The Silent Phoenix: Bride of the Blackwood Heir

She was the family disgrace—powerless, silent, easily discarded. So when Xu Meilin is married off to a foreign noble to seal a cold political pact, no one objects. Not even her. Her new husband, Lord Elias von Blackwood, is colder than the rumors claimed—arrogant, distant, and devastatingly beautiful, with eyes that see everything and a voice that commands without raising above a whisper. She was never meant to be a wife—just a placeholder in a cursed castle, surrounded by strangers who see her as nothing. Until she starts changing everything. The cold rooms begin to pulse with life. The house whispers her name. And Elias—untouchable, dangerous Elias—begins to burn for the one woman he should’ve never wanted. Their marriage is a war of restraint. Every stolen glance, every accidental touch, every quiet night where he almost kisses her—until one night, he does. He tries to keep her at a distance. But she is not the girl they threw away—she is fire in silk, soft but unyielding, and soon, even his control begins to crack. Powerless? No. Helpless? Never. She may not have magic in her blood—but she has him. Mind, body, and soul. “You think I married you to touch you,” he breathes against her skin. “But every night I don’t is the one that kills me.” And in a house built on blood and secrets, love will not save them. But desire might destroy them.