Roxanne never imagined her life would be reduced to a transaction. At sixteen, her parents abandon her, trading her for money to the household of her father’s older brother and his elegant wife, a childless couple desperate for an heir.
Though disguised as family duty, Roxanne knows the truth: she is nothing more than a solution to their problem, a sacrifice to preserve a legacy.
Yet it is not her uncle’s cold, watchful eyes that linger in her thoughts, it is his wife. Alexandra Romanov, with her graceful and composed demeanor, effortlessly embraces privilege, yet a quiet, aching loneliness lurks beneath her poise.
Unsure how to treat a teenage girl, unsure even how to be a mother, Alexandra turns to bedtime stories, whispered tales meant to comfort a frightened child. But in the stillness of the night, the stories deepen into something far more dangerous: unspoken desires, tender confessions, and an intimacy neither woman dares name.
As Roxanne struggles with her role as pawn in her uncle’s scheme, she finds herself bound to the one person she was meant to call stepmother. Love blooms in shadows, hidden in hushed words and stolen touches, but in a household ruled by control and appearances, every moment of tenderness risks exposure.
Trapped between duty, desire, and her longing for freedom, Roxanne must decide whether her “bedtime story” with Alexandra will remain a secret dream or spark a rebellion that could unravel the family’s fragile facade forever.
