BAD TASTE Freya Jones has a type. Unfortunately, it's always the wrong one. After a messy past and a toxic ex, Freya moves to LA to start over with her sister. The last thing she expects is to meet Malachi Barton-the cocky, sarcastic boy everyone seems to have an opinion about. They don't get along. At least, that's what they tell everyone. Between constant arguments, undeniable chemistry, and feelings neither of them wants to admit, Freya starts wondering if Malachi is actually as bad as she thought. Maybe he's just complicated. Or maybe Freya really does have bad taste.

Freya has spent her whole life watching her older brothers disappear into a world they swore she'd never be a part of. Milo and Josh traded family dinners for dangerous secrets years ago, leaving Freya and her older brother Julian to grow up together, almost like twins. No matter how distant they've become, one thing has never changed-they'll do anything to keep their younger siblings away from the life that stole them. But a new school year changes everything. When four transfer students walk into Freya's life, she never expects them to become more than classmates. MK becomes the older brother she never knew she needed, Sway and Hudson quickly become part of her chaotic friend group, and Malachi... he's nothing like the rumors. Behind his cold stare is someone who makes her feel safe in ways she never expected. There's just one problem. The four new students are connected to the very world Milo and Josh have spent years trying to protect her from. As friendships turn into family and stolen glances become something impossible to ignore, Freya finds herself caught between two worlds-one she was born into and one she's beginning to choose. When loyalty is tested, secrets come to light, and love becomes dangerous, she'll have to decide if following her heart is worth risking the people she's always called home. Sometimes the people you're told to stay away from become the ones who feel the most like family.

Malachi Barton is the heir to the largest mafia family in Los Angeles. Known as the Mafia Prince, he was raised in a world of power, secrets, and danger. Freya never wanted to enter his world, but when her brother's hospital bills become too much, she has no choice but to work as a maid for the Barton family to save the only family she has left.

Everyone knew the Joneses and the Bartons were family long before they shared the same last names. Their mothers had grown up together. Their grandparents had built a friendship that lasted generations. Freya Jones and Malachi Barton were raised side by side, spending every birthday, holiday, and summer together until friendship quietly became something neither of them could live without. But the Barton name came with blood. Malachi was born into one of Los Angeles' most feared crime families, led by his father, Loren Barton. While everyone else feared Loren, Freya only knew the man who helped raise her when her own father was too busy building a business empire across Los Angeles and London. When Mike Jones discovers Malachi is destined to inherit the family business, he refuses to let his youngest daughter be dragged into that world. Overnight, Freya is taken back to London, her phone gone, every connection to Malachi cut off. She leaves without a goodbye. Without knowing she's carrying his child. Three years later, Mike's company brings the Jones family back to Los Angeles. Freya returns with a secret no one knows exists-three-year-old Estella Marie, the daughter Malachi never knew he had. The boy who once swore he'd protect Freya has become the ruthless man everyone expected him to be. Cold. Feared. Untouchable. Until one unexpected reunion changes everything. Because no matter how dangerous the world around them becomes, Freya Jones has always been Malachi Barton's only weakness.

Freya Skye and Malachi Barton have been best friends since before either of them could walk - neighbors, family friends, fixtures in each other's lives through a decade of Saturday dinners neither of them would ever miss. Freya falls first, quietly, at thirteen, and never says a word. Malachi doesn't notice - not through his own string of casual, forgettable romances, not while Freya lines up boyfriends of her own just to prove to herself she's moved on. She hasn't. But she's very good at looking like she has. By the time Malachi finally catches up to what he's felt for years without naming it, Freya is happy - genuinely, unguardedly happy - with someone else. And Malachi decides, the way people do when they think they're being noble, that he missed his chance and it's his to carry alone.

✶ malachi & freya ✶ Two signatures. One merger. Zero choice. In the glass-walled towers of the elite, love isn't a feeling-it's a negotiation. For Freya Skye and Malachi Barton, their futures were written in ink before they even knew how to hold a pen. Their parents-the ruthless architects Sarah, Mike, Felicia, and Loren-didn't just build empires; they built a cage, and they called it a Marriage Contract. But how do you play a game when the rules keep shifting? Freya is a firestorm looking for a match; Malachi is the ice that refuses to melt. They are two parallel lines finally forced to intersect, surrounded by a circle of friends who are just as tangled. Between Mckenna's loyalty, Mason's secrets, and Walker's wandering eyes, the line between corporate strategy and genuine heartbeat has never been thinner. It's a world of high-fashion masks and low-whispered threats. It's the feeling of falling when you aren't sure if someone will catch you or simply buy the ground you're about to hit. In a life where everything is scheduled, the only thing they didn't account for was the chaos of the "In-Between." They told them to expect the legacy. They told them to expect the crown. But they forgot to tell them the most important part... Expect the Unexpected.

Freya Skye has spent years cementing her place in her family's London empire. She's professional, she's driven, and she's finally taken seriously-until Malachi arrives. Sent by his parents from across the globe to learn "responsibility," Malachi is the one person Freya has never been able to tolerate. Now, she's forced to share her office and her projects with him, and Freya is about to find out that her biggest professional threat isn't a market crash-it's the guy across the desk who knows exactly how to get under her skin.

Everyone thinks they know who the songs on Freya's *Stardust* EP are about. Fans online have theories. Clips. Lyric breakdowns. But they're only half right. After finishing the first leg of her tour, Freya escapes to the quiet chalet where most of the album was written-an album filled with late-night lyrics, hidden anger, and a song called "Golden Boy" that no one seems to understand. Because the truth is simple. Every song is about **Malachi Barton**. The same boy who acts like nothing between them ever changed. The same boy who's suddenly at the center of rumors with **Malia Baker**. Freya tells herself she doesn't care. She tells herself the songs were just songs. But when filming for **Zombies 5** brings them all to the same place-same set, same cast, same unresolved tension-the lines between lyrics and reality start to blur. Because Malachi has no idea the songs are about him. And Freya isn't sure what will happen first: him figuring it out... or her finally admitting the truth she tried to hide between the music. In a world of spotlights, rumors, and songs that say too much- some secrets were never meant to be heard.

Freya Skye has spent her entire life chasing one dream: Olympic gold. At school, she's invisible. The quiet girl no one notices. But inside the gym, she's unforgettable. As the nation's top collegiate gymnast, every routine, every sacrifice, and every decision brings her one step closer to the Olympics. Under Coach Loren Barton, the rules have never changed: No dating. No parties. No distractions. Freya has followed those rules her entire life. Until she's assigned to Room 201. Her new roommate is Malachi Barton-the college's star quarterback, campus golden boy... and her coach's son. He's everything she promised herself she'd stay away from. Funny. Protective. Impossible to ignore. The more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to remember why she built walls around her heart in the first place. But with Olympic trials just around the corner, one wrong move could cost Freya everything she's worked for. Some dreams demand sacrifice. The question is... Will she choose the gold she's chased her whole life... or the boy she never saw coming?