Tropes: Second Chance Romance • Small Town • Secret Baby • Childhood Best Friends to Lovers • Slow Burn • Forced Separation • Miscommunication • Found Family • Emotional Angst • Quiet Devotion He let her believe she didn't matter so she would leave. Indigo Hale and Jake Calder were supposed to escape Cedar Ridge together. Best friends turned first love. One scholarship. One truck. One last night before dawn. Jake never showed. Instead, he shattered her with words meant to hurt-because telling the truth would've made her stay. Indigo left anyway... and weeks later, discovered she was pregnant. Years pass. Cedar Ridge doesn't change. The ranch still stands. And Jake, older, quieter, bound by responsibility-never stopped carrying the weight of the choice that broke them both. When Indigo returns with a daughter who has Jake's face and none of his answers, the past refuses to stay buried. The town watches. Assumptions form. And love-unfinished, unhealed-demands to be faced. This isn't a story about forgiveness that comes easy. It's about love that survives silence. About fatherhood found, not claimed. And about the slow, aching truth that sometimes home is the one place you had to leave to understand.

[Selected for the Wattys shortlist-2025] "𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍. 𝑵𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉." When Vanora Blackthorn is forced into a cold, calculated marriage to Alestor Drevenhart-the ruthless heir of a powerful dynasty-she thinks she's escaped one nightmare only to enter another. But beneath the icy vows and suffocating walls of the Drevenhart estate, something begins to shift. Secrets fester. Obsession brews. And love? Love was never part of the deal... until it becomes the deadliest one of all. Will she survive the cruel games of a family that never wanted her? Will he learn to love the woman he was never meant to care for? Or will their hearts shatter beneath the very vows that bound them?" "𝑰 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔, 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕."

"𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒅 𝒃𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏" 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒍𝒊𝒑?" She thought she had her life figured out. A quiet job in a quiet town, a routine that never hurt, and a heart too careful to fall for anyone too fast. But then he walked in. The new hire. Mysterious. Impossibly attractive. He had the smile of a gentleman and the presence of a man who'd burn the world to keep your attention. He said all the right things. Held doors. Knew how to make her laugh. And when he looked at her-it felt like she was the only girl in the universe. But love, she learns, can be blinding. And not all monsters hide in shadows. Some wear suits. Some call you "baby." Some hold you like you're a prayer-then break you like a curse. Because he has secrets. Dark ones. Dangerous ones. The kind of truths that can't be buried without blood. So now the real question is... Will she uncover who he truly is-before it's too late? Can love survive when it's soaked in lies and obsession? And when she finally sees the monster behind the man... Will she run? Or will she stay?

"𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲." "He was danger in disguise. She was the spark he never saw coming. When shy, artistic transfer student Aera Valencia steps into Crestwood High, the last thing she expects is to catch the attention of the school's cruelest heartbreaker-Damian Ashbourne. He's rich, reckless, and rules the hallways with a smirk that hides scars no one dares to touch. From day one, she becomes his new favorite game taunted, cornered, and claimed in ways that blur the line between hate and obsession. But as secrets unravel and masks start to slip, Aera realizes there's more to Damian than just venom in his words and fire in his eyes. He wants her. He'll break the world to keep her. And he might just destroy her before she even understands what it means to be his. In a school full of lies, power, and darkness... love might be the most dangerous game of all." "What happens when the one person you should hate... is the only one who sees you? Can love bloom in the shadows of obsession and pain? And when secrets explode and loyalty is tested... will they survive each other, or burn trying?"

