HIS VIOLET

At nineteen, Violet had learned that silence was safer than speaking.

She was gentle, trusting, and far too easily frightened by a world that had never been kind to her. Loud voices made her freeze. Sudden noises brought tears to her eyes. Crowded rooms made her feel trapped, and unfamiliar people made her search desperately for somewhere to hide.

Her unusual violet eyes had always made people stare.

Some called them beautiful.

Others called them strange.

But no one had ever looked into them and seen the frightened girl behind them.
Until Riccardo Moretti.

Thirty years old. Wealthy. Untouchable. Feared across Italy.

Riccardo was the Capo dei Capi-the most powerful mafia leader in the country. He controlled businesses, territories, alliances, and men who would follow his orders without question. His name was spoken carefully, and his enemies knew better than to mistake his silence for mercy.

He had built his empire through intelligence, power, and fear.
He had never needed anyone.
Then Violet entered his world.
She was small enough to disappear behind him, soft-spoken enough that he sometimes had to bend closer to hear her, and fragile in ways that made something cold and dangerous awaken inside him.

For the first time, Riccardo wanted more than power.

He wanted to protect.

He wanted to care.

He wanted to become the place she ran to whenever the world frightened her.
But loving the most feared man in Italy came with a price.

Riccardo's enemies soon discovered that Violet was his only weakness-and they were willing to destroy everything to use her against him.

Now Violet must learn that being gentle does not mean being weak.
And Riccardo must learn that protecting her does not mean controlling every part of her life.

Because love cannot grow inside a cage.
And Violet was never meant to remain afraid forever.

She was meant to bloom.