Elowyn Bellerose was used to being no one. An orphan girl from Paris with no family, no fortune, and no plan. Italy was supposed to be a fresh start-a place to disappear quietly. Instead, it brought her to him. Onyx Hawthorne. Not rich - He's old money wealthy. A man whose empire stretched across Italy's skyline, whose name carried weight and whispered scandal. Cold. Controlled. Dangerous. He had no reason to notice her. Yet he did. Hired to babysit a child who wasn't even his, Elowyn thought their worlds would only brush for a season. But when he refused to let her slip away, he pulled her deeper-offering her an internship inside his company, and a place inside his orbit that she never asked for. What began as a job becomes something neither can escape: an unspoken pull, a desire both ruinous and undeniable. But in a world built on betrayals, old family feuds, and buried secrets, innocence doesn't last long. She was the girl he should never have touched. He was the man she was never meant to love. And once they have each other - neither is willing to let go.

Aamani Lalowa was born in the shadows of New Orleans. A gorgeous woman who fought her way out of violence and abandonment to become one of Manhattan's most promising prosecutors. Archie Walker was born into New York power. Old money, elite education, and a reputation as the city's most feared criminal defense attorney. Charming in public. Psychologically unhinged in private. A master manipulator. Their lives collide in one of the most televised, nationally explosive cases New York has ever seen, and the clash sparks something far darker than rivalry. A dangerous attraction. Twisted interest. But only on one side. Because while Aamani tries to keep her distance, Archie becomes intensely-dangerously-obsessed. An infatuation that evolves into a dark romance with no intention of ever letting her go. Not in this life. Not in any. He is not a good man. And when Aamani realizes she has crossed her moral lines and fallen directly into his trap, she faces a truth far more terrifying than the case itself: Archie Walker doesn't want justice. He wants her. Completely. Possessively. Surviving him may cost her everything-even her life. • ᴀ ᴛᴀʟᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴍᴀɴ ᴡʜᴏ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ'ᴛ ꜰᴀʟʟ ɪɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ-ʜᴇ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍꜱ, ᴄᴏɴꜱᴜᴍᴇꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴇꜱᴛʀᴏʏꜱ.

"ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀʀᴇ ʜᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴜɴꜱʜɪɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴏꜱᴇꜱ ᴡʜᴇɴ ꜱʜᴇ'ꜱ ᴄʟᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴏʀᴄʜɪᴅꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴏᴏɴʟɪɢʜᴛ." -ᴍᴇʟᴏᴅʏ ʟᴇᴇ, ᴍᴏᴏɴ ɢʏᴘꜱʏ • "Imogen, your innocence makes me crave for you..." He grabbed a strand of her hair, twirling it slowly around his tatted fingers. Oh, if only he knew how addicted she was to him, as well. "I crave for you day and night, ma douce." Diesel murmured against her lips desperately, his tone resonating in the room but so soothing to her ears. "I'd give up everything I have on my name to make you mine, ma belle." Diesel whispered under his breath as he laid the softest kiss on the lips that were forbidden to him. • 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐦𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐯 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐨

𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦'𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. 𝐇𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞. -𝐁𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