A knock resounded throughout the room. Mariella stood up from her white table, where she had just finished a 1000 piece blank puzzle, and fixed her white dress. She opened the door, and noise and color flooded in to her serene white sanctuary. The 200 square feet that she hadn't left in 6 years. By choice.
What an inconvenience. Oh well, as long as it keeps my resources coming in. Father says I need to, so I will be a consultant. She sat back down, hearing of upcoming hits, drug deals, and recent disputes between members. She listed all the tactics, statistics, and reasoning that came to mind after each issue. Business as usual.
The men started talking big -'they could almost pass one of the Five Families'. She rolled her eyes. Idiots, she thought, they should be concerned with the new RICO Act. Mafia families are no longer invulnerable to the law. If they are not careful, that will be our downfall.
Then, they left, and she cleaned up the mess they made. She almost sighed in relief as she finally got back to her inventions.
Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong?
***
It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.
Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out?
Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?
Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.
*This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.