Secrets of the Sakura Grove - A BL Romance

Crown Prince Haru lives in a gilded cage. Every choice is made for him. Every moment is duty. When he discovers a humble artist painting cherry blossoms in the palace grove, it's the first real thing he's felt in years. Ren paints with truth. He sees beauty others miss and speaks without the careful polish of courtiers. When Haru asks for painting lessons, what begins as curiosity becomes something far more dangerous. Afternoons in the pavilion. Hands guiding brushstrokes. Conversations that strip away pretense. A mural depicting two warriors whose embrace reveals more than battle. In a moonlit grove, surrounded by falling petals, they finally admit what's growing between them. But love between a prince and a commoner is more than forbidden. It's treason. A jealous advisor witnesses their confession and brings accusations to the king. Ren is thrown in the dungeon and banished at dawn. Haru is ordered to proceed with his arranged marriage to Princess Mei, a union meant to secure political alliances. Six weeks. That's all the time he has before vows lock him into a life of lies. Haru tries to be obedient. Tries to forget. But standing in his wedding robes, holding the painted charm Ren gave him, he understands that some truths can't be buried. Some loves can't be denied. Before the assembled nobility, he cancels the marriage, abdicates his claim to the throne, and walks away from everything he's ever known. Secrets of the Sakura Grove is an intimate, poetic BL romance about two men who discover that love matters more than crowns, that art can be a language of the heart, and that the bravest choice is living your own truth. Featuring forbidden romance, secret meetings, class divide conflict, art as connection, public defiance, exile and reunion, and a hopeful ending where love triumphs over duty.