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We call it a family curse.
Obsession. Fixation. Possession.

For thirty-four years, I thought I was safe from it.
Then I met her—the ballerina who ruined everything.

She hates me. She works for me.
But I’ll do whatever it takes to have her.
Intimidation. Threats. Blackmail.
She’ll be mine, no matter the cost.

Having her was easy.
Keeping her? That’s where the madness begins.

A standalone dark romance novella in the Morelli Brothers series. Each brother more dangerous, more possessive, and more obsessed than the one before.

104 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2025

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Tati Hayes

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5 stars
260 (15%)
4 stars
308 (18%)
3 stars
568 (34%)
2 stars
326 (19%)
1 star
191 (11%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
Profile Image for Jen ♥.
1,855 reviews1,207 followers
Read
December 22, 2025
didn't care much for the story. the power imbalance wasn't just for me. but i liked the epilogue, though, and seeing them as a happy family. 😄
Profile Image for Paige.
808 reviews13 followers
December 1, 2025
A nice little palate cleanser.

This one is obsession at first sight for Lucian when he sees Aurora dancing ballet at the company he owns

I didn’t like Lucian at first. He basically blackmails Aurora into a sexual relationship since he’s her boss and I’m glad she fought back against him at first.

I do wish we would have gotten more interactions and scenes of them together because we really only see them together a few times and somehow they fall in love?

There’s some OW drama. After they have sex for the first time some woman comes into his office and he basically dismisses Aurora like the sex meant nothing. He also lets the woman touch his arm and whisper something in his ear. He later tells Aurora that she tried to sleep with him but he immediately rejected her and kicked her out of his office. She causes some problems later when Aurora gets pictures of them kissing at his brother’s club. He clarifies that it was unwanted and he pushes her away and kicks her out of the club. He also handles her in a way I wasn’t expecting but loved because he’s not letting anyone get away with hurting his girl. I did think this was too much OW drama for such a short book though and would have rather had more scenes with the MCs.

After the FMC leaves his office she decides to use a male dancer at the company to piss Lucian off which I loved. Lucian gave her strict instructions that no one is allowed to touch her so that male dancer no longer has hands once Lucian was done with him lol.

There’s a third act break up, she runs back to France where she is from, rightfully so. He follows her and apologizes and shows her he made a mistake approaching their relationship the way he did. He wants to make it up to her and he does. Man was super obsessed though!! I also love that she was his first kiss ever and he’s 34.

Anyway I was going to read the next one but the FMC is a stripper and I personally don’t like to read those but we will see.

No cheating (he gets an unwanted kiss)
OW and OM drama (see above)
Third act break up
Age gap 24/34
Celibate MMC (3 years celibate and has never kissed anyone)
Murder off page
HEA (married with a child)
Profile Image for anjali (^_−)☆.
123 reviews4 followers
February 28, 2026
⟢ ◟ ♯ 1 ★.ᐟ

      so, this book is the literal spawn of satan. i don’t know why authors insist on creating these absolutely vile and disgusting MMCs and then act surprised when readers are morally unable to root for them. Lucien literally SA’d Aurora, and they ended up together—of course. since when did that become a requirement in dark romance books?
      i don’t really know what else to say, so i’ll just react to some quotes i highlighted from this abomination of a book.


I know that catching the eye of a powerful man is a death sentence. They're entitled; they think everything is attainable to them. And God help their subject if it isn't.


this is the only smart thing that was said throughout this 100-ish page book. and mind you, this is a quote from the FMC’s POV. who do you think she ended up marrying and having a child with? right… right…

"Say yes," he hisses. "Or think until tomorrow. But understand this—silence will be taken for consent. Hesitation will be fixed."


dating lessons with Lucifer Lucien #1: if you have a crush on someone, threaten them. they’ll be sure to fall head over heels in love with your charm and good manners 😍😍

"Refuse?" I echo, lethal. "We already went over this. Refusing me means losing everything you have now. You know what I do to people who defy me."


big, strong, scary man getting worked up all because a woman rejected him. what a fucking joke. this guy is so disgusting. he’s one of those red-pill, misogynistic, alpha-male types who spend all their time gagging on Andrew Tate’s dick.

