I have a secret. A double life. My name is River for some, Rose for others. Everyone gets a piece of me but no one gets it all. Becoming a high-class escort wasn’t my dream but fate decided otherwise. Now, I’m caught between the one who broke my heart, the one who pays for my screams, and the one who intrigues me. I think I have everything under control until danger comes knocking on my door.

Look, I’m not going to lie and tell you life is all roses and champagne. Although as a high-end escort, I do get a lot of those. Do you know what else I get? Dubious clients, stalkers, some really uncomfortable positions (and I mean that literally), not to mention the exhausting amount of lies I have to tell on a daily basis. Thing is, beneath this whole veneer I’ve created, lives an everyday, almost pushing thirty, independent woman who wouldn’t mind settling down with someone who can handle her.

Telling the truth isn’t an option. But keeping the deception alive isn’t sustainable either. Something’s got to give, and I’m afraid it will be my heart. It beats for one, while I need the other. Just as my life is falling apart, fate decides to take the reins. For the first time, I’m enjoying the small pleasures of life, all the while watching it slip through my fingers, one devastating lie at a time. But at the end of the day, providing for my family is my only priority. No matter the pain, nor the consequences. Even if it means destroying myself in the process.

Control is only an illusion. A lie. Just like me. The universe has a way of leading us to where we’re meant to be, showing us what we’re meant to do. But karma has screwed up somewhere, because I’m sure I don’t deserve her wrath. Facing the possibility of losing the two most important men in my world, I bury myself in my work. The filthy one is my new priority, my escape from the reality that is my personal life. With this new opportunity, hope for my future blossoms. Until I’m consumed by my choices, bound to decisions which are no longer my own.

My entire existence is shattered, and picking myself up again proves difficult. Leaving Rose behind for a new beginning is harder than I thought, but I need to try for a more independent me with a promising future. One that doesn’t involve the infuriating yet irresistible man who challenges me at every turn.

My secret is out. My entire existence is shattered, and picking myself up again proves difficult. Leaving Rose behind for a new beginning is harder than I thought, but I need to try for a more independent me with a promising future. One that doesn’t involve the infuriating yet irresistible man who challenges me at every turn. Pushing me. Protecting me. Tempting me beyond any possible resistance. This is the lie I tell myself. Making good decisions—apparently—doesn’t come easily to me and this time, I’ve gone too far. This time, I’ve made a fatal mistake.

Every day is like a ticking time bomb. For every blissful moment in the sun, the universe punishes me with unforgiving darkness. I’m so close to the truth yet the obstacles keep piling up, the deaths keep destroying us and I’m afraid one of us will eventually succumb to this cruelty. The secrets, the lies, the deceptions are all part of my husband’s world, but the moment I chose to walk beside him, they became part of my world too. If only he would let me all the way in.

Hell hath no fury like a scorned mafia queen. They couldn't have my blood so they went after my husband. Their mistake was underestimating me. Controlled by my past and the responsibilities my true heritage bestows on me, I’m driven to make decisions I never once considered. In the midst of chaos, families either come together or choose deceit, allowing the tragedies born from the war to scar us beyond recognition. But we stand together, fight together, and seek out our truths together as one. I have lost. I have suffered. I have grown.