A single phone call changes everything. After months apart, Si-eun finds himself standing in a hospital garden, staring at the person he thought he might never reach again - Su-ho. What begins as quiet relief slowly turns into something harder to ignore. Late-night walks. Lingering touches. Unspoken comfort. As Su-ho recovers and life at Eunjang High moves forward, the line between friendship and something deeper begins to blur. But while everyone around them seems to notice the change, Si-eun and Su-ho struggle to understand what their bond truly means. Some feelings are difficult to say out loud. And some people become impossible to let go.

Born a slave, made an heiress, Annabelle must battle a society unwilling to accept her and a love that threatens to ruin her in order to keep her freedom. ***** Born a slave, Annabelle soon finds that fate has other plans when she's purchased by a man named Elijah Finley, who not only rescues her from an abusive master, but also gives her her freedom. However, her new life comes at the cost of another: Elijah has made Annabelle the heiress to his estate, in spite of having a son. So Henry Finley, unwilling to accept his father's will, is determined to regain his rightful fortune at any cost -- even if that means seducing his father's former slave... Content and/or Trigger Warning: This story contains some racist and sexist language that reflects the historical time period when it's set. [[word count: 80,000-90,000 words]]