At a grand event celebrating Commander Luciano's new title as Duke, the impoverished Cordelia confronts her affluent relative Veronica, demanding the return of her late mother's necklace. Veronica cruelly refuses, belittling Cordelia and threatening her for interrupting a chance to meet the Duke. In a flashback, a younger Cordelia is shown heartlessly rejecting and humiliating a desperate man named Luke. In the present, guests recognize Cordelia, while Luciano privately confirms his six years of hatred are directed at her. The episode ends with Luciano, the newly minted Duke, spotting Cordelia, setting the stage for his promised revenge.
At a ball, the blind woman Cordelia, once an important figure to Duke Luciano 'Luke', is mocked and humiliated by guests. Her former lover, Luke, witnesses her distress and intervenes with a cold, sarcastic tone. When he treats a wound on her hand, his tenderness betrays his lingering feelings, a fact his companion points out. Luke publicly denies any care, dismissing his act as mere charity. As Cordelia departs, confused and hurt, and another woman approaches Luke, the encounter leaves their unresolved history hanging in the air.
A woman initially mistakes a man for her former lover Luke, but apologizes upon realizing her error. The man is revealed to be a newly powerful military Duke, Luke Thorne, who scorns marriage offers from high society. He learns his blind ex, Cordelia, is being sold by her uncle to a much older, disreputable suitor. As the episode ends, Luke abandons his stance and asks a woman, Veronica, to introduce him to her father for a marriage alliance, signaling a strategic shift in his plans.
A powerful Duke visits Lord Lancaster's home, offering his house exclusive tax-free trade rights in exchange for a marriage alliance. Lancaster enthusiastically offers his daughter Veronica. The Duke shocks everyone by demanding the other daughter, Cordelia, who is blind and described by her father as a 'useless, broken girl.' Lancaster, fearing the loss of the vital trade deal, reluctantly agrees despite protests. The next morning, Cordelia will be taken to become the Duke's Duchess. The Duke reveals to his companion that this marriage is not for love, but to enact revenge on his former lover.
A man known as Lord Luciano, now a powerful Duke, demands to take away a blind young woman named Cordelia. Her uncle and his family, who have been living in her deceased father's manor, pressure her to comply, framing it as repayment for their 'charity.' Cordelia defiantly refuses to be sold as a mistress. The conflict escalates when her uncle threatens to withdraw protection and funds from her younger brother, putting his life at risk. Blackmailed and with no other choice to protect her brother, Cordelia reluctantly agrees to leave with the Duke at dawn.
On their wedding day, Duke Luciano orders his physician to examine his new wife, the blind Cordelia, suspecting she might carry 'tainted' diseases. She confronts him, asking why he married her if he despises her so. After the examination confirms her blindness is total but treatable, Luciano vows to restore her sight, confusing Cordelia. She learns his identity as the famed Duke Luciano and questions his choice of bride, while privately noting his resemblance to a man named Luke from her past. Unbeknownst to her, Luciano resolves to conceal the truth, declaring their game has only just begun.
A woman named Cordelia believes Luke is gone, haunted by visions of him. Suddenly, Luke himself stands before her. He reveals they are now married by law, making her his Duchess. He secured this union through a 'shameless bargain' and cruelly reminds her she was once merely a pitied stray dog to him. Now, he holds her in his grasp and coldly implies he intends to claim what he believes a wife owes her husband, leaving her in stunned apprehension.
A man confronts a woman, suggesting she still longs for a penniless boy she once loved. As he tries to divert her attention, she claims to have forgotten the man's face entirely. He then addresses someone named Luke, declaring that he brought this humiliation upon himself.
Lord Luciano gives his new wife, a distressed woman, a bracelet purchased with bounty money, which only prompts her tears and pleas for freedom. He coldly dismisses her request, reminding her she has no other refuge from her cruel uncle or poverty. She confronts him, demanding to know why he married her if he doesn't love her, but he asserts his authority and orders her to obediently play the role of Lady Luciano. The episode ends with her shock as she realizes he may be 'Luke,' a man from her past whose identity and motives are now a menacing mystery.
When the Duke dies suddenly, his greedy brother Richard steals the title and fortune. Overnight, Cordelia—the Duke’s only daughter—is stripped of her nobility and secretly blinded in a vicious plot. To protect her commoner lover, Luke, she brutally breaks his heart and drives him away. Believing she abandoned him for status, Luke leaves for the frontier, fueled by hatred. Years later, Luke returns as Luciano Thorne, the Empire's most powerful war hero and new Duke. Meanwhile, Cordelia is trapped at home, desperately guarding what's left of her inheritance. When her uncle forces the blind Cordelia to marry a 70-year-old merchant, Luciano arrives with an immense dowry to claim her himself. Luciano intends to punish her for the ""betrayal."" But seeing her scars and suffering, his hatred turns back into obsession. As they get caught up in revenge and irresistible attraction, the truth finally comes to light. Ultimately, the feared war god bows only to her, restoring her sight and placing the ducal crown back on the woman he has always worshiped.