Tattered Lies

The King Brother Series Boys of King Academy Series Strip For me Consequence Try to Ruin Me Free Novella— Resisting Them Copyright Tattered Lies © 2023 Louise Rose All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental and formed by this author’s imagination. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover Design by Prettyinkcreations Created with Vellum Contents Description Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Epilogue Free Ebook Novella by Louise Rose… Join my Newsletter! Secret by Louise Rose Bonus Read Description I’m promised to the head of the Emmerico family, but I want his brother… My duty in life is to marry. For my family. For the safety only a marriage could bring, but weeks before my wedding, I meet a stranger in a club. I do something reckless for once in my life and kiss the most gorgeous man in the room. I can’t forget his face. His lips. Everything about him is pressed into my memory. When I’m standing at the altar in my sparkling white dress, my groom introduces me to his brother. The same man I kissed only weeks ago and his smirk tells me he always knew who I was. I try to forget him—it doesn’t work because he wants me to remember. I try to love my new husband—that fails too, because he is cruel and his brother protects me. Wanting my brother in law is forbidden, and we could tear our families apart. But I can’t stop. This is an arranged marriage, mafia, steamy romance with possessive males who won’t give up their girl. Recommended for mature readers only. This is a trilogy. Prologue The surface of my bedroom window is cold against my skin as I stare out, one of the curtains tugged back just far enough to give me an unobstructed view of the sloping driveway. My breath fogs up the glass as I watch, hardly daring to blink, waiting for the telltale flash of headlights in the darkness. Although I can’t see it from here, I know Dad’s car is already parked out front, his driver waiting for the go-ahead as my father gathers his bodyguards and makes his way out from the foyer. I can almost picture him, dressed in his finest suit, his face a stone-cold mask that combines corporate charm with professional ruthlessness. Most people would think it unusual of him to arrange his business meetings for eleven at night. But then again, most people aren’t in charge of the second-biggest crime family in London. I hear the sound of the front door opening and closing, and my heart starts to pick up, beating a staccato rhythm as my father crunches down the gravel drive, his entourage in tow. An engine starts, and a moment later headlights pierce the darkness as the black limousine speeds down the driveway and away onto the street. It’s showtime. I yank the curtains shut and leap to my feet, my heart beating even faster than before. I’m already dressed to kill, in a sleek, form-fitting cocktail dress, the diamond hoops hanging from my ears already glinting in the dim light of my bedroom. I pause at the mirror to smooth my dress out for the millionth time and check my reflection. I’ve swept my chestnut hair into a loose bun that isn’t quite smooth, and I know some eye shadow would help make my green eyes pop, but there’s no time for fucking around. Not unless I want to risk one of the household staff intercepting me. I’ve spent my entire life sheltered. A year from now, I’ll be married to a man I barely know, knee-deep in the life of a mafia wife, and my duty to the alliance will overshadow everything else. I’ve got twelve precious months to live like a normal twenty-year-old, and I intend to make the most of it. I slip out of my room and down the long corridor that leads to the front entrance. My heels click against the pristine marble tiles as I pass my older sister’s room, but Violet doesn’t emerge to give me shit for sneaking out. Sometimes, I think maybe that’s the reason my folks arranged for me to be married off first, even though I’m younger: getting rid of the problem child before finding a match for the good daughter. Not that I resent Violet for escaping the arranged marriage. I love her to bits, and I can’t shake the feeling that she wishes she were the one walking down the aisle next year, not me. I would gladly trade places with her if that were an option. The house is silent around me, and I have to remind myself to keep moving instead of stopping to glance into the rooms on either side of me, taking in the opulence of the gilded cage where I’ve spent my entire life. I’m so nervous I nearly stumble on the way down the grand staircase, and by the time I’m out the front door, I’m half-expecting one of the guards to snipe me from the roof, thinking I’m an intruder. But the guards are relaxed, and with good reason. People know better than to mess with the family of Andrew Dalton. Well, most people, anyway. I don’t dare have one of our private drivers take me into the city; instead, I call a cab once I’m safely out of view of the family estate, and then we’re speeding off toward London’s South Bank. A call from my