"Young Lady Rafine, you..." Zarak froze, staring at her in astonishment.
At first, he had assumed she was merely shy about responding to his invitation—that with a bit of coaxing, she would eventually accept.
But to his utter disbelief, she rejected him.
And to make matters worse, she chose the man who had humiliated him twice—Nolan.
It wasn't just Zarak who was stunned. The young nobles surrounding him, all convinced he would win Rafine over, were equally shocked.
Still, deep down, they felt a strange satisfaction.
They had all been rejected by Rafine before, and it had stung.
Seeing the arrogant Zarak experience the same thing brought them a sense of comfort—especially after remembering how smug he had been earlier.
"Sorry, Prince Zarak, but this is my choice. I hope you won't take offense," Rafine said firmly.
Zarak said nothing, but rage burned in his eyes. He glared at Nolan and growled coldly, "Nolan..."
