Chapter 1
"THE GIRL RAISED BY RULES"
Elowen was the eldest daughter of the family.
She lived in a strict yet loving household with her grandfather, mother, aunt, uncle, and her two younger cousins. Among everyone, her grandfather loved her the most. He had raised her carefully, almost like she was his greatest responsibility and his greatest hope.
From the very beginning, he wanted her to become a responsible person — someone mature enough to carry the burdens of the family one day.
But there was one thing he hated more than anything.
Love marriages.
To him, love only distracted people from their duties, their goals, and their values. Because of that, he always kept Elowen far away from such things. He controlled the way she dressed, the way she behaved, and even the people she spent time with.
“Pretty faces fade,” he would often say.
“But responsibilities stay forever.”
Elowen grew up hearing those words almost every day.
She was never allowed to freely talk to boys, never encouraged to dream about romance, and never taught how it felt to simply live without fear. Her childhood was disciplined, silent, and limited within invisible walls built by her grandfather’s expectations.
And somewhere deep inside, she accepted it.
She knew how much her grandfather loved her, so she never rebelled.
Instead, she convinced herself that love was not meant for her.
As years passed, Elowen slowly began feeling trapped inside her own life. She watched other people laugh freely, make friends easily, and enjoy small moments while she remained distant from everyone.
Sometimes she would sit beside her window at night and wonder quietly—
“Why does my life feel so different from everyone else’s?”
But no matter how lonely she felt, she continued studying hard and obeying every rule.
Then life slowly began to change.
After some time, her family shifted to another place. The environment there was completely different from the one she had grown up in. New streets, new people, new schools… and for the first time, life felt slightly more open.
When she completed tenth grade with excellent marks, her grandfather was incredibly proud of her.
“You made me proud,” he told her while placing his hand gently on her head.
“Never lose focus from your goals.”
Elowen smiled softly.
“I won’t, Grandpa.”
IN two years , when she entered eleventh grade, something unexpected happened.
Her grandfather finally gave her freedom.
Not complete freedom — but enough for her world to change.
She started going to college and tuition classes on her own.
She began talking to people.
Making friends.
Laughing more often.
For the first time in her life, she felt like a normal girl.
Soon, she even became part of a friend group.
Everything around her was changing… yet one strange thing had always remained the same.
Her dreams.
Ever since childhood, Elowen used to dream about someone.
A boy.
She could never clearly see his face, yet his presence always felt familiar. Warm. Safe. Like someone her heart already knew.
In real life, she never allowed herself to fall in love. She knew her grandfather would never accept it.
But inside her dreams…
someone always found her.
One night, she dreamed that she was walking down an empty road during the evening. Beside her was a boy, quietly walking with her as if he belonged there.
The cold wind brushed past them softly.
They talked about random things she couldn’t completely remember after waking up, but she remembered how peaceful she felt around him.
After some time, both of them stopped walking.
The boy slowly leaned his head against her shoulder.
Elowen’s heartbeat became uneven.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
The silence between them somehow felt beautiful.
Then suddenly—
her eyes widened.
At the end of the road, she saw her grandfather standing there.
Watching them.
Fear instantly rushed through her body.
“No…” she whispered.
And before anything else could happen—
she woke up.
Breathing heavily.
Another time, she dreamed she was wandering through a strange unfamiliar place filled with mist and dim lights. She looked lost and nervous until a handsome boy appeared beside her and quietly helped her find the way.
But just before she could finally see his face properly—
the dream broke again.
And then came another dream.
This one felt softer than the others.
She was standing near a flower tree while holding a few flowers awkwardly in her hands. A beautiful boy stood beside her, helping her arrange them while gently holding her hand.
For some reason, her heart felt calm around him.
Then suddenly, he leaned closer and kissed her softly on her closed eyes.
The moment felt unreal.
Warm. Gentle. Dangerous.
Someone nearby laughed and said—
“You two should get married.”
Elowen immediately stepped back in embarrassment.
“What? Never,” she said quickly while looking away.
“I would never marry him.”
Yet even after saying those words…
her heart didn’t completely agree.
The strange part was—
she never truly saw the boy’s face in any of those dreams.
Only his presence.
Only the feeling.
Time continued moving forward.
Eleventh grade passed.
Then twelfth began.
Life felt easier now.
No responsibilities.
No pressure except studies.
No household burdens.
For the first time, she felt free enough to enjoy her own existence.
Still, she never forgot one thing—
her family hated love marriages.
And because of that, she made a promise to herself.
She would never fall in love.
Never make a boyfriend.
Never become the kind of disappointment her grandfather feared.
Instead, she focused on studies and tried enjoying life in her own quiet way.
Elowen was talented in almost everything.
She loved art.
Writing stories.
Drawing.
Calligraphy.
Her imagination was colorful, dreamy, and alive.
But she had chosen science as her stream, which made life difficult and exhausting most of the time.
Even then, whenever reality became too heavy, she escaped into her dreams.
Until one day…
everything changed.
Her twelfth-grade result was announced.
With trembling hands, she opened the result page.
And the moment she saw her percentage—
her body froze.
The marks were far lower than expected.
Her breathing stopped for a second.
“No… this can’t be right…”
Fear immediately filled her chest because she knew exactly how much her grandfather expected from her.
Good grades were not just marks in her house.
They were respect.
Pride.
Expectation.
And at that moment, Elowen felt like she had failed all of them.
Her vision blurred as panic slowly took over her mind.
For the first time in years—
she didn’t know what would happen next.
