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.

*arrange marriage* Marino lucciano(29) is known for being ruthless and cruel. The number 1 Italian Mafia family, is ruled by him. Having Mercy is the only thing he has never done. Feared by everyone, stands the lucciano heir on his claimed throne awaiting to take his revenge. ....... Ayla(22) is studying hard to help her family and finally she got a chance to go to Italy for her further studies. While dreaming of providing for her family, she got betrayed by her own blood. .....________★★★★★________....... What Will happen when she is bounded in a marriage with Marino lucciano? Will she be able to get revenge or will she ever be able to get free from lucciano's? Why would marino want to marry a simple girl like her? ******* ........... *Mature* *Slow burn* *Toxicity* *Dark romance* *Enemies to lovers* *Hate to love* ****** ......... ___________ ***Trigger warning*** If you're uncomfortable in reading about sexual scenes, dark romance,past trauma, murder scenes so please do not read it. ∆∆∆∆∆∆∆ •••••••••••••• #1. in age gap. #20. Mafia romance