Between Duty and Desire

In the searing heat of August, within the opulent walls of Hartford Manor, young Eleanor finds herself trapped in a gilded cage, bound by family obligations and the dark legacies of ambition. After be ing dragged back to her ancestral home, she clings to whispers of her past while battling the suffocating expectations of her family. As rumors swirl about her impending marriage to the enigmatic Howard Morrison, Eleanor's delicate world begins to unravel. Her mother, Isabella, a renowned neurosurgeon with a hidden gambling addiction, has given her an ultimatum: wed Howard to secure financial stability or risk losing everything. With debt looming like a storm cloud over their heads, Eleanor grapples with the weight of familial duty and her own desire for a genuine connection. Yet the man she is to marry, Henry Morrison, seems more interested in his own ambitions than in her heart. As circumstance forces her into the role of a dutiful fiancé, Eleanor quickly learns that appearances can be deceiving. Henry, charming and calculating, holds secrets of his own that threaten to shatter her carefully constructed facade. When she discovers he has a child, Alexander, a revelation that could upend their lives, Eleanor is plunged deeper into a web of deception and betrayal. As tensions rise and hidden agendas bubble beneath the surface, the stakes grow higher. With time running out, Eleanor must navigate a treacherous landscape of desire and despair while balancing her own wishes against the family’s ruthless legacy. Will she find the courage to break free from the chains of duty, or will the very place that once promised sanctuary become her prison? In a tale woven with intrigue, romance, and the desperate pursuit of freedom, the lines between love and obligation blur, leaving readers breathless as they follow Eleanor’s journey against the fiery backdrop of a world on the brink of chaos. ...