She was smart. 𝘞𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 smart. she was devious. she was cunning. And so much more then what people thought of her. Claire Van Doren was outstandingly smart out of all of Thameswood Academy. With a high GP and top student of her criminology and law studies, she was assigned to solve a case that couldn't be solved. A case that nobody, not even the police, could solve. She had secrets. 𝘏𝘦 could solve them. He had darker secrets. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘥 solve them like a riddle. She hated him. 𝘏𝘦 despised her. But maybe, just maybe, she was all he could think about.

𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 always had one thing in mind. A quiet life has always been the plan. Books, gardening, and quiet evenings-she's perfected the art of staying out of the spotlight, hidden within her family's legacy of wealth. But when her parents arrange her marriage to Xander Silver, a notorious playboy from a powerful family, her life suddenly veers off course. 𝐗𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 is known for his charm, his wild reputation, and his carefree smile. But beneath the surface, he's more complicated than anyone suspects. The heir to an old title and a well-kept family secret, Xander masks his intensity behind a flirtatious grin, concealing a side of himself that's hidden even from those closest to him. Thrown together by duty, they reluctantly enter a marriage of convenience. But what starts as a reluctant alliance grows into something that neither of them expected. As Dorothy's guarded world collides with Xander's hidden depths, their arrangement becomes something far more binding. Book 2 of the Thameswood Academy trilogy. Can be read as a standalone.