“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

Anna had to grow her circle and even though she could not fathom spending a single moment with any demon, she would have to make her presence known in high society and build strong connections if she were to survive. 


What could be better than hosting a tea party? 


"It would be the best!" she insisted, "And that would allow me to understand the workings of upper society better." 


"And that could also improve your reputation." 


"It's not tarnished, dear Emma," Anna sighed. 


"Not yet," the maid gave a small unbothered shrug. 


If words were to spread that the fiance of the duke got in bad blood with the queen’s beloved Theodore soon after she was introduced to the upper society, Anna’s image was sure to be tainted. 


"Master Theodore had been rather silent in the past few days," the house butler, Edgar, spoke and left the rest of the words unsaid. 


Duties of A Duchess