Am I not supposed to hate him? He blackmailed me, forced me into this contract, and yet, here I am, enjoying his touch.


don’t forget when he SA’d you! Aurora conveniently leaves out the fact that he r-ped her in his office, and afterwards—when she was, obviously, distraught by what had just happened—he kicked her out and made sure she saw him invite a scantily clad woman in.

At the hospital, he never leaves my side. Every time someone tries to speak to me, Lucien answers first. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.


RIP, Aurora. you would’ve loved trad-wife-tok.

She stops at a jewelry stall, runs her fingers over a silver bracelet. I buy it before she can say anything, fastening it around her wrist, watching the blush that spreads on her face—with my dick hard.


of course, a shitty dark romance wouldn’t be a shitty dark romance without the MMC’s dick getting hard while watching literal paint dry. i expected it, and i’m still disappointed.

"I'm sorry," I say. "For every time I cornered you, for blackmailing you into something that should've been a choice. But I can't say I regret you. Not a second of you."


this sentence has never been said before. why? because i genuinely don’t know of a singular situation where someone who did the things Lucien did were put in a position where they had the chance to be forgiven. and also, Lucien, you know damn fucking well that you’re not sorry. in fact, you probably wish you’d done something more drastic.

She pulls back slightly. "Lucian, my aunt's right down the hall—she'll hear everything."
I nip her lower lip until it swells. "I need you, Aurora. If that means she hears how I adore you, then so be it."


um… what? i don’t think Aurora’s aunt needs to hear you two getting it on in Aurora’s CHILDHOOD BEDROOM to know that you love her. why don’t you try telling her aunt you’re in love with her niece like a normal fucking person? oh, right. because Lucien is anything BUT normal.

"No hiding our love, my little muse," I murmur hotly into her ear, freeing my cock that's branded in her name alone. "Tell her you're fine while I bury myself in paradise."


i have no words. this was just so cringey. i can’t believe someone actually thought to write a sentence this unpleasant.

"You always warned me about men like him. Why do you like him now?"
"Because I see the way he looks at you. If he were truly like the men I warned you about, he wouldn't fix what he broke. He wouldn't change. Those men take and take and never give back. But him? He's trying."


once again: this man SA’d her. Aurora escaped back to France to get away from him. her aunt witnessed the state she was in when she arrived at her doorstep, and this is what she thinks to say? we are never making it out of the patriarchy.

In retrospect, we haven't known each other that long. Maybe we should have dated more before this or something—but when you know, you know. And I know that Lucian is it for me. Call me stupid, call me naive—I don't care.


okay, you’re stupid and naive. only someone stupid and naive would agree to marry the man who threatened to ruin her life if she didn’t agree to performing private dances *NAKED* in his house, SA’d her, kicked her out of his office so he could entertain another woman, made her life so miserable that she became ostracised by her peers, and acted recklessly enough to let the paparazzi tear her and her career apart in gossip blogs. like i said: stupid and naive.

Aurora catches me staring and gives me that look—the one that says I'm waiting for you to come fuck me after this. Which I will. We can't go a day without sex. It's like we need each other to function.


mind you, this is happening while Aurora is teaching their child how to dance. if this isn’t one of the most disgusting things ever, i don’t know what is.


      anyways, i hope i’ve successfully convinced you not to read this book. morally black MMCs should be banned and shamed in the dark romance world, because clearly dark romance authors are not capable of writing good ones.


【 ♐︎ *.✧ pre-read thoughts ◡̈ 💭 ☆ミ ₊˚⊹ 】
〰️ the sexual tension between me and books that i know are going to be absolute SHIT needs to be studied
Profile Image for Sarah♡books  .
516 reviews125 followers
February 23, 2026
3/5 🌟

Aurora x Lucian 🤍

📚 Blackmailing
📚 Boss x Employee
📚 Insta Obsession
📚 OTT J/P
📚 Celibate H (3 years) + he never kissed another woman
🚩 no cheating or sharing

OW - has a crush on him & causes problems
OM - she dances with him after an incident, but the H takes care of him...


nice & quick novella 🤭
Profile Image for Dewey.
2,441 reviews
April 1, 2026
I DNF at 50% because this is truly awful writing with stupid characters. It's basically SA that she is 'forced' to agree to until, OF COURSE, she falls in love. Honey, you could have walked away and gotten some other job.

