Forbidden Fruit

Avery Valemont has been trained her entire life to wear a crown-not for power, but for control. As the poised and calculating princess of a crumbling monarchy, her future is no longer her own. Between her every move being watched and the growing unrest in the kingdom, she knows her title is more of a prison than a privilege.

When her family hosts a high-profile gala to negotiate peace with the country's most dangerous criminal empire-the De Rossi mafia-Avery expects forced smiles and hollow handshakes.

She does not expect Nico De Rossi.

Cold, composed, and infuriatingly unreadable, Nico is the heir to a bloodstained empire that built its fortune on violence and intimidation. He's everything Avery despises-arrogant, ruthless, and too clever for his own good. Their first conversation is nothing short of a verbal war. Their second is worse.

But sparks fly when two predators meet, and Avery quickly realizes Nico might be the only person who sees her for what she really is: not a perfect princess, but a weapon honed behind palace doors.

As secret alliances shift and enemies grow bold, Avery and Nico find themselves circling each other in the shadows-trading barbs, secrets, and dangerous glances, what starts as mutual disdain turns into undeniable tension... and something far more dangerous.

But their love is forbidden.
Their families are enemies.
And in a world where betrayal is currency, trusting each other could cost them everything.