Ashen Bloom

--- Book 2 of Marriage of Ruins and Roses ---

Pete and Vegas's marriage was built on stone rather than warmth-cold, fractured, and weighed down by unspoken truths. What bound them was not love, but circumstance, obligation, and a silence that slowly eroded whatever trust might have grown between them.

When Venice is suddenly kidnapped, the fragile balance of their lives shatters. In the chaos that follows, Vegas begins to see the shadows that have always lingered at his side-shadows shaped like Pete.

For years, Pete had loved Vegas quietly, fiercely, and without permission. He became his unseen shield, stepping into danger before Vegas could ever sense it, bleeding in silence, sacrificing without acknowledgment. Every threat diverted, every enemy misled, every wound hidden-Pete chose Vegas's safety over his own life again and again, asking for nothing in return.

But the truth cannot stay buried forever.

As Vegas uncovers the depth of Pete's devotion, the man he thought he knew begins to crumble, revealing something far more dangerous and tender beneath. Love, once unspoken, now stands exposed-raw, fragile, and trembling on the edge of hope.

With secrets laid bare and wounds still unhealed, the question remains:
Will their relationship finally bloom from the ruins of what they were-or will it remain a monument to everything they never dared to claim?

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