Prologue
One Night with the Virgin Prince
By: Paradox_ing
The first time Amira Benjamin stood inside the royal palace of Zandria, she felt like an imposter in a fairy tale she did not belong to.
Her hands were raw from scrubbing Juliana’s marble floors that morning. Her stomach still twisted from the spoonfuls of cold porridge she’d forced down before rushing to press Elina’s gown for the engagement dinner. And now, beneath the glittering chandeliers of royal opulence, she stood invisible—like furniture, like shadow—clutching a silver tray no one dared look at.
Around her, nobles clinked glasses, laughter soared like violins, and Queen Morayo Zuberi beamed beside her son, Prince Michael Zuberi—the most eligible royal in all of South Africa.
He stood tall in a deep emerald tunic lined with traditional beadwork and modern gold accents. His posture regal, smile restrained. But his eyes… they were tired. Not with boredom, but with something deeper. Something Amira couldn’t name.
He looked like a man playing a part that no longer fit.
Beside him, Elina Markos sparkled. Lips painted in seduction, eyes full of conquest. She wore the virgin’s ring — centuries old and sacred — gifted to her just minutes ago in a private royal ceremony. A ring that was supposed to seal the prince’s fate.
But the prince didn’t look at her. He barely touched her.
His gaze swept the room once and stopped.
On Amira.
Their eyes met.
Just for a second. Just long enough.
Long enough to send lightning through her chest. Long enough to make her almost drop the tray.
She looked away first, heart thudding in betrayal. She wasn’t supposed to be seen. Not by him. Not tonight.
She escaped to the hallway, needing air, needing to breathe. But she’d barely reached the back corridor when Juliana’s voice sliced through the shadows.
“Perfect timing,” Juliana hissed, dragging her into the staff quarters. "Elina isn’t feeling well. The ring ceremony drained her.”
Amira blinked, confused. “I ... I don’t understand.”
“You will,” Juliana tossed a sheer red veil into her arms. “You’ll go in her place. To his chambers.”
Amira dropped the veil like it burned. “What?!”
Juliana’s eyes narrowed, sharp as razors. “You’ll wear her perfume. Her jewelry. You’ll go into his bed… and leave before daybreak.”
Amira’s voice broke. “That’s deceit—royal deceit.”
“No, dear,” Juliana smiled darkly. “It’s survival. Unless, of course, you’d rather your mother run out of medicine tomorrow?”
The room spun.
Amira clutched the doorway, bile rising in her throat.
From the corner, Elina emerged in silk and smugness. “Just lie there and keep quiet,” she said. “After tonight, he’ll be mine forever. He won’t know the difference.”
Amira looked from Juliana to Elina — two women forged in ambition and lies. Her chest burned. Her throat thickened.
She could say no. She could run.
But her mother’s cough had worsened yesterday. The medicine was gone. The fever had returned. She had begged for help and been told the palace doctor was “only for guests.”
If Amira didn’t do this, her mother might die.
That night, Amira bathed in rosewater. She wore Elina’s diamond anklet and a borrowed innocence not her own. Her footsteps trembled as she entered the prince’s chambers, veiled and voiceless.
He didn’t speak.
Neither did she.
But when he touched her, the world changed.
His fingers moved like prayer. His lips trembled against hers as if asking permission. He undressed her slowly — not like a man claiming what was his, but like someone honoring what had never been touched.
And when they became one, it wasn’t just a lie.
It was something deeper.
He held her after.
Whispered something against her hair that she’ll carry to her grave.
And still… she said nothing.
By dawn, she was gone.
Gone like a thief. Like a ghost. Like a girl who had just given away the one thing she could never get back.
She returned to Juliana’s mansion in silence, carrying nothing but shame—and a secret she couldn’t yet name.
Weeks later, when her body betrayed her with morning sickness and a missed period, she knew.
She was carrying the child of a man who didn’t even know her name.
And soon, the whole kingdom would discover… Worse still, Elina and her mother would discover.
What would be her fate then? It could only mean one thing, which is death.
Or what about the kingdom? Is this not pure deceit?
The virgin prince had already been touched.
By a girl no one saw coming.
By the one woman who would turn the crown upside down.
Would she be spared?
Would her poor mother be spared?
Who would defend her? Stand by her, when the anger of the King, Queen and Prince is unleashed on her?
Fear of the unknown has become her new normal.
