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Sold like a prized possession, Seraphina Alaric was handed over to the most feared man in the business world—Damien Thorne. She expected chains, cruelty, and a life of silent suffering. But Damien didn’t want a submissive wife. He wanted a weapon.
“You weren’t sold to be my toy,” he murmured, his piercing gaze locking onto hers. “You were sold because they feared what you could become. So let’s make them regret it.”
Betrayed by the family who should have protected her, Seraphina finds herself in an unlikely alliance with the man who "bought" her. Together, they scheme, manipulate, and tear down the empire built on her suffering. As secrets unravel and enemies close in, the lines between vengeance and desire blur.
He was never supposed to care. She was never supposed to fall.
But when the final move is played, Seraphina will stand—not as a victim, not as a pawn, but as the queen of her own destiny. And this time, the only man beside her will be the one who helped her burn her past to the ground.

The Keptwoman

The days passed in a haze of confusion and silent rebellion. Elise wasn't content to play the part of the pampered prisoner. She started exploring the mansion, mapping it in her mind like a maze. The locked room at the end of the east wing haunted her thoughts. What was inside? A lover? A body? Secrets?

Late one evening, as the world outside turned to violet dusk, she crept back down the east wing hallway. Her footsteps were muffled on the thick rug, her breath shallow with anticipation. She reached for the doorknob, but it refused to budge—locked, as always. But as she stepped back, she noticed a scratch on the floor. Furniture had been moved recently.

Elise wasn't the only one curious about that room.

As she turned to leave, voices echoed from the floor below. She stilled, listening.

"She's not like the others," Silas murmured.

A woman chuckled. "Or perhaps she's exactly what you need. A woman who reminds you that you're not God."

Elise leaned closer to the stairwell, her heart hammering. Was she just a project to him? A pawn?

That night, she didn't sleep. The lines between jailer and savior were blurring fast, and Elise realized something important—whatever Silas was hiding, she needed to know. Not just to escape, but to understand why she was here at all.

Chapter 6: Thorns Beneath Roses