Is she in some kind of 'ballet' sex trafficking situation? She says she hasn't seen the sun for months. What? not even when going to/from her apartment?

"Aurora catches me staring and gives me that look—the one that says I'm waiting for you to come fuck me after this. Which I will. We can't go a day without sex. It's like we need each other to function."
Profile Image for *CJ*.
5,380 reviews682 followers
December 16, 2025
“His Little Muse” is the story of Aurora and Lucian.

Obsessed, manipulative hero; talented destitute heroine, a forced contract, lots of hot sex, drama, angst and HEA.

Liked that the hero was celibate, did not enjoy the ow drama or the fact that she kissed him.

Safe
3/5
Profile Image for Vanessa.
519 reviews3 followers
January 11, 2026
DNF at 16%
He sounded like an entitled rapist with zero regard for her wants and feelings who wanted her as his whore.
"silence will be taken for consent. Hesitation will be fixed."
The power imbalance was too much and there was no chemistry at all.
Profile Image for Najistic.
132 reviews2 followers
June 17, 2026
I know this is a short story but why make the story deep then? It was so fast-paced, like literally 5 chapters in they were already in-love. I’m in a very bad slump read, i’m just reading whatever
Profile Image for Insomnolent Reader  °ㅠ_ㅠ°.
525 reviews17 followers
December 22, 2025
I'm on my Christmas break. I went on Tiktok and this was all over my FYP - took me about 2 days before I finallt downloaded it.

Rating it high cause even though it's short and doesn't have enough structure to the story, the writing isn't horrible compared to some full-length romance books I've read.

Quick and to the point. Sometimes, it's needed. I'll let my imagination fill out the gaps.
Profile Image for sara ❥.
240 reviews1 follower
April 2, 2026
★☆☆☆☆

I’m not even gonna lie, this was a complete waste of my time 😂

I knew going in that this was a dark romance and I’m not against that genre at all but there are LIMITS. And this book just crossed too many of them for me.

Aurora is a ballet dancer and Lucian becomes obsessed with her almost instantly. From the start, their dynamic felt off. He makes this deal with her where she has to dance for him and be intimate with him and the whole situation just felt really uncomfortable. There were moments (especially in the beginning) where consent felt very questionable and instead of developing into something meaningful, it just stayed unsettling 🤠

What frustrated me the most was the character development (or lack of it). Aurora goes from hating him to suddenly being in love with him out of nowhere, like a full 180 with no real build-up. It didn’t feel believable at all.

And Lucian?? He starts off as this controlling, possessive, toxic man and then suddenly he’s “soft” and obsessed with her in a different way but it didn’t feel like growth, just inconsistent writing.

The jealousy parts were also just tiring. One second she’s insecure over another woman, then random drama pops up with pictures being sent and it’s just constant chaos without depth. Then we get the ankle injury, her being stuck at his villa and suddenly she has this moment of clarity where she realises she’s being treated badly and runs away, which honestly was one of the only moments that made sense 🫠 but even that gets undone 😭

She goes to Paris, finds out he’s basically handed over half his company to her (???) and then he shows up begging for her back and from that point I was just skim reading because I needed it to be OVER 🥱 don’t even get me started on his family backstory because??? That was just messy and didn’t add anything meaningful (dad was obsessed with mum, she wasn't happy and fled, dad killed himself after 1 year looking for her and couldn't deal with it) 🥲

And then the FIVE-YEAR TIME JUMP?? Suddenly they have a child, everything’s perfect and he’s making comments like “we have sex every day”. I’m sorry but I actually rolled my eyes 😶 like give me a break.

