on moving to New York to attend high school with my cousin.
My father initially opposed it strongly, but he eventually got too busy with family affairs to keep calling me home.
That was when I met Leo and Max, my cousin’s classmates.
They tagged along with him every day to pick me up after school.
On weekends, we were inseparable. When it came time for me to take the SAT, they took turns tutoring me just so I could get into the same university as them.
They even cut off every guy who tried to get close to me under the guise of “helping me improve my grades.”
As we got older, Leo and Max built lives of their own.
Leo became a race car driver, while Max became a successful actuary.
Even with their busy careers, whenever they had time off, they would still take me out to play baseball.
“Mia, catch! Nice one!”
Those ordinary days were the first time I ever felt the quiet happiness of just being a regular girl.
Growing up as the daughter of a mafia don, people either stayed far away or treated me with suffocating respect. Leo and Max made me feel like I was just an ordinary girl.
I defied my father and never went home. I stayed in New York.
Everything started changing when Ella showed up.
Ella came from a well-off family, but thanks to Max and Leo, she was always around my place. She would sometimes even tidy up like she lived there.
I could tell it was all an act. She was playing the sweet, thoughtful girl who was always eager to help and keep things spotless. I had turned her down plenty of times, but Leo always talked me out of it.
“Mia, relax. Ella’s just naturally helpful. She loves doing chores.”
“Besides, you’re terrible at keeping the place together. Just let her help!”
I did not want to agree, but I could not say no to Leo and Max. I even paid her.
That was when everything started to change.
Leo still brought me my favorite desserts, but he would also bring an extra one for Ella, always more than mine.
When Max went shopping for clothes, he would grab something for Ella, too. Somehow, it was always her perfect size.
Little things like that kept piling up, so many that I stopped keeping track.
They both wore bronze pins on their chests. I had carved them and put them on for them ten years ago.
They never took them off.
However, since Ella showed up, those pins mysteriously disappeared, replaced by embroidered gold thread patches she had gifted them.
It was as if they had forgotten who they used to love most.
It was a good thing that I did not waver when they proposed. I chose neither of them.
I drew a circle on the calendar. It was the date I would be marrying a stranger.
It was time to end the little game between the four of us.
Since I had made up my mind to leave, I had to wrap things up at work in New York.
I handed in my resignation.
My direct supervisor frowned when he saw it. “Mia, things are finally picking up for you here. Why are you quitting now? Did something happen? I can give you some time off if you need it.”
I shook my head. “No, but thank you for looking out for me. My dad has been pressing me to return home. I’m getting married.”
At that, he sighed and shrugged with resignation. “Well, congratulations! I must admit that it’s all a bit sudden.”
I smiled wordlessly.
It was sudden. Even I was still coming to terms with the fact that I would be getting married in just one week.
And to a complete stranger, no less.
I finished packing and was loading everything into the car when my phone rang. It was Ella.
I did not want to answer at first, but then I remembered how she nearly burned down the kitchen last time. With a sigh, I answered.
Her saccharine voice came through the line. “Have you gotten the desserts?”
Hearing that, I frowned. “Desserts? What…”
Before I could finish, she hung up. A second later, her texts came through one after another.
[Sorry, Mia! That call wasn’t meant for you.]
[Leo and Max are throwing me a little party today. I finally passed my driving test! From now on, I can drive you around too! Max is cooking tonight, and Leo picked up cake from your favorite place. Rum-flavored, just the way you like it. Will you join us?]
I stared at the messages and sneered.
As I pulled up outside, I saw the three of them, busy buzzing around together.
I snorted. It was just ridiculous that they came all the way to my house just to throw Ella a party for getting her license.
The moment I pushed the door open, I was greeted by decorations everywhere, all with her name on them. My house looked like it belonged to her.
I could feel my anger rising, but I did not say a word to interrupt them.
Then Ella grabbed their hands with joy. “This is the happiest I’ve been in twenty years. Because I have you guys with me. I hope every day from now on, I’ll always have you by my side.”
Just as she finished, she caught sight of me standing frozen at the door.
Her eyes lit up as she called out excitedly, “Mia! Did you come back to celebrate with me?”
Chapter 3
POV: Mia
I knew exactly it was all part of Ella’s carefully crafted trap.
There was a time I used to blow up over such matters.
I even resented Leo and Max. I hated how they only cared about her and cast me aside.
At that moment, I did not care anymore. I would be marrying someone else in just a few days.
I looked at the three of them indifferently and said, “Congrats on getting your license.”
Hearing that, Leo and Max silently set down what they were holding.
Silence filled the air for a moment. I turned and headed upstairs without sparing them another glance.
Starting on that day, Leo and Max were just friends to me. Nothing more.
That night, I started packing the important things in the house. I was going to move them out early.