There is nothing more beautiful than watching an innocent angel fall apart at my sinful actions. I'm going to ruin her. •••• "You know," she whispers, "Everyone would be disgusted by the things I would let you do to me." I smirk. She's made for me. "Tell me," I said, "Tell me what you would let me do." I rub my thumbs across her cheeks. She grins up at me, looking so fucking pleased with herself. "Can I show you instead?" -------- Amorette Ávila is just trying to support her family and make something of her life. She meets a man who changes her perception of all things. Augustine Eros is a dangerous man, one who kills and controls crime, and that scares her. She wants to look out for her brother, but that only leads her closer to the man she fears. However, he finds something in her he's never found before, and he's addicted. She sees through his rough facade, and her curiosity seems to drive her interest. She's an angel to him, and he thrives off of it. She is his drug, and he wants to overdose on her.

I had changed. Three years had passed, and I was different now. But then I met her. And suddenly, I was terrified-terrified that if I let myself fall for her, I'd become the monster I once was. The only thing that truly scared me... Was the man I used to be. - Zayn Banks Sequel to Ethereally.

a high school grumpy x sunshine book written to make you feel good ♡

Lyra Carter has always known two things about herself: She was born to teach little ones... And one day, she wants a family of her own. She just never expected the man who'd test every boundary she's ever set to be the father of one of her students. Beau Walker is a rugged, silver-streaked horse breaker with calloused hands and a heart held together by grit. Fresh out of a brutal divorce, he's trying-and failing-to raise his four-year-old son on his own. When Jett bonds instantly with his new daycare teacher, Beau does something he never though he'd have to do: He asks her for help. But the more time Lyra spends in Beau's home, the more she sees the man beneath the rough exterior. The devoted father. The protector. The temptation she should walk away from. And Beau? He wants her in ways he shouldn't. In ways he's afraid will ruin her future. In ways that awaken a dark, desperate desire he's never felt before- to claim her, keep her, and give her the one thing she's always wanted... Lines blur. Rules break. Hearts fall. And soon, the man she should have never wanted becomes the only one she can't live without.

After spending most of her life surrounded by the noise and chaos of the big city, Winnie Grant found herself yearning for something quieter-something real. When the restlessness became too loud to ignore, she did the unthinkable: she quit her job, packed away the pieces of her old life, and accepted a new position in Red Lodge, Montana-a small town where everyone knew everyone, and secrets traveled faster than the wind. As the city skyline disappeared in her rearview mirror, Winnie could only hope she was making the right choice. Her new home was everything she hadn't realized she needed-quiet, quaint, and surrounded by the kind of stillness that made her both uneasy and comforted. After a few days of settling in, curiosity (and perhaps a touch of loneliness) led her to the local bar-a warm, wood-paneled place that smelled faintly of pine and spilled whiskey. That was where she met him. Sheriff Ben Langley. The man everyone in town seemed to know, and more than a few wished would so much as glance their way. Steady, reserved, and impossibly grounded in this small-town life-he was the last kind of man Winnie expected to notice her. But that night, under the soft glow of the bar's lights, it was the newcomer-the woman with city eyes and a quiet kind of courage-who caught his attention.

"You can't take all of us, sweetheart." Valen's voice is smooth, teasing, but the way his fingers brush against my hip isn't playful. It's testing. Behind me, Fennec chuckles, his breath warm as he leans in, his lips barely ghosting the shell of my ear. "She could try." His voice dips lower, dragging heat down my spine. "I'd love to watch her try." ------------------------------- Soraya Cordova was never meant to survive. Stolen as a child and discarded as a mistake, she was given a second chance when the Cordovas adopted her into a life of wealth, secrets, and silent wars. But when her parents are declared dead and the world turns against her found family, she realizes survival is no longer enough, she needs to fight. Raised as assassins, her adoptive brothers have spent years keeping her in the dark, but now? Now, she's in the center of the storm. Wanted by the government. Hunted by the man who created her. And trapped in a dangerous game of love, loyalty, and lies with the only people who have ever mattered. Because in their world, trust is a weapon. Not all love stories are gentle. Some are jagged at the edges, built on shadows and sins, tangled in pasts too dark to escape. White Lies is one of those stories. It's about the things we do to survive, the lies we tell to protect, and the love that thrives even in the darkest corners. Read at your own risk.