Book 1 in the Sacred Bonds series. There are two kinds of scars on a man. The ones you can see, etched into skin by the Texas sun, and the ones you can't; the kind carved into a twelve-year-old boy watching his legacy get stolen at the barrel of a smile. For AZAD MARTINEZ, the memory is a film reel that never stops playing. The day his father was laid in the ground, his uncle, MALIK MARTINEZ, arrived to deliver his first lesson in family: it's a weakness. He threw Azad and his grieving mother out of their own home, the only home they'd ever known, the very dirt his father had sworn was a sacred trust. But Malik didn't just take the land. As a final, calculated act of cruelty, he took Azad's older brother, ZAYAN, dragging him away to be remade in his own corrupted image. Now, years later, the echoes of that day have become a relentless soundtrack. Azad has built a new empire from nothing, a legitimate agricultural powerhouse, but every success is shadowed by the ghost of what was stolen and the sound of his mother crying in the next room, her tears a silent prayer for the son she couldn't protect, begging for a forgiveness only God and his return can grant. But Malik isn't finished teaching lessons. He's back with a contract, wielding a forgotten debt from Azad's father like a holy writ. He offers a choice that is no choice at all, a move designed to break Azad's spirit completely and claim his hard-won empire. This is where the real war begins. This is a halal romance, a journey deep into the heart of what it means to love under the weight of duty, to seek revenge without losing your soul, and to find the impossible path to forgiveness when the wound is the only thing that reminds you you're still alive. This is a story of one man standing on the land he built, forced to choose between the vengeance that fuels him and the faith that could save him, all while the ghost of his brother and the cries of his mother threaten to pull his world apart at the seams.

𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐌'𝐒 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍 𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱 There's a city of glass towers and mahogany offices, of champagne that burns like fire on your tongue, of whispers that could ruin empires. Men in tailored suits calculate every glance. Women in heels sharper than daggers trade smiles like promises-and break them faster than you can blink. They live among you, while you're 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 below them. And have you ever wondered how they stay on top? The recipe is simple. So simple you could do it yourself, if you knew the rules. Let 𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙢, a twisted tale of two addicts of power, guide you. Their lives are a blaze of obsession and secrets, a world where desire burns hotter than loyalty, and love is just another gamble-too dangerous for those who hunger for everything. Step closer, if you dare. And remember: in this world, even the fire you crave will 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱𝐱 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 @xplicitlyvenus 2025, all rights reserved

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬-𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭? ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ཐི ❤︎ ‬ཋྀ Secrets. They lurk in the recesses of our minds. They fester like poison. Stain the purity of our souls. We all have something to hide. After all, it's those hidden truths that both bind and break us. And no matter how deeply buried, they always have a way of coming back to haunt you. For centuries, two souls have been ensnared by a curse, their lives bound through time. A love doomed to end in heartbreak. A betrayal destined to be repeated. Their desires are forbidden, tangled in lies, secrets, and blood, with the weight of the past pressing on their present. And when these cursed souls meet again, unaware of the history written in their very essence, the cycle begins anew. Old wounds ache with fresh pain. Trust dissolves like smoke. Passion flares into pure chaos, threatening to consume them both. He's the curse. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺. But together, they are the downfall. In a world steeped in deception, can they rewrite their fate, or are they forever chained to their shared ruin? ཐི ❤︎ ‬ཋྀ 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏. 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢 is the leader of the dangerous Profati mafia, 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐡 is a shy teacher who finds himself desperate to escape the claws of his deranged family. When she abducts her childhood best friend from his wedding, Nevan's foolish enough to think being her captive is her way of protecting him. But Helena has much more sadistic purposes for him. And she knows just how to make him vow himself to her unaware of what truly awaits. Enter a world of reckless vows and binding chains with this extraordinary duo in 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘝𝘰𝘸𝘴 by AddieBookss ♤ Dual POV ♤ Bad girl × Good boy ♤ Dark Romance ♤ Mild BDSM

