“I think I'd miss you even if we’d never met,” Azrael whispered as his fingers trailed the side of her face, leaving an alluring warmth.
Anna’s throat became dry, “We shouldn’t have met then―”
“No,” he said, “Even if it means losing everything, I would rather have you.”
They were destined to fall from the start. A forsaken bond. A hopeless cause. And yet, in that stolen moment, Anna didn’t care anymore, neither did he.
* * * 
Anna is a human in a world where her kind is treated like dust, while Azrael is the demon duke infamous for his ruthlessness and bewitching looks.
On a fateful night, her life gets entangled with him. Azrael takes her as his fiance, however, theirs is a relationship formed over a contract; a marriage of convenience.
In a land where the hatred between humans and demons runs deeper than blood, she can not let her guard down. 
Anna harbors no feelings for the handsome duke, nor for his kind. Though that doesn’t stop her heart from stuttering whenever he’s near, nor the ghost of a familiar fear to surge at the sound of his voice.
But he’s always near.
Telling her what to do.
Making her feel warmer, hotter than he should.
* * * 
To yearn for someone who is forbidden to you is a terrifying feeling. To burn from desire and never speak of it, to have a secret that is horrible to almost everyone, to hide something that could ruin everything.
This is a story carved in hidden desires, inked in blood, and sealed with a fatal sin. Will Anna make it out alive? Or will her heart lead to her downfall?

The Duke's Secret Sin

It was a warm sunny day when the soft golden lights peered through the dense trees and the morning birds chirped sweet songs. 


The butler had escorted Anna away from that room and requested her to not let Azrael's words get to her heart. He said that the duke was like that to everyone and despite all his questionable behavior, he had a heart of gold. 


Anna scoffed as she recalled those words and impaled the steak with her fork. Her plate gave out a soft thud and Effie, who was sitting on the opposite chair, flinched. 


"Ah, my hand slipped." Anna nervously laughed. 


The young girl's lips formed a small smile as she nodded in understanding and resumed her attention to pumpkin pie which melted smoothly inside her mouth. 


After the butler, Edgar, apologized for his master, he also mentioned that Azrael really cared about her and that he was sorry about the small confinement to her chambers. 


A Summer Stroll