From Unwanted Ward To Unattainable Queen

I was the orphan Marcus Thorne took in. He was my guardian, my savior, and the man I foolishly fell in love with.

But when he caught me sketching his portrait, he didn't see devotion. He saw a mess.

He called my feelings "inappropriate" and told his fiancée I was just a "minor household issue" before shipping me off to Italy to get rid of me.

He thought I would pine for him. Instead, I erased him.

I blocked his number, deleted his photos, and sent him a check for every single cent he spent on me with two words: *Debt paid.*