A Life of Beautiful Lies. A Collision of Shattered Truths.

Richard Croft, 36, is the picture of success: a wealthy businessman with a stunning wife, a glittering penthouse, and the Midas touch that turns every ambition into reality. But beneath this gilded surface lies a man consumed by a deeper, more insatiable hunger. Richard is a virtuoso of desire, a master architect of secret lives, and he has built his world upon a foundation of breathtaking deception.

He is married to Sarah, intelligent and elegant, the anchor of his respectable public life. Yet, he is also the devoted lover of Julien, a handsome and passionate 23-year-old French architecture student who offers Richard an escape into a world of art and visceral passion. Simultaneously, he is the intellectual soulmate to Chloe, a beautiful and perceptive 24-year-old literature student, whose poetic nature he cultivates with romantic gifts and profound attention.

For years, Richard maintains this delicate triple life with the precision of a conductor leading a complex symphony. He moves between his wife, his male lover, and his female lover, using his wealth, charm, and an uncanny ability to make each one feel uniquely seen and adored. He funds Julien’s education and whisks him away on luxurious trips. He fuels Chloe’s intellectual dreams with rare first editions and intimate conversations. He assures Sarah of his devotion with lavish gifts and carefully constructed lies about late nights at the office. He thrives on the complexity, believing his special talent allows him to gift happiness to all three, satisfying his own profound needs for adoration, passion, and intellectual intimacy.

But such an intricate web is destined to tear. A credit card charge for a hotel she didn’t visit makes Sarah question the man she thought she knew. A misplaced receipt and a glimpse of a text message seed doubt in Chloe’s trusting heart. A notification for an expensive, poetic gift not meant for him ignites Julien’s fiery suspicion. The separate worlds Richard so carefully curated begin to brush against each other, creating cracks in his perfect facade.

As the three lovers start their own quiet investigations, Richard’s meticulously planned schedule becomes a minefield of near-misses and escalating lies. The gifts and grand gestures that once secured devotion now seem like evidence of a crime. The man who controlled everything finds the threads of his empire slipping through his fingers, leading to an inevitable, devastating confrontation that will leave no life untouched.

The Price of Desire is a sweeping, 42-chapter novel that delves deep into the heart of forbidden romance, the addictive thrill of secrecy, and the devastating cost of living a lie. This is more than a story of scandal; it is a profound exploration of identity, the masks we wear, and the fragile resilience of the human heart in the face of ultimate betrayal. Follow the journeys of Sarah, Julien, and Chloe as they pick up the pieces of their shattered realities, seeking a path to redemption and a new definition of love after the beautiful illusion has crumbled to dust.