Dahlia Hawthorne

Durante la noche de mi boda, fui llevada de urgencia al hospital en una ambulancia después de que un condón manipulado me dejara con un dolor insoportable. La cirugía duró más de veinticuatro horas, y la noticia se propagó como pólvora. Mi esposo, Alexander, hizo saber que cualquiera que lograra fotografiarme en mi estado postoperatorio sería recompensado con diez millones de dólares. De la noche a la mañana, pasé de ser la nueva esposa de un multimillonario a convertirme en el hazmerreír de todos los círculos de élite de New Paradise. Al día siguiente, Dahlia, el amor de la infancia de Alexander, apareció en mi puerta. Fue entonces cuando descubrí la verdad: ella había cubierto el condón con un adhesivo de uso industrial como parte de lo que ella llamó un «experimento social». No mostró ni una pizca de remordimiento. Su tono era frívolo y cruel: —Solo fue un experimento. O sea, ¿cómo se suponía que iba a saber que reaccionarías así? Además, ambas sabemos que nunca fuiste lo suficientemente buena para Alexander. Así que deja de fingir. Alexander se quedó a su lado, con la mirada fría y desdeñosa: —Si no fuera por el contrato matrimonial, nadie te habría tocado. Lo sabes, ¿verdad? Lo que él no sabía era que la mujer a la que estaba llamando zorra le había salvado la vida más veces de las que podía contar.

After giving birth, I lost my beauty when I started adding weight in all the wrong places. Stretch marks. A soft stomach. Tired eyes. The same body that carried our child became the body my husband couldn’t stand to look at. “I can’t take you anywhere like this.” That was what Marcus Hawthorne my powerful, untouchable CEO husband said the night he stopped bringing me to events. The whispers followed after that. She let herself go. He deserves better. How embarrassing for a man like him. I heard them all. And Marcus? He never defended me. Instead, he grew colder, crueler and distant everyday. The same man I sacrificed my everything for made me feel like I was no longer worth loving. And when tragedy struck and I lost the only thing keeping me togheter —our child. I realized the bitter truth not only was I meant to grieve a failed marriage alone but a dead child too because Marcus didn't hesitate to replace us with his new family. And that was my breaking point. Determined to start all over I fled the country for my sanity. Worked on the body that once made me hate my reflection. Rebuilt the career I had abandoned for love. Became the successful woman I was always meant to be. Now, seven years later, I’m back. And guess who can’t take his eyes off me? Marcus. Only, he isn't the man I left behind. Haunted by a serious problem that only I can help him with he’s willing to do anything to get me back. But here’s the problem. The woman who would have forgiven him no longer exists. And the woman standing here now? Isn’t sure she wants anything to do with him ever again.

The beastfolk are a powerful race, and to strengthen our family's power, Father arranges marriages for both me and my stepsister, Arya Hearthguard. In our past lives, Arya entered a high-profile marriage into the wealthy, powerful dragon clan, while I was forced to wed into the crumbling lion clan. The clan leader of the dragons—Draken Vorgath—was cold and detached. He cared more for gold than his bride, leaving Arya in a glided cage of loneliness. Overwhelmed by the desolation, she seduced the future leader of the fox clan, who was flirtatious.. And when the scandal exploded, Draken resolutely divorced her. Arya's scandal brought shame upon our family. Despite Father's favoritism, he was compelled by family honor to exile her in disgrace. Clan leader of the lions and King of the Jungle—Kael Hawthorne—was a man of unwavering devotion. Our marriage blossomed, and within a year, I bore him a golden lion cub blessed with the Aetheric Divinity. With the Aetherborn, Kael rose to rule all beastfolk as the chieftain, and I became their most revered chieftess. Consumed by envy, Arya sneaked into my son's first birthday feast and strangled the golden lion cub in his cradle. Then, she set the place ablaze and burned me alive along with it. When I wake up, I am back on the very day of our marriage. This time, Arya volunteers to marry into the lions and leaves me the chance to marry into the dragons. I accept everything meekly with only a tenth of her dowry and marry Draken. Later, she bleeds her dowry dry, propping up the lion clan, only to fail in conceiving a cub. When the elders demand she mate with other males, regret drowns her. As for me, all I want in his new life is an heir and a quiet life among the dragons. But no one warns me about the dragons, least of all that my supposedly cold-hearted husband will relentlessly demand me once awakened. Or that his members came in pairs and ridges!

Que se passe-t-il lorsque la plus belle nuit de votre vie revient sous la forme de votre pire cauchemar? Marielle Hawthorne n’a jamais réussi à chasser de sa mémoire l’inconnu qu’elle a embrassé, cette nuit-là, dans une suite d’hôtel. Elle est partie à l’aube, persuadée de laisser derrière elle un visage sans nom, un instant hors du temps. Cet homme n’existe plus. À sa place se tient désormais Kalix Sterling. PDG redouté, milliardaire intouchable, et — comble de l’ironie — son nouveau patron. Il est froid, distant, retranché derrière un contrôle implacable. Autour de lui, une guerre sourde fait rage : trahi par la femme qu’il était sur le point d’épouser, accusé de crimes qu’il n’a pas commis, Kalix voit sa réputation se fissurer. Et pourtant, son regard s’arrête sur Marielle avec une intensité troublante, comme si elle seule pouvait encore l’empêcher de sombrer. Elle veut garder ses distances, protéger sa carrière, rester invisible. Lui semble prêt à l’entraîner dans l’incendie qu’il affronte. Lorsque Marielle découvre la preuve de son innocence, l’équilibre bascule. Elle détient la clé de sa chute… ou de sa libération. Mais en la brandissant, elle devient à son tour une cible. Kalix est prêt à réduire son empire en cendres pour la protéger. Marielle, elle, doit choisir : jusqu’où est-elle prête à aller, et acceptera-t-elle de brûler avec lui?