Born into poverty, Petianna Bami Velasco learned early that dreams were a luxury she couldn't afford. Selling vegetables was her childhood; survival was her education. When the powerful Ladesma family takes her in, she's thrown into a world she was never meant to belong to. A world of privilege, expectations, and quiet cruelty. Everyone shows her kindness-except Koen Ladesma. Cold, distant, and unrelenting, he reminds her at every turn that she is only a guest in his life. But beneath his harsh words lies something far more dangerous: a tenderness he refuses to admit, and a pull she knows she shouldn't feel. And in a world that has already taken so much from her, Petianna risks losing the one thing she swore to protect-her heart. Date: Dec. 14, 2020 - March 24, 2021 Published in 2024 under Grenierielly Publishing (first edition)