Violet_167

Isabella Beaumont figured she was making a smart, if desperate, trade: her freedom in exchange for marrying the dreaded Duke Alaric Thorne. 
Sure, the guy had a reputation darker than a moonless night, whispered about in every corner of the kingdom, but it was just a contract, right? A way to escape a brutal past that had literally left its mark on her face. 
She wasn’t expecting warmth, and definitely not passion. But then Alaric, this formidable, feared man, starts acting… protective. His unexpected kindness will make her want to throw away her protective mask and actually fall for the man who was supposed to be just her ticket to freedom. 
Just as Isabella starts believing she might actually deserve happiness, everything begins falling apart around them.
With the villains on the loose, old wounds being ripped open, and everyone’s true colors showing, is this sudden, fierce love strong enough to survive the storm? Or will the darkness from their pasts and the deadly games shatter everything they’re starting to build?

The Masked Duchess

I stood at the window, watching Lord Malachi's carriage disappear down our crumbling driveway. The weight of what had just transpired settled over me like a shroud. My daughter – my beautiful, ambitious Clara – had just made a deal with a devil.


"Clara," I said, turning to face her, "do you have any idea what you've done?"


She was examining her nails casually, as if she hadn't just agreed to deliver her own sister to a notorious predator. "I've secured our future, Mother. Something you and Father failed to do."


The accusation stung, but I pushed past it. "That man is dangerous. More dangerous than you know."


"So is Duke Alaric," Clara replied, dropping into a chair with practiced grace. "And yet Isabella managed to wrap him around her finger. If my scarred, pathetic sister can do that, imagine what I can accomplish."


I approached her slowly. "What exactly did you promise him?"


Chapter 62 - An Unholy Alliance Forged