📝 AUTHOR'S NOTES / PERSONAL NOTE + ⚠️ CONTENT WAR
AUTHOR'S NOTE
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(PLEASE READ)
This story moves in two timelines.
The Prologue + Interludes are written direct and close to the bone. They're the history—how Valentina became the kind of woman who survives by staying controlled.
The Chapters (2024+) are written more poetic and cinematic—the present, where she's built a life in London and works as a crisis fixer... until a new fire forces her to face old smoke.
⚠️ Content Warning + Authors Personal Note 📝
Hi love — before you read Controlled Burn, I want to be clear that this book includes sexual assault (including coercion/rape), domestic violence, emotional abuse, and trauma responses (panic, dissociation, hypervigilance). When these scenes appear, it's shown for what it is: harm—and its aftermath.
The characters and events in this book are all fictional.
I'm a sexual assault survivor. This story isn't written for shock value, and it isn't meant to entertain trauma. I wrote these scenes with care and respect—for survivors, for the realities of trauma, and for the strength it takes to keep going.
I know what it's like to carry something heavy and still have to live your life. If you're a survivor too, you're not alone. I see you.
Nothing about sexual assault, domestic violence or emotional abuse is a joke. No one "asks for it." No one deserves it. And healing isn't linear.
Please protect your peace while reading—skip scenes, take breaks, or step away whenever you need to. Your well-being comes first.
Vibe promise: dark, sharp, slow-burn romance—with an earned payoff.
Thank you for reading, and for holding space for a story like this. 💜🕊️
~ Ciera Andrade
