Garden of May

When her parents pass away, Lady Vanessa's sheltered world collapses overnight. The grieving young noblewoman inherits nothing but burdens: a crushing mountain of debt and a marriage she never asked for. With no one left to shield her, the glittering high society she was born into now closes in around her like a cage. Where others see mourning, her uncle sees only opportunity. Greedy to fill his own pockets, he is more than willing to sell his orphaned niece off as a fresh bride to an aging earl—a fate Vanessa refuses to accept. Trapped between financial ruin and a marriage she never chose, she understands that quiet obedience will only deliver her straight into the old earl's hands. There is only one escape left. A lady ruined by scandal can no longer be traded away as a desirable bride, and so Vanessa resolves to destroy her own good name. Yet the scandal she needs cannot be a mere whisper of impropriety—it must be truly horrible, ruinous enough to make even her greedy uncle abandon all hope of marrying her off. Thus begins her audacious gamble to reclaim her freedom.