The Widower at the Door

At twenty, Lan Yu married into the Sui family.

After half a year of living as a widow, he inherited his late husband's estate.

A Sui family on the verge of collapse.

Four sharp-tongued young wolves.

And...

A young brother-in-law who had only recently come of age, watching him like a predator.

But Lan Yu wasn't troubled by any of it.

A famously frail beauty in their circle and the eldest son of the Lan family, he had agreed to marry into the Sui family precisely because he was waiting for this day.

Obstacles and difficulties only made winning all the sweeter.

Lan Yu spent some time and employed a few tricks.

The frail beauty who inherited the estate and was left a widower transformed into a poisonous black lotus who ruled the family with an iron fist.

Everyone said the four wolf cubs were impossible to tame. Even after coming of age, they refused to leave home, following their stepmother everywhere. They had become four guard wolves protecting their pack.

Still, one thing troubled Lan Yu.

His younger brother-in-law, who had once eyed the family fortune and power hungrily, had inexplicably fixed his gaze on his widowed sister-in-law.

Most importantly, the miserable boy who had only dared glare at him during that funeral had grown into a dangerous adult man, broad-shouldered and long-legged.

He could wrap one hand around Lan Yu's calf.

#Sister-in-law, open up. It's me, your brother-in-law#

A true widower stepmother story, paired with the younger brother-in-law.

A seemingly frail, easy-to-bully widower stepmother who's actually a black lotus, and his wolf-cub adopted sons and daughters.

Blurb still in progress. I haven't settled on a setting yet, but for the sake of the plot it'll probably be a modern fantasy. I just really want to write this! Slurp!

Screenshot saved as proof, May 15, 2025.

Theme: Somewhere in this world, someone will become both your weakness and your armor