"He fell into despair and lost all hope... For who could ever love a beast?" -Beauty and The Beast ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• When Elle stumbled upon an ad for a stay in chef, she thought the universe had finally tipped in her favor. After graduating from culinary school, she wasn't sure what direction her life would go in... Until she met Stefan DeGramont. At first, he seemed like a cold hearted, presumptuous, egotistical asshole. As she grew to know him... Well... I guess you could add Mafia boss to the list. Now tangled in his crazy Mafia business, will something fragile like her heart, be on the line? Or maybe something more risky, like her life? Could all this be avoided If she can learn to love the man behind the beast... Before it's too late. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• "A thorn defends the Rose. Harming only those that will steal the blossom." **PLEASE Beware: I wrote this a few years ago so the spelling errors are there, and some cringe moments are present. I'll accept all health invoices for any emotional and mental damage inflicted during this read xoxo

Born a slave, made an heiress, Annabelle must battle a society unwilling to accept her and a love that threatens to ruin her in order to keep her freedom. ***** Born a slave, Annabelle soon finds that fate has other plans when she's purchased by a man named Elijah Finley, who not only rescues her from an abusive master, but also gives her her freedom. However, her new life comes at the cost of another: Elijah has made Annabelle the heiress to his estate, in spite of having a son. So Henry Finley, unwilling to accept his father's will, is determined to regain his rightful fortune at any cost -- even if that means seducing his father's former slave... Content and/or Trigger Warning: This story contains some racist and sexist language that reflects the historical time period when it's set. [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]]