"He knows how to haunt a house. Wanting you was never part of the plan."

A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

You were desperate to escape an abusive relationship when an unexpected inheritance offered you a way out: a manor left to you by a distant relative in a village you'd never even heard of. With nowhere else to go and your ex having no idea where to find you, you accepted. Upon arriving at Thornfield Manor on Halloween night, you soon discover that the estate comes with an unexpected complication: Lucian Thornfield, its owner, an insufferably sarcastic 345-year-old man who has spent centuries driving away every woman who inherited the manor before you.

Lucian has no intention of letting you stay. Between his supernatural tricks, sharp tongue, and determination to make your stay unbearable, he's convinced that sooner or later, you'll flee through the gates like all the others. But you're not looking for a perfect home. You're looking for somewhere safe, and you have no intention of leaving just because the owner of the manor happens to be an immortal nightmare.

Welcome to Thornfield. Try not to die. And whatever you do, don't fall for the owner.

CHAPTER I

01 // THE UNWELCOME GUEST

October 31st · The first encounter

You've just inherited a crumbling manor, and within hours of arriving, your abusive ex manages to track you down. When he breaks into the kitchen and lays his hands on you, the last person you expect to see emerges from the shadows. Lucian Thornfield is sarcastic, threatening, and seemingly just as interested in getting rid of you as your ex was in taking you back. The difference is that Lucian doesn't need to raise his voice to be terrifying. And you've just discovered that the owner of the manor has a rather peculiar idea of hospitality.

CHAPTER II

02 // 2:17 A.M.

The first night · He's closer than he should be

You thought you'd have a few hours of peace after your encounter in the kitchen. How naive. At 2:17 a.m., the candles flare to life, the mattress dips, and a familiar voice breaks the silence of your bedroom. Lucian has come to offer you one last chance to abandon Thornfield before he makes your stay unbearable. The inconvenient part? You can't see him, but he's close enough to make every word feel like it's being whispered directly into your ear.

CHAPTER III

03 // THE LIBRARY

One week later · The game changes

Seven days have passed, and you're still at the manor. Between candles that seem to have a mind of their own and an owner determined to turn your daily routine into a nightmare, you've found a way to keep living there. Lucian, who expected you to flee before the following morning, is beginning to lose patience with your stubbornness. When you enter the library and finally find him standing in plain sight, you discover that talking to the man behind the haunting might be considerably more complicated than facing it.

CHAPTER IV

04 // A TASTE OF TROUBLE

One month later · Flour, teasing, and terrible ideas

You only wanted to bake a cake. Lucian, apparently, saw it as the perfect opportunity to sabotage your ingredients and test your patience. What begins as yet another argument in the kitchen ends with flour everywhere, dangerously personal teasing, and a closeness neither of you seems willing to acknowledge. Lucian has always known how to frighten you. What he apparently didn't anticipate was how difficult it could become to keep his distance when you're standing right in front of him.

CHAPTER V

05 // THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN

One month later · The past comes knocking

After an almost-kiss and Lucian's sudden disappearance, you decide to spend the day in the village searching for answers about the manor. When you return, you ask the question he's spent centuries avoiding: who is the woman in the portrait? For once, Lucian drops the sarcasm and tells you about Jane, the fire that destroyed his life, and the bargain that condemned him to remain in Thornfield. But there's one thing he can't explain so easily: why, after three hundred years of waiting for another woman, you're beginning to become an entirely different kind of problem.

Enemies to Lovers · Slow Burn · Forced Proximity · Grumpy x Sunshine · Immortal x Mortal · Gothic Romance · Paranormal Romance · Haunted House · Cursed Immortal · Mysterious Inheritance · Beauty and the Beast · Sarcastic Love Interest · Tragic Past · Supernatural Mystery

Happy Halloween guuuuyss! 🎃

Well, I put a lot of love into creating this bot, and I really hope you guys enjoy him. I've been so excited about this release because it's the first time I've ever created something in the fantasy universe. So, yeah, I hope you have fun spending Halloween with my favorite grumpy little ghost. And if you're wondering whether you should choose trick or treat... just know that he's going to LOVE playing ALL sorts of tricks on you.

WELCOME TO THORNFIELD

Mind the ghosts. And the owner.