Overall, this felt very wattpad-coded in the worst way possible. Toxic dynamics, no real character development, uncomfortable themes that weren’t handled properly and a plot that just didn’t make sense half the time. I will NOT be continuing this series, I don’t care how short the books are. This one was enough for me 🤓
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kat.
486 reviews14 followers
July 16, 2026
Un aplauso para esta pareja de loquitos que está obsesionadaa.
La verdad estos libros cortos me están atrapando, están bastante entretenidos
Profile Image for taz.
268 reviews59 followers
January 11, 2026
need to know what the author was in when writing this 😭
Profile Image for Susan D.
282 reviews5 followers
August 11, 2026
A diverting read!

When I began reading this book I wasn’t sure if it was going to be for me, but it got better as it went along. I enjoyed Lucian’s theory that the males in his family have an ‘obsession’ gene inherited from their father. His initial treatment of Aurora is certainly compulsively fixated. She is caught in his trap and he has no intention of letting her go; nevertheless, it isn’t long before his intensity has her falling for him.

The sex scenes are way too much for my delicate sensibilities, so I just skipped through them … and the manner in which he punishes the OW for hurting Aurora and the OM for putting his hands on her is extreme, not really my cup of tea but then he is a gangster. The epilogue is to die for, so much so that I went back and read it over again. All in all an entertaining adult fairytale!
Profile Image for ˗ˏˋ irene´ˎ˗.
264 reviews6 followers
January 11, 2026
As much as I usually love a morally grey/red flag mmc I fear Lucian was not it. The start to their relationship was not my favorite and made it kind of hard to root for them. I would recommend if you do want to read a quick and easy dark romance read. It was a novella so the plot is fast and to the point. I will say he does grovel a bit so at least there was that.

Side note: I am kind of intrigued on the brothers story so might read those in the future.
Profile Image for Natalie.
72 reviews
November 17, 2025
Obsession turned to Love

I seen a short snippet on a TikTok and was intrigued.
It didn't fail. It is a short read, around 100 pages but was a good, quick read and a break from what I normally read.
Obsession turned love for Lucian who fell hard for Aurora and showed him that love can't be bought with a contract and power.
A quick but enjoyable read and written well.
6 reviews
November 18, 2025
short and sweet

I found this during a book slump and it was just what I needed. Well written and a strong FMC. Who doesn’t love an obsession?
Profile Image for Elsa Reyna.
573 reviews14 followers
April 4, 2026
Ughhhhh too good

This is exactly how I want my MMC.... Obsessed....Obsessed....Obsessed.... it was perfect...jumping into no 2!!!! These are too good to put down... I have all four of them...need the paperback please
20 reviews
November 20, 2025
quick story

This was a fast story that covered all the bases of love story without building up the characters a too much or dragging out the drama before the happy ending. I love reading but sometimes the books that drag out stories just turn me off. Books like this help balance those out!
Only suggestion I could make if the author has future stories like this, is just edit the chapters a little differently if story changes the location or the timeline.
1 review
November 15, 2025
Could be better

This has a good storyline but it played out in about 10 pages, didn’t really make sense how they fell in love in literally 4 pages in, I was left confused unsatisfied with the story plot
Profile Image for Soleada.
209 reviews1 follower
June 22, 2026
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cuatro estrellas.

Y honestamente, hubo un momento en el que pensé que ni siquiera iba a llegar a las tres.

Sí, así de dudosa estaba mientras lo estaba leyendo.

Hubo una buena parte de la historia en la que simplemente no lograba conectar del todo. Seguía leyendo porque tenía curiosidad, pero no sentía esa necesidad urgente de volver al libro cada vez que lo dejaba.

Y se nota.

Me comencé este libro el 17 de junio y lo terminé el 22.

Ahora compárenlo con el cuarto libro de la serie, que prácticamente me lo devoré.

De hecho, mientras terminaba este, me di cuenta de algo: el cuarto libro sí merece cinco estrellas. Creo que voy a regresar a cambiarle la calificación porque la diferencia entre ambos es bastante evidente.

Con este no conecté de la misma manera.

Pero entonces llegaron los capítulos finales.

Y qué capítulos finales.

