The Velvet Ruin
(2026)(The third book in the Velvet Trap Billionaires series)
A novel by Alessa Kelly
Max Hunt let the love of his life marry another man. He won’t let that man destroy her.
MARA
I met Max Hunt when I was fourteen, in a New York alley, when he stepped between me and trouble. Then, almost as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.
Years later, I found him again.
We grew up. We fell in love. Then somehow, we ended up apart.
Now I’m married to another man, living the life I wanted, while Max belongs to a world of masks, secrets, and impossible wealth.
I choose friendship, believing I can have Max in my life without wanting more.
Then my marriage begins to unravel, and Max is the first to see how much I’ve been hiding from myself.
MAX
Mara Ireland has been the one constant in a life where nothing stays.
She knew me before the money. Before the hotels. Before the Velvet Game became a forbidden playground powerful men would cross oceans to enter.
But my past has left its mark, and Mara deserves the freedom I could never give her.
Now the man she married has made her a prisoner in her own life. And the men he owes don't care who gets hurt when they come to collect.
The Game may be the only way to get her out in time.
I loved Mara before I knew what forever meant.
Her husband has no idea how far I’ll go to bring her home.
The Velvet Ruin is a dual-timeline contemporary romance filled with first love, second chances, aching devotion, and high-stakes suspense. Book three in The Velvet Trap Billionaires series, it can be read as a standalone, but is best enjoyed after The Velvet Game and The Velvet Bet.
MARA
I met Max Hunt when I was fourteen, in a New York alley, when he stepped between me and trouble. Then, almost as quickly as he appeared, he was gone.
Years later, I found him again.
We grew up. We fell in love. Then somehow, we ended up apart.
Now I’m married to another man, living the life I wanted, while Max belongs to a world of masks, secrets, and impossible wealth.
I choose friendship, believing I can have Max in my life without wanting more.
Then my marriage begins to unravel, and Max is the first to see how much I’ve been hiding from myself.
MAX
Mara Ireland has been the one constant in a life where nothing stays.
She knew me before the money. Before the hotels. Before the Velvet Game became a forbidden playground powerful men would cross oceans to enter.
But my past has left its mark, and Mara deserves the freedom I could never give her.
Now the man she married has made her a prisoner in her own life. And the men he owes don't care who gets hurt when they come to collect.
The Game may be the only way to get her out in time.
I loved Mara before I knew what forever meant.
Her husband has no idea how far I’ll go to bring her home.
The Velvet Ruin is a dual-timeline contemporary romance filled with first love, second chances, aching devotion, and high-stakes suspense. Book three in The Velvet Trap Billionaires series, it can be read as a standalone, but is best enjoyed after The Velvet Game and The Velvet Bet.