acm0219

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 manor loomed like a shadow over her future. After being purchased like a trinket, Elise was relocated into the gilded prison that was Silas Lancaster's estate. Her room was luxurious, yes, but the silence was too loud, and the walls too white. She was dressed in clothes she didn't choose, given food she didn't ask for, and forced into a rhythm she had no say in.

Silas didn't demand anything of her—yet. He was always polite, distant even, like a man observing a ticking time bomb. But there was something about the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't watching. A sadness. Or guilt. Or something heavier that even he couldn't put into words.

She spent most of her time pacing. Reading. Walking through the gardens like a ghost. But when she stumbled upon a locked room at the end of the east wing, curiosity bloomed. Why was it locked? Why did Silas flinch when she mentioned it later at dinner?

"Stay out of that room, Elise," he said, voice low. "Some things are better left buried."

She didn't believe in buried secrets. Not anymore.

Chapter 5: A Caged Dove