𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲... 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭. For most of her twenty-one years of life, 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙣 has lived in a gilded cage. Though as any young woman would, the princess longs for one thing only; freedom. Freedom to run into the sea, to dance under the sun... to be her very own. Sadly, as merely a pawn in a king's game and with war looming on the horizon, she is asked to put aside desire for duty. Destined to wed 𝙎𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙣. A rakish brute of a prince from a heathen country without summer, in need of an heir and a broodmare to produce it. However, when an attempt is made on her life, Rosalyn is assigned a sworn-protector. 𝙎𝙞𝙧 𝙂𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙩 The Butcher; a faceless knight of the Faith and retired crusader with haunted eyes and a penchant for gardening. The soft-spoken knight is unlike anyone she's ever met. A grumpy enigma always hidden beneath a helm. 𝘐𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦... When the threat of war increases, The Butcher is tasked with transporting the princess in secret. A perilous journey that will test not only Geralt's skill as a knight, his faith, his patience, but perhaps even his self control as a mere man. For when forbidden desire blooms, two questions arise: 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴? 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦... 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩?

Six years ago, Blanchard Collins packed her bags, boarded a bus to Houston, and never looked back. She left behind her abusive father, the town that never forgave her for speaking her mind, and Rueben Bailey, the boy who broke her heart the night before they were supposed to run away together. Now twenty-four, Blanchard returns home with her five-year-old daughter, Willow, and a dying mother who's asked for one final thing-her presence. But coming home means facing the ghosts she thought she'd buried, including the man she's never truly stopped loving. Rueben "Benny" Bailey did what his family expected. Stayed, took over the farm, and proposed to the girl everyone said was right for him. But when Blanchard walks back into church with a little girl who looks just like him, everything he's built starts to fall apart.

BOOK #1 in the THREE WORDS trilogy. ✩ rankings: #4 in performing arts [31/12/24] #8 in neurodivergent [28/04/25] #23 in musical theatre [28/04/25] #43 in ballet [18/01/25] #52 in nonbinary [28/04/25] #65 in adhd [30/09/24] #72 in feminism [23/11/24]