Forbidden Fruit

Scarlett Lockwood has always known what it means to keep secrets.

Growing up as the daughter of Mystic Falls' mayor, Scarlett learned early that appearances matter. Behind the perfect family, the beautiful home, and the carefully maintained Lockwood name is a girl who keeps her heart guarded, finds solace in painting, and only lets a select few people truly know her.

But there is one person Scarlett has never needed to question.

Her brother, Tyler.

Her best friend. Her protector. Her other half. No matter how complicated their family becomes, Tyler has always been the one person Scarlett knows she can count on.

But then again, she thinks she knows her family.

She thinks she knows Mystic Falls.

She is wrong.

Because everyone around Scarlett seems to be hiding something and she has no idea that the town she calls home is filled with secrets far more dangerous than anything she could have imagined.

Until he arrives.

Nicklaus Mikaelson is everything Scarlett should stay away from. Powerful. Ruthless. Dangerous. A man with centuries of blood on his hands and a reputation that should be enough to make her run.

And yet, from the moment they meet, something between them is impossible to ignore.

He is a man she shouldn't want.

A man she should hate.

A man who will hurt the people she loves and push her away every chance he gets.

Especially when those people mean everything to her.

So why can't she stay away from him?

Their relationship is messy. Complicated. Chaotic.

It's anger and attraction.

It's hatred tangled with something far more dangerous.

It's knowing he is the last person she should ever trust and finding herself wanting to anyway.

Because sometimes the person you're meant to hate is the one your heart refuses to let go of.

And sometimes, the sweetest things are the ones you're never supposed to have.

Because Nicklaus Mikaelson is Scarlett's forbidden fruit.

And once she takes a bite, there may be no going back.