multonawriter
"The restless soul and the lake met like opposites in a poem-her baggage sank as its waters sang of lightness."
To her students and colleagues, Adrianna Beaumont is an unshakable force-a brilliant, highbrow professor at St. Lo University, admired for her intellect and elegance. At just thirty-two, she's mastered the art of perfection, both in the classroom and in life. But beyond her polished exterior lies a restless soul burdened by secrets she's too proud to share and a life she's too afraid to leave.
Then there's Jaden Lake Costa-JL-an effortlessly charming, free-spirited twenty-one-year-old studying International Relations. With a crooked smile and a knack for bending the rules, JL is everything Adrianna is not: carefree, open, and unafraid to stand out. While others tread carefully around Adrianna's sharp edges, JL breaks through them with humor and ease, and soon, an unlikely friendship blossoms between the restless soul and the carefree lake.
Their unexpected friendship begins to unravel the walls Adrianna has built, as JL's lightness becomes a lifeline in her otherwise heavy world. But as their bond deepens into something neither can deny, Adrianna finds herself torn between the duty to the promises she had made and the quiet yearning JL awakens in her. JL, despite her feelings, refuses to be the reason Adrianna's world falls apart.
In a story of longing, restraint, and the painful beauty of self-discovery, will Adrianna break free from the life that's bruised her, or will she lose the one person who taught her what it means to truly live? And is it ever too late to start over?