✿ mass release on 1st of December⁠ ✿

Alicia Fonell thought marriage would save her—but life with Travis Blackwood is nothing but bruises, betrayal, and silence. Trapped in a family built on greed and lies, she has only one goal: escape.

Then Malachi Blackwood returns. Her husband’s older brother. Dark, dangerous, and untouchable. He swore he’d never come back to Silver Lake, but secrets and revenge drag him home.

The closer Alicia gets to him, the harder it becomes to resist. Forbidden touches. Stolen glances. A temptation she knows could destroy them both.

Trigger / Content Warning 
This story contains a morally grey male lead whose choices, actions, and desires are not always healthy or “right.” Malachi is obsessive, controlling, and dangerously possessive. If you’re looking for a gentle love story, this may not be for you.

But if you crave intensity, forbidden passion, and a hero who walks the line between love and ruin—welcome.

During dinner, I watched her smile. Really smile. The kind that reached her eyes and made them light up. She was talking about something Sophie had said at school, her hands moving as she spoke, completely unguarded.


This was the Alicia I wanted to see every day. Not the careful, controlled woman who wore masks for the Blackwood family. Not the tired, resigned woman who dealt with Travis's abuse. But this one. The real one underneath all the armor.


I was happy that Alicia was happy. It was such a simple thing, but it felt monumental. Like I'd accomplished something that actually mattered instead of the endless business dealings and power plays that filled my days.


Then Jennifer arrived and ruined everything.


I noticed the change immediately. The way Alicia's smile fell. The way her shoulders tensed. The way her eyes went from bright to guarded in the span of a heartbeat.


Chapter 68 - Chapter sixty eight