Forbidden Love

Some girls are born screaming. Veronica Gallo was born into it.

Sunday sauce and slammed doors. Love that sounded like war. Her big Italian family gave her three things: style, silence, and a dark side with teeth. She keeps it leashed. Mostly.

Reed Walker never bothered with a leash. 6'3" of beautiful ruin. He has the same scars, the same trigger, the same graveyard in his eyes. Twin brother, gone. Parents, gone in every way that matters. He's the only person who's ever looked at Veronica and seen the whole broken thing.

They made a pact: never cross the line. Platonic is safe. Safe is survival.

Then the golden boy shows up.

Ralph Evans. British accent. Easy smile. The kind of noise that doesn't draw blood. With him, Veronica could be someone else. Someone light. Someone normal.

But normal never heard her at 3AM. Reed did.
Normal never held her together when the dark slipped its chain. Reed did.

Now there are whispers.
A choice she can't unspeak.
A secret she can't keep.
And a question she can't answer: What if the person keeping you safe is also the person who could destroy you?

One girl. Two boys.
One truth buried between them.

She can only pick one. And only one of them will survive her.