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

"Mother?" I whispered again, unable to believe my eyes. The woman standing before me was both familiar and a stranger. Her once-vibrant eyes now vacant, her proud posture reduced to that of a marionette. The raven perched on her shoulder seemed to stare at me with more awareness than she did.


My heart hammered against my ribs as memories flooded back—her gentle hands braiding my hair, her warm voice reading bedtime stories, her fierce protection before she'd disappeared from my life. Now she stood before me, a prisoner in her own body.


"What have you done to her?" My voice cracked with barely contained rage.


Lord Alistair Blackwood's thin lips curved into a smile that chilled me to the bone. "I've done nothing she didn't agree to, my dear Isabella."


"Release her," Alaric demanded, his voice deadly calm. I felt his hand tighten around mine, steadying me.


Chapter 139 - A Mother's Chains, A Daughter's Choice