Velvet Vengeance

What if the villainess was never truly the villain?What if every act of cruelty hid a wound, and every strike of vengeance masked a deeper truth?Lucia Ricci was once a brilliant scientist, destined for greatness-until a tragic accident shattered her career and left her with nothing but scars and silence. The woman the world now calls a femme fatale, a seductress who bends men to her will, is nothing more than a broken legacy wrapped in velvet and venom.When Lucia is captured and confined in a secluded mental facility, she comes face-to-face with the ghost of her past: Sean Copper, her former colleague, the man who knew her before the world painted her a monster. Sean is determined to "cure" her, to strip away the layers of fury and obsession. But desire lingers like smoke between them, and the lines between healer and captive blur with every stolen glance, every restrained touch.Can Sean redeem the woman the world calls irredeemable?Or will he fall victim to the same hunger that destroyed them once before?In the end, only one truth will remain: love can heal-or consume. And vengeance, once tasted, never fades. Nikki Larousse, who was reared in northeastern Malaysia, has always been enthralled with mythology from all around the world. She would always return to the escapism she found in writing things down, even if she had to focus on reality and pursue her higher education and work-life balance on the side. The majority of her creations are rooted in notorious Western myths, legends, and folklore. She does, however, also incorporate Malay folklore from her cultural background into her stories. So, if you dare to dream of cunning heroes and fierce heroines who battle together to achieve their happily ever-afters, enter her realms of Larouverse.