“Ryan?”

Eloise had given up on high society after an unknown and mysterious illness, choosing instead to live in the countryside of Feltham. She adored this quiet, open place with its fresh air — far from the bustling city.

One day, a new overseer arrived at Blissbury Manor, the estate managed by her father.

He bore the same name as Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Wilgrave, the man she had long admired and secretly yearned for.

But this Ryan was nothing like the one she had dreamt of.

He looked at Eloise with pure disdain.

“So, you’re not just a thief — you’re a depraved and lecherous one at that. Do you enjoy spending your lonely nights with these kinds of paintings?”

In his hands was a nude painting, modelled after the face in Ryan Wilgrave’s portrait!

Eloise was certain. From his filthy appearance, his vulgar words, and his blatant disrespect towards women, this man was nothing but a scoundrel who had infiltrated Blissbury with ill intent.

If not that, he was an absolute disgrace of a deserter!

“I see you’ve never actually met the model, Miss Eloise.”

Glancing down, he smirked.

“It’s not that small.”

Their first encounter was, without a doubt, the absolute worst.