Love Beyond The Crown

Aldermere, 1819. Lady Helena Ashcroft is fighting a quiet war: keep her family name spotless, protect her younger sister's future, and survive a Season that devours the weak.

When Lord Blackthorne corners her in a conservatory and scandal is seconds away, salvation arrives from the last man she ever expected—Crown Prince Adrian Valmont. With one calm sentence, he turns a public humiliation into an unshakable shield: "Lady Helena… my fiancée."

It's a lie with rules. A calculated fake engagement meant to buy Adrian time against a ruthless diplomatic marriage—and to keep Helena's reputation intact. Six weeks of flawless appearances. Smiles for the court. Distance in private.

Except the court doesn't just demand perfection. It demands warmth. And the more they rehearse the illusion, the more dangerous it becomes—because the feelings start refusing to stay on script.

With the Queen Dowager tightening the noose, forged letters poisoning Helena's name, and a "proper" princess arriving to claim Adrian's future, Helena must decide what she's willing to lose: her pride… her safety… or the one thing she never thought she'd have the right to want.