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 yellowed parchment crackled beneath my fingers as I carefully unfolded what appeared to be a business ledger from the Ainsworth Ateliers. After weeks of diving into King Theron's journals, I'd broadened my search, looking for the quieter influences in Isabella's life. What I found surprised me.


"Miss Bennett, these were delivered from the Historical Society's private collection," said my assistant, placing another box on my already cluttered desk. "They insisted these fashion house records weren't relevant to your research on the Duchess."


I smiled, already spotting Isabella's elegant signature on a receipt. "People always overlook the threads that truly bind history together."


Chapter 169 - The Dressmaker's Legacy