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Heidelberg, Germany

A city that never sleeps, filled with light and life. Yet, in a quieter corner of Heidelberg, nestled behind towering iron gates, stood the Sinclair estate—a grand mansion surrounded by an endless sea of flowers.

Inside its vast greenhouse, hidden from the outside world, lived a girl named Lilyana Sinclair. Her world was made of glass... fragile, transparent, and unchanging. The scent of flowers filled her days, while the gentle voice of a storyteller lulled her to sleep each night. Beyond the greenhouse walls, the seasons changed, people came and went, and life flourished. But for Lily, time stood still.

She was the Lily trapped inside the Sinclair garden.

Lily could not run beneath the golden sunlight like other children, nor could she dance in the rain or chase fireflies in the summer dusk. Even standing too long made her chest tighten, as if thousands of invisible needles were pressing against her ribs.

Yet, on the other side of the Sinclair mansion, another flower bloomed... a Daisy whose presence lit up Heidelberg itself.

Daisy Sinclair is Lilyana twin sister.

She was the star of the city, the girl who twirled in the morning light with laughter that could melt even the coldest hearts. She was breathtaking... her wavy chestnut hair swayed with each movement, and her voice, soft yet full of life, made people turn their heads wherever she went.

Lily smiled as she recalled the way Daisy had giggled that morning, her cheeks flushed as she spoke about her first kiss with Ezio. There had been a dreamy glow in her hazel eyes, a soft bite on her lower lip, and an enchanting smile lingering on her face.

"Daisy is so beautiful. Her presence alone feels like spring," Lily murmured to herself. She watched as the flowers outside began to bloom, mirroring the joy in Daisy's voice when she had waved goodbye before heading to school.

Born from the same womb, yet destined for different worlds.

Daisy ran freely beneath the open sky, surrounded by friends, attending parties, and falling in love. Meanwhile, Lily could only watch from behind a window, a mere spectator of a life she could never have.

And yet… she never envied her.

Lily had her own little joys—playing the piano with their mother, listening to stories before bed, and taking short walks under strict supervision. Those moments, however brief, made her world brighter.

"That should be enough," she told herself.

But sometimes, when night fell and all the lights outside went dark, she allowed herself to feel the loneliness.

The soft scent of flowers wrapped around her like a fragile embrace.

Then, from a distance, footsteps echoed along the marble halls. The familiar rhythm brought warmth to her chest. Moments later, the door to the greenhouse creaked open, revealing a woman holding an old brown storybook.

"Sweetheart, are you enjoying the night alone?"

Lily turned her head, her lips curling into a soft smile. "The night is beautiful, just like you, Mom."

Azalea Sinclair, a graceful woman in her forties, stepped forward. The dim glow of the bedside lamp softened the lines of her elegant face. With warm brown eyes and a voice as soothing as a lullaby, she was the one constant in Lily's world.

Azalea sat on the edge of Lily's bed, gently running her fingers through her daughter's hair. "I'll read you a bedtime story tonight," she whispered.

Lily nodded, closing her eyes as her mother opened the book. She had memorized every word of this story, yet hearing it from Azalea always felt like sipping warm milk—comforting and irreplaceable.

Azalea's voice filled the quiet greenhouse.

Crystal & The Cursed Prince

*"Once upon a time, in a distant kingdom, there lived a girl named Crystal.

She was a princess whose beauty was unrivaled... her skin as pale as porcelain, eyes as deep as the ocean, and silver hair that shimmered like silk under the moonlight. But despite her goddess-like appearance, she lived a sorrowful life."*

Lily listened in silence, her fingers absent mindedly tracing patterns on her blanket.

"Mom always tells me this story when I feel down. Maybe she wants me to believe that my life is a blessing, not a curse... unlike Crystal, who lived with the cursed prince before eventually leaving."

The story continued.

*"Her mother had passed away when Crystal was young. Her father, Count Anderson, a highly esteemed nobleman, later married a woman from a Baron's family, Charlotte.

Hoping for a fresh start, he remarried. But that short-lived union with a deceitful and envious woman shattered his daughter's world.

Charlotte brought along her two daughters, Leah and Saphira, girls who appeared noble on the surface but had hearts colder than the peak of a frozen mountain.

Whenever Crystal's father left home to serve as a royal tutor in the Kingdom of Aras, her stepsisters treated her like a servant, making her work without food or water all day."*

Lily knew what came next.

"Stupid girl."

"Filthy rat!"

"A disgrace to our name."

"You are nothing but dirt beneath our feet."

A storm of cruel words rained upon Crystal, relentless and bitter.

And when her father passed away on the tenth anniversary of his marriage to Charlotte, her true hell began.

"Your father is dead, and no one will protect you now," Leah sneered, her lips curling into a satisfied smirk.

That night, Crystal sat alone in front of the fireplace, watching the last memento of her mother, her cherished silver bracelet, vanish into the flames.

Her fingers clenched into fists, but she made no sound.

From that moment on, she lived under their shadow, enduring every cruelty in silence. While her stepmother and stepsisters indulged in wealth, they soon found themselves drowning in insurmountable debt.

Then, one fateful evening, an invitation arrived from the Kingdom of Aras.

"The Kingdom of Aras seeks a bride for Prince Eros. The chosen one shall be granted gold, land, and a residence in the heart of the capital."

The story paused.

Azalea glanced down, watching as Lily's breathing softened.

Lily kept her eyes closed, letting the familiar words settle in her heart. "Crystal was like me. She, too, watched the world from behind glass. But in the end, she chose to leave. To seek something beyond what she was given."

Azalea's voice carried warmth as she spoke again. "Would Crystal have found happiness if she had fought against her stepmother's cruelty? Or if she had learned to love the prince instead of seeking escape with his scheming younger brother?"

Lily hesitated before whispering, "Did Eros truly love her?"

Her mother was silent for a moment before answering. "But was that really the truth, Lily?"

Lily opened her eyes, meeting her mother's gentle gaze.

"Crystal never stopped believing in her dreams, did she?"

Azalea smiled, though there was sadness in her eyes. "No, sweetheart. She never did."

Lily's lips curled into a small smile. "If I were Crystal, I would have asked Eros from the very first day, while we were still in the carriage on our way to the palace."

Azalea pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you, Lily. Never forget that."

That night, Lily had no idea… that it would be the last time her mother would ever read her a bedtime story.

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