Ariel comes from a home where cruelty is normal-fat-shaming disguised as concern, neglect dressed as tough love. She's used to being invisible, both in class and in her family. The only place she feels peace is in books or when she sees him, the mysterious man who haunts her thoughts like a forbidden daydream. All she wants is to be chosen, just once, for who she really is. Lucien has never had something pure to protect. He's killed for pleasure, for power, for survival. But Ariel? She makes him feel again. He wants to shield her from every insult, every cruel word she's ever heard. And he'll burn the world down to keep her safe-even if it means becoming the monster she fears. To him, she is perfection in its most forbidden form. And once he's tasted her-emotionally or otherwise-he can never let go.

𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 ♡