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

The shop was eerily quiet as we slipped inside. In the silver moonlight streaming through the windows, Elara's atelier looked like a ghost of itself—dress forms draped in half-finished creations, sketches abandoned mid-stroke on her worktable. I ran my fingertips over a bolt of silk she'd been excited to show me just weeks ago.


"This isn't right," I whispered. "Elara would never leave her work like this."


Alaric moved silently around the shop, examining drawers and cabinets with practiced precision. "They came for her suddenly. No time to prepare."


I opened a leather-bound sketchbook, Elara's distinctive handwriting filling the margins with notes about fabrics and fittings. The last entry was dated just three days after Alexander's christening.


"Alaric, look at this." I pointed to a hastily scrawled note at the bottom of the page. "Meeting with potential patron—G.M. Estate. Discuss exclusive commission."


Chapter 154 - Infiltrating the Gilded Cage