These teeth won't let you go. ✷ Dutiful. Naive. Spoiled. Gwendolyn Wu, eldest daughter to the ruthless patriarch of the Vermillion Birds Triad, has been sidelined from the family business for the fact that she was not born a son. Not like her brothers, whom her father expects would lead the triad someday. But when her eldest brother, Gideon, is murdered at the hands of vengeful and cruel boy-king Enzo Armati, newly anointed don of the Armati crime family of London, Gwen simply can't sit back and watch. Cold. Calculating. Merciless. Enzo Armati, the sole heir to his father's syndicate empire, is hellbent on revenge. The death of his father bloodies the hands of the Vermillion Birds, and so he must enact vengeance as he sees fit. A son for a father. He takes the Vermillion Birds' eldest heir. But it's not enough to sate the bloodlust, the rage. When the opportunity for the perfect revenge lands right in his lap ─ literally and figuratively ─ in the shape of Gwendolyn Wu, the spoiled and coveted princess of the Vermillion Birds, Enzo seizes it. Kidnapped and imprisoned in an opulent cage of marble and ivory, Gwen knows she's in over her head. Now, she must do the impossible: thaw her captor's frozen heart before he breaks her. But as the days pass, as secrets begin to unravel, as Enzo finds the mirrored glimmer of a dark likeness buried deep in Gwen's soul, as Gwen peels back Enzo's layers and finds inside him the man who could've been, mutual distrust quickly unspools into a mutual obsession. Or, perhaps, mutual possession. Both have teeth in the other. Both refuse to let go. Both refuse to fold first. © raiden ╱ 2025 GLORY & GORE #1 No one in this story is a good person.

An alliance that was doomed before it even began... ❥❥❥❥ They call her princess, but she was never looking for a prince charming. Good thing he's anything but. Completely irresponsible, troublesome, and a liability, there's nothing remotely noble about him. Not that there's anything righteous about what their families' do to begin with... However something about her just seems so right to him. Too bad he can't have her. So, perhaps it's a good thing she wants absolutely nothing to do with him. ....... Tough, resilient, and lethal- Cara runs through danger like it's child's play. And as the daughter of an Irish mob boss, she's been placed on a pedestal high up in the clouds, so she already has almost anything she could ever want. And of what she doesn't have, Leonardo "Leo" Ricci- the youngest and most reckless member of the Ricci famiglia surely couldn't provide it for her. But there's something she didn't account for- Leo's wild inhibitions, free-spirited nature, and unwavering devotion, might end up being just what she needs. It doesn't matter though, because the developing burn between the two of them could threaten everything, especially her plans. Plans that she didn't realize were flimsy to begin with, going up in smoke upon chaos being unleashed. Proving just how cursed her little arrangement really was. But in the midst of the destruction that the inferno leaves behind, can she find the blessing in disguise? ❥❥❥❥ - Dark Romance - Reverse Sunshine x Grumpy - Forbidden - Mafia -He Falls First -Forced Proximity

He hated her. Not the I-don't-like-you kind of hate. No. He hates her with every fibre of his being. Her mere presence set him off. He hates her know it all smile and the way she brushes her hair out of her face when she is upset. The way she played with her hands when she's nervous or made snarky remarks whenever he walked into a room. He hates her with every fibre of his being. She hated him. With every fibre of her being. With his sarcastic comments and devilish grin. She hated the way he never would address her politely, or at all for that matter. He was rude and annoying and she hated it all. Everything about him. She couldn't stand it. But then again, there's a very thin line between hate and love... - Dark romance - Enemies to lovers - Arranged marriage. - Forced proximity. - Revenge.

❛𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐈 𝐀𝐌, 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐈𝐓.❜ - F. SCOTT FITZGERLAD, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 ───── 𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈 - the golden girl of a ruthless empire, born with the world at her feet and blood on her family's hands. Once soft-hearted, once in love, she learned the hard way that mercy is a weakness. Now, her smile is a weapon, her silence a war cry - and the man who ruined her is the one she's sworn to destroy. 𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐂 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐄? - the Bratva's ghost. No records. No past. No soul to save. Once her protector, now her curse. He vanished without a trace, leaving behind a girl who learned to bleed quietly. But monsters always come home - and this time, he's back with blood on his hands and secrets in his eyes. ───── In a city built on loyalty and lies, love is the most dangerous weapon of all. And when Amara finally faces the monster who made her one - only one of them will walk away unchanged. ───── 𝖳𝗁𝖾𝗌𝖾 𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖽𝖾𝗅𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌.