She left him for another man. He married her when that man was done with her. This is not a love story. Not yet.
Jasmine Pembroke. Biracial. Baron’s daughter. The most beautiful woman Edmund Hartley will ever see and the cruelest thing that ever happened to him.
He loved her for four years. She called him boring, let his flowers die, and ran off to Paris with a French count without leaving Edmund so much as a goodbye.
Now she’s back.
Broke. Ruined. Pregnant with another man’s child.
He should hate her.
He does hate her.
He marries her anyway.
Four years. His rules. His roof. His terms. One year for every year she wasted.
She agrees because she has no choice. He agrees because he’s a fool who never learned.
What follows is not forgiveness. It’s war. A slow, devastating, unbearable war fought in silences and slammed doors and the space between two people who cannot stop wanting each other no matter how hard they try.
She broke him once. He won’t survive it twice.
But God help him, he’s already burning.
Reader note: This is a darker, angst-heavy Regency romance with coercive marriage dynamics, pregnancy, past captivity, sexual violence in backstory, racial prejudice, trauma recovery, and emotionally cruel moments before the happily ever after. Please read with care.
Tropes you’ll love:
- Second chance
- Forced marriage
- Dark romance
- Wounded hero
- South Asian heroine
- Obsessive love
- Pregnancy
- Enemies to lovers
- Slow burn
Book 2 in the Thorns & Temptations series.
Steamy Regency romance with angst.
Perfect for fans of Kerrigan Byrne, Katee Robert, and Jessa Kane.
