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.

"Touch me, Blaze... and you'll remember me every time something beautiful dies." -- She was the only sin he'd die to confess. So he destroyed his kingdom for her absolution. -- 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫. Power built their world. Power destroyed it. She pulled the trigger that turned his hate into a kingdom of fire, and now fate binds them to the same war. Hate keeps them sharp. Hate keeps them alive. But hate is just another mask for power. And when it cracks, they'll both discover the cost of letting go. -- In a city ruled by blood and silence, some names are spoken only in whispers. New York breathes violence like smoke-its kings crowned in crime, its peace bought in bodies. Blaze Marino, heir to a fractured Italian empire, doesn't believe in myths. He believes in control. In power. In pain as currency. But when a woman with white hair and a scar like prophecy crashes a masquerade of monsters, everything changes. She moves like fire. Vanishes like smoke. Leaves no name, no trail-just destruction and desire. And with her, the game changes. As alliances crack and old ghosts crawl from the shadows, Blaze finds himself caught between revenge and something far more dangerous: curiosity. Obsession. A pull he can't explain. They say saints die young. But what if she was never a saint at all? And if she was- maybe she always knew how her story would end. 𝕿 𝖍 𝖎 𝖘 𝖎 𝖘 𝖆 𝖘 𝖙 𝖔 𝖗 𝖞 𝖆 𝖇 𝖔 𝖚 𝖙 𝖆 𝖘 𝖎 𝖓 𝖓 𝖊 𝖗 𝖆 𝖓 𝖉 𝖍 𝖊 𝖗 𝖈 𝖔 𝖓 𝖋 𝖊 𝖘 𝖘 𝖎 𝖔 𝖓 𝖊 𝖗 Tropes / Themes: ✦ Mafia · Enemies AND Lovers/Yearners · Don x Assassin ✦ Russian x Italian · Dark Romance · Slow Burn ✦ Antihero · Psychological Tension

Loving her reshaped him, ruined him a little, saved him a little more. Loving him healed her, broke her a little, tainted her all the more. 𝐑𝐔𝐇𝐈𝐊𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀, the daughter of a powerful business tycoon, was forced into marriage after a scandal left her pregnant. She knew her husband never loved her, so she kept her distance, silently enduring the life she never chose. But when an unexpected tragedy takes her child, Ruhika finally shatters. And unable to bear the grief, she ran. But three years later, she is found and dragged back to the life she once abandoned. 𝐌𝐀𝐗𝐈𝐌 𝐎'𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐀, heir to the Irish mafia, never wanted marriage until duty forced him, & he had to accept Ruhika & her child as his own. But he let her keep her distance, believing she still loved the father of her child. What he never confessed was his perilous obsession for his wife ━ one that turned to madness when she fled. And this time, he had no intention of ever letting her go again. But Maxim forgot one thing ━ she was never truly alone in the dark. Because something, or 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦, had been waiting for her too. And he has no plans of letting her slip away as well. Trapped between two ruthless men, Ruhika must decide: The husband who has hunted her for years? Or the man who has already claimed a piece of her soul? 𝐍𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐘 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 #01 | 𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐌𝐀𝐅𝐈𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ╋━━━━━ 𝐜𝐰 : mention of child death & parental trauma, obsessive mc 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬: arrange marriage, interracial (indian fmc x irish mmc)

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬-𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭? ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ┈ ཐི ❤︎ ‬ཋྀ Over the course of humanity's time on this earth, we often retreat into reflection. We tend to examine where we've gone wrong, what we've achieved, and what lessons we might have learned. Some might even hope that by looking back, we can prevent ourselves from repeating the mistakes of the past. Yet... we contradict ourselves, giving rise to the familiar adage: history repeats itself. For centuries, two souls have been ensnared by a curse. Fates intertwined in ways neither can escape. One must always betray. One must always kill. The Order has long hunted these two souls, for theirs is the only altered DNA capable of powering an ancient relic, which is an artifact born of an even older tale: the story of The River. And when these cursed souls meet again, unaware of the history they've shared, 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 of their own 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒. ཐི ❤︎ ‬ཋྀ 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆. *Regular updates* · · ─ · ♡ · ─ · · 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 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 - 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 - 𝑬𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 - 𝑴𝒂𝒇𝒊𝒂 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 - 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 - 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 - 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏 - 𝑨𝒈𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒑

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

"Look at me when you lie." His voice didn't rise. It didn't have to. "If you're gonna insult my intelligence, at least have the decency to look me in the fucking eye." Evangeline Summers wasn't made for this world- where silence is a weapon, and submission isn't requested. It's taken. She didn't volunteer. Her father handed her over like a signed debt. And Kenji Tanaka collected. He doesn't raise his voice. He doesn't repeat himself. He speaks in commands disguised as questions- and touches like he's confirming damage he already caused. Eva was never taught how to survive men like him. Only how to be polite while they take. "Tell me what you're hiding." She stayed silent. He smiled. Just enough teeth. "Don't make me drag it out of your skin." Now, she has two options: Play the part. Or get eaten alive by it. Because Kenji isn't just the devil in the room. He built it. "You keep fighting the knots like you got somewhere better to be." He growled, breath hot against her skin. "Go ahead. Make me tighten them." And he's about to teach her: Pain isn't punishment. It's permission.