In which he turned his back on the throne to worship a girl who never begged to be saved. ✧ ✧ ✧ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ʙᴏʀɴ ᴛᴏ ᴇɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅʟɪɴᴇ. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺. ✧ ✧ ✧ 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 2 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 - 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞 ✧ ✧ ✧ Liora Solís always believed monsters lived in storybooks, until the day she met one beside a moonlit pond. She didn't know the silent boy who clutched her locket would grow into a weapon. She didn't know his middle name carried a centuries-old vow. She didn't know her own name lived in the ledger of a family sworn to kill her. All she knew was that he listened. And that, somehow... he saw her. Years later, Liora is a college student who fights for freedom with soft hands and a stubborn heart. She doesn't belong anywhere near the Duarte empire, especially not their heir, Valen Azrael Duarte, the underground boxer feared as El Verdugo. Everyone calls him a monster. She once called him a friend. And destiny calls him her executioner. When their worlds collide again, kindness becomes danger. Obsession becomes fate. And the boy she once trusted becomes the man who holds her life in the balance. Because in the Duarte family, Azrael is not a myth. Azrael is destiny. And Liora Solís is the one name he was never meant to spare.

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆. · · ─ · ♡ · ─ · · Liliana Quinn was raised to be the perfect doll. In Ridgewood, a small town shrouded in secrecy, obedience was a way of life for girls like her. She followed the rules of The Solace Institute-a place that shaped girls into flawless women, loyal wives, and nothing more. But what Liliana didn't know was that The Solace Institute wasn't just a school. It was part of something far larger. She was part of something far larger. She was their project. A project she knew nothing about. But when her arranged marriage takes her to New York, Liliana's carefully constructed world turns upside down. Her fiancé isn't who he seems, and she falls into the hands of Ricco Russo-a devil who wants nothing more than to corrupt her perfect innocence. Trapped in his dangerous world, Liliana must confront the lies that shaped her life and decide if she'll remain their creation-or break free. · · ─ · ♡ · ─ · · 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 #1 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 - 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 - 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 - 𝑴𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒂 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 - 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 - 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 - 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏 - 𝑨𝒈𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒑

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐚𝐦. . . . There are things you're taught not to do. Rules you're told to follow. People you're meant to forget. Flora never planned to end up here, but after one too many mistakes, her life dives for rock bottom. Now, she's trapped in a world she doesn't understand, haunted by a past she can't outrun. And at the center of it all stands the boy she'd sworn to forget. What once was fate, fractures into an illusion and twist into something dangerously evil. They were kids together. Friends together. 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵. She's new. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵. She's fresh meat. 𝘏𝘦'𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. What happens when they reunite? Secrets unfold. Chaos runs free. And the line between love and ruin sharpens into a thin blade, as history proves to repeat itself in its cruelest form. A girl. A boy. And a mad house that feeds on sin. There's no place to hide here. You can run, but you'll never get away. "𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘢𝘮. 𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺." 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