The Second Bride
In the shadowed heart of the kingdom of Arvenhall, where noble blood hides monstrous secrets, Anna becomes the second wife to a man from the most powerful noble house in the land—the Evans family. Though they are not royalty, the Evanses are close enough to it, holding a grip over the court that rivals even the King’s. To the public, they serve the crown. But in private, they may be the ones ruling it.
From the moment Anna arrives at the Evans’ manor, she knows something is deeply wrong. Perfection isn’t just expected—it’s enforced. Every word, every smile, every silence feels staged. Lord and Lady Evan, regal and cold, are revered and feared across the kingdom, their influence stretching far beyond their estate. No one crosses them. Not even the King.
And the King... he is distant, untouchable, watching. A man whose tragic past should have broken him—but didn’t. Rumors whisper he’s just a figurehead now, but others say he’s simply waiting, biding his time. The truth? No one knows. Except perhaps the Evans. Or perhaps he knows more than he lets on. They are each other’s shadows—caught in a silent war of power and secrets, with Anna now in the middle.
Then there’s her husband—the man who chose her. Too quickly. Too deliberately. His devotion is obsessive, his gaze lingering, his touch possessive. He claims to love her. But is it really love? Or is Anna something else to him—a vessel, a key, or a pawn in a darker scheme?
As Anna begins to pull at the threads of her new life, she finds herself trapped in a gilded cage of manipulation, madness, and supernatural ties far older than the kingdom itself. In a house where nothing is as it seems, being the second wife might mean she was never meant to leave.
Because in Arvenhall, some women are chosen not to be loved—but to be kept.