As for the stuff Leo and Max had bought for me, I left them untouched. I planned to have someone pack them up and return them once I was gone.
The next day, just as the movers arrived, I ran into Leo and Max at the door.
Glancing at the boxes, a flicker of unease crossed Leo’s face. “Mia, aren’t those the things you always use? Where are you moving them?”
He pointed at the moving truck parked outside.
I stayed silent for a moment until Max asked, “Mia, are you moving out?”
I did not want them finding out too soon, so I kept my answer vague. “There’s just too much stuff. I’m sending some of it back home.”
Leo, ever the oblivious one, did not press. Max, however, immediately picked up on something. “Why are you sending things back? Are you not comfortable living here?”
“It’s not that. The place just feels a little cramped. And besides, my cousin…”
Leo’s phone started ringing before I could finish.
“Leo, I made your favorite cake today, but when I got to the training field, you weren’t there. Now my car is broken down on the way back.”
The moment he picked up, I could hear Ella’s voice loud and clear.
Max glanced up at the rainy clouds in the sky and said, “Just wait there, sweetheart. We’ll be right there.”
With that, they bolted out the door. I glanced at the darkening sky. My lips curled into a bitter smile.
Some time ago, on a stormy day, my car broke down on the road. I called them both.
I ended up standing in the rain, shivering for hours, until the tow truck finally showed up.
When I got home that night, I found the three of them enjoying a candlelit dinner together.
I, on the other hand, fell ill with a fever for the next three days.
The memory made me pull out my phone and book my plane ticket.
Chapter 4
POV: Mia
I never imagined that my last day there would bring the worst moment of my life.
That afternoon, I was feeling drained and decided to take a nap. All of a sudden, I started having trouble breathing.
Someone had left my bedroom window wide open. A gust of wind carried in a storm of pollen.
My breathing grew more labored by the second.
I slipped off the bed and collapsed onto the floor, but my survival instinct pushed me to crawl toward the nightstand where I kept my allergy meds.
When I finally yanked it open, it was empty.
By then, my body was giving out. My vision dimmed, and my foot hit the leg of the table. The vase on the table came crashing down.
A giant bouquet of roses spilled out in front of me. At that moment, I thought it was the end of me.
The loud crash must have startled Leo and Max outside.
They burst through the door, picked me up, and frantically searched for my meds.
Just before I blacked out, I saw Ella rushing in with a familiar pack of medication in her hand. The moment the needle pierced my skin, everything went dark.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a hospital.
There was no one around. I struggled to sit up. The first thing I did was text Ella.
[You’re fired. Pack your things and get out of my house now.]
Not long after I sent the text, the three of them showed up.
Leo’s brows were furrowed. “Why are you firing Ella? She’s got nowhere else to go. If you kick her out, she’ll have to go home, back to her father, who beats her bloody. You shouldn’t fire her.”
Max, usually the calm and logical one, pushed up his glasses with a frown. “Honestly, firing her now isn’t a practical decision. She knows your routines better than anyone. Most importantly, we all get along.”
I coldly replied, “Save it. I hired her, and I have every right to fire her, unless you can give me one good reason not to, because she nearly killed me.”
Leo snapped the moment I said that.
“Mia, you cannot frame her like that! She was with us the whole time. You have misunderstood her!”
I misunderstood her? Who was dumb enough to believe that? My window just happened to be left open, my meds just happened to disappear, and the roses just somehow ended up on my table again?
Hearing his defense of her, I coldly said, “Then explain the roses in my room.”
Leo fell silent, but Max spoke up.
“I’ve asked Ella about it. She had no idea your pollen allergy was this severe. She didn’t know a few flowers could nearly kill you. She promised me it wouldn’t happen again.”
As he finished, he nudged Ella forward to me.
Ella kept her head down and mumbled, “Mia, I really didn’t know your pollen allergy was that bad. I swear I won’t bring flowers into your room again. I just wanted to make the place look nicer for you.”
I did not look at her. I did not say a word.
My attitude made Leo, with his usual fiery temper, snap again.
He jabbed a finger in my face. “Mia, quit acting like a spoiled princess! Ella has apologized. What more do you want from her?”
I pointed coldly at the door. “I want all of you out. I want to rest.”
Max looked like he wanted to say something to smooth things over, but Leo grabbed Ella’s hand and said, “Let her sulk for all she wants. We’ll come back when she’s calmed down. Come on!”
Without another word, Max followed them out the door.
The moment they left, I yanked the IV from my arm and slipped out of the hospital.
I called my contact and told them to have my passport delivered straight to the airport.
Then, I booked a car and headed there myself.
I made it just in time for my flight. Right before boarding, I removed my SIM card and tossed it into the trash.
I would never see the three of them again.
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