Introduction

--- "Some people are born with silver spoons. Saina Seraphina was born with chains." The night air was cold, but Saina barely felt it. Standing on the rooftop of Grace Tower, she stared out at the city she’d conquered — a city that once spat her out like she was nothing. The lights glittered below, mocking the darkness inside her. Her reflection in the glass was a ghost of the girl she used to be: eyes sharp, jaw set, scars hidden beneath layers of silk and steel. She clenched her fists, feeling the old ache in her body — the scars, the surgeries, the heart attacks that should’ve killed her. They tried. Over and over again, they tried. The orphanage. The beatings. The cold, endless nights. The poison. The bullets. The knife that once carved across her ribs, leaving a scar she still felt burn in the dead of night. Each attack only forged her into something stronger. Something unbreakable. "Marry him, Saina." Grace Ma’s voice echoed in her mind, soft yet heavy with a lifetime of love and sacrifice. The woman who pulled her from the darkness. The only mother she’d ever known. And now, the only person who could ever make Saina hesitate. "Sharan’s a good man. Ruth loves you like a daughter. This is my only wish." SHARAN, The man in the wheelchair but was later saved by Saina. The one with eyes darker than the night, filled with secrets and silent rage. He agreed to this marriage not for love, but for his mother. Just like Saina. "I don’t believe in love," Saina had told him. "This is a deal. A lifetime commitment — no divorce, no love, just duty." He didn’t flinch. He only looked at her, his voice cold. "Fine. But don’t expect me to need you. I stopped needing anyone a long time ago." She laughed bitterly, the sound echoing into the night. Needing someone was a weakness she couldn’t afford. Not anymore. Not after the Weirdo Gang — Jennifer, Selina, Danny, and Aiden — were all she had. They were her family, her strength. The only people who saw the real Saina. The Saina who never stopped fighting. The Saina who never broke. The Saina who stared death in the eyes and smiled. As the wind whipped around her, she whispered into the night, a promise to herself and to the shadows that tried to consume her. "I’ve been burned, broken, and rebuilt. I am Saina Grace. And I will never fall." The city blinked below her, unaware that its queen had made her choice. Tomorrow, she’d walk down that aisle — not as a bride, but as a warrior. And heaven help anyone who dared stand in her way. This wasn’t a love story. This was a Silent Pact Or would it become a love story ---