PROLOGUE
It’s always been a part of the world; even though we continue to deny it. Breeding for advancement. Whether a woman is chosen for the width of her hips or the blood that flows through her veins, she’s been selected to produce a child based on a fact. The eldest son is not allowed love for he must marry for money or title. His duty is to produce fruit from his loins that will bring the family name to the forefront of those whose eyes need to be caught for greater power. His feelings don’t matter; they are insignificant.
A woman is beheaded for the birth of a daughter; the child will not rule because of her sex. Little did her father know she would be the most powerful ruler of her Tudor lineage. A man forced to give up his throne because he dared to fall in love with a divorcee. What would a great country be like now if he had ruled with the woman he loved at his side?
But it isn’t always in history that we see this tale, the fair maiden handed over by the wicked father; a virgin sent to her fate. No, it exists still to this day. Arranged marriages, women forced into sexual servitude because they fit a profile. Men were chosen for the genes that they have by the women that can pay for what they want. Baby girls murdered for not being a boy. Selective breeding is a part of our life. It’s not always wrong. For the parents who need particular genetics in a child to help cure another of illness, it’s a blessing. It’s a tale as old as time, and one that Emma and Scott are praying they can survive.
Family isn’t always blood. Family are the people who accept you for what and who you are.