The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

Eilika Wolanski is the eldest daughter of one of Varos’ most respected merchant families, but respect has never meant kindness for her.

A childhood accident left a scar on her face, and with it came a cruel label she can never escape—the “Unwanted Woman” of Varos. Mocked in public and pitied behind closed doors, she grows up learning one harsh truth: in high society, beauty matters more than character.

So when an unexpected marriage proposal arrives from the powerful House of Kingsley, no one believes it is real.

Her future husband is Damian Van Kingsley, the widowed Duke of Varos—famous for his cold personality, his wealth, and his striking looks. But rumors follow him everywhere: a hidden mistress, a broken heart drowned in alcohol, and a young son he refuses to acknowledge.

To Eilika, this marriage isn’t a fairytale.

It’s survival.

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Damian was once the most admired nobleman in the kingdom, but everything changed after the death of his first wife. Since then, he’s shut himself off from everyone, abandoned his duties, pushed away his child, and made one thing clear in his heart—he will never replace the woman he lost.

To drag him back into responsibility, his mother arranges a second marriage he never asked for and refuses to accept.

Damian swears he will never touch his new wife, never look at her, and never treat her as his real partner.

But Eilika isn’t what he expected.

She doesn’t beg for his attention.
She doesn’t chase his title.
She doesn’t even want his love.

What she wants is something far more unusual.

A family.

And maybe, that’s exactly what Damian has been missing all along.

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“This bed will remain cold until your last breath,” Damian’s voice echoes through the dark room.

Eilika doesn’t even flinch. She simply replies calmly, “I don’t seek love, Duke. You can visit your mistress every night… just don’t come near me.”

A marriage that was never supposed to be real slowly begins to change—because even a heart that swore never to love can start to break its own rules.