"Duty brought her into his world. Passion might be the thing that destroys them both." Anastasia Rogers. A secret agent, trained in the art of deception and destruction. Throughout her life, she has perfected the skill of manipulating others. As an agent, betrayal comes naturally, and falling for the enemy is a mistake she cannot afford to make. Her mission is clear: infiltrate the empire of a notorious Mafia kingpin, gather the evidence needed to bring him down, and walk away unscathed. For years, she has remained focused, cold, and untouchable, until she encounters him. Vince Kenneth. The Mafia leader, feared by many, respected by all, and trusted by none. Not only is he ruthless, but he is also calculated, commanding, and far more dangerous than her superiors warned. Ruthless in his pursuit of power and unyielding in his control, he has built an empire that few dare to challenge. However, when she steps into his world, a woman as sharp-tongued as she is enigmatic, he begins to feel the first cracks in his armour. Her lies are flawless, her gaze defiant, and her presence intoxicating. As they engage in a perilous dance of power and passion, their worlds start to unravel. She was sent to betray him, but his touch ignites a fire that threatens to dismantle her carefully constructed facade. He vowed never to trust anyone, yet the spark in her eyes tempts him to break all his rules. When the truth is revealed, betrayal cuts deeper than any bullet. Enemies close in and their fragile connection is tested as they are forced to choose between love and survival. In the end, will they destroy each other-or the enemies who threaten to tear them apart? In this game of deceit, the most dangerous risk is not just falling in love but trusting the wrong person.

*Entered for Wattys 2026* He is a phantom trapped in a castle of bones and silver roses. She is a flower girl fighting the winter of a cruel city. They have never spoken face-to-face... but a single letter is about to change the rhythm of the world. For fifteen winters, Darian Bianca Castiglione has lived as a ghost. Bound to a decaying estate by the dark legacy of a mother branded a sorceress, he watches the world pass by from behind heavy velvet curtains. He is a man of forbidden science, a brilliant polymath who has resigned his soul to the shadows, until a fierce, gentle flower girl steps through his forgotten, broken wall. Ersilia spends her days in the suffocating dust of the city markets, carrying the weight of her young siblings' survival on her tired shoulders. When she stumbles upon the secluded mansion, she doesn't find a monster. Instead, she finds a silent sanctuary of freshly baked bread, handmade gifts, and rare, silver-edged blossoms left just for her. What begins as silent offerings soon evolves into a breathtaking exchange of handwritten letters. Sheltered by the stone alcove, paper becomes their courtyard. With every stroke of ink, Darian's frozen defenses melt, and he pours his razor-sharp intellect into a singular, obsessive goal: engineering an impossible, miraculous bloom so rare it will buy Ersilia her permanent freedom. But outside the forest walls, a devastating shadow is creeping through the city. The Black Death has arrived. When the grasses fall silent, and the letters stop, Darian is forced to face a terrifying reality. To save the woman he loves, he must break his fifteen-year isolation and face a town consumed by panic and superstition, a town that views his forbidden medicine not as a miracle, but as witchcraft. In a breathtaking tale of devotion, sacrifice, and the dangerous geometry of hope, can an impossible flower bloom in a world ruled by frost?