Porque si algo salvó completamente esta lectura fue la recta final. La historia tomó fuerza, los personajes comenzaron a encajar mejor y, de repente, entendí por qué tanta gente disfruta esta serie.

Terminé mucho más satisfecha de lo que esperaba cuando iba por la mitad del libro.

Y es que una de las cosas más interesantes de esta saga es precisamente la manera en que entienden el amor.

O mejor dicho…

La manera en que NO entienden el amor.

Porque estos personajes no son precisamente personas emocionalmente sanas.

Su concepto del amor está peligrosamente cerca de la obsesión. ES OBSESIÓN, NO LO DUDES NUNCA.

Y la historia ni siquiera intenta ocultarlo.

Para ellos, la pareja se convierte en el centro absoluto de su universo.

Su prioridad.

Su propósito.

Su religión.

Y aunque suena completamente exagerado cuando lo escribes, funciona dentro de la historia.

De hecho, una de las frases que más me gustó fue cuando él reflexiona sobre cómo muchas personas buscan la paz en el dinero, en las propiedades o en los lujos, mientras que él encontró la paz en su familia.

Y no sé por qué, pero esa idea me llegó bastante.

Porque detrás de toda esa obsesión, posesividad y comportamiento cuestionable, también hay una reflexión interesante sobre pertenencia, lealtad y hogar.

Así que sí.

No fue mi favorito de la serie.

No conecté con él tan rápido como con el cuarto libro.

Pero el final hizo muchísimo trabajo pesado y consiguió que terminara la lectura con una sonrisa.

Por eso se queda con cuatro estrellas.

Y sí, ya estoy leyendo el siguiente.

Porque esta serie tiene algo que hace imposible abandonarla una vez entras en ella.

Así que, si te gustan las historias de amor obsesivas, intensas y completamente exageradas, probablemente esta saga también te va a enganchar.

⭐⭐⭐⭐
Profile Image for JANEMAR.
1,067 reviews6 followers
August 21, 2026
Esta es una novela corta de dark romance intensa, rápida y sin pausas para respirar. Tati Hayes construye a un protagonista posesivo hasta el extremo con una obsesión que roza lo perturbador y a una heroína que pese a la coerción inicial mantiene su fuerza de carácter a lo largo de toda la trama. La dinámica de poder entre ambos es unica desde el primer capítulo y quienes disfrutan de los tropos de jefe millonario chantaje y posesividad extrema encontrarán aquí exactamente lo que buscan.

El ritmo es ágil, casi vertiginoso lo que la hace perfecta para leer en una sola sentada. La trasformación de Lucian aunque abrupta se siente coherente dentro del género y la subtrama de la maldición familiar de los Morelli añade una capa interesante de cara a los siguientes libros de la saga. Como toda novela dark no es apta para quienes buscan romances más suaves: incluye escenas de violencia, manipulación y contenido sexual explícito. Para las amantes del género, es una lectura adictiva de principio a fin.

En resumen y contando la historia esto va de Aurora Laurent es una bailarina francesa que dejó Marsella hace seis meses para perseguir su sueño en una prestigiosa compañía de ballet en Manhattan, patrocinada por la Fundación Morelli. Lucian Morelli, dueño del teatro y de buena parte de la ciudad, se obsesiona con ella desde que la ve bailar por primera vez. Cuando Aurora rechaza su propuesta de convertirse en su amante privada a cambio de dinero y del papel principal de la temporada, Lucian la presiona hasta que ella no tiene más opción que aceptar, amenazando con destruir todo lo que ha construido si se niega.

Lo que empieza como un contrato de manipulación y chantaje se transforma en una obsesión mutua que ninguno de los dos logra controlar. Entre escándalos mediáticos, un pretendiente indeseado que termina pagando caro por acercarse a ella, y la sombra de una maldición familiar que ya destruyó a los padres de Lucian, Aurora debe decidir si puede amar a un hombre que la posee en cuerpo y alma sin perderse a sí misma en el proceso. La historia cierra con un final feliz, con Lucian entregándole el control de la compañía y años después, formando una familia juntos.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews