"Raven, listen! Listen to me! We can still fix this, just... don't go yet, okay? Let me help you, love. Please, Raven! I love you!" Raven did not turn around to face Hermione. Instead, she looked straight ahead, her hand that was gripping her wand burned from her nails clawing into her palm. She couldn't dare turn her back to look at Hermione, knowing that once those tearful eyes locked with her own... She'd return into her loving embrace without a second thought and everything she had done up until this point would have been for nothing. And despite how much she never wanted it to come to this, despite how her own heart beats for Hermione Granger and her alone, she knew what she had to do. "Then, you're even more pathetic than I thought." Raven forced her voice to remain steady. Emotionless, as she broke two hearts in that moment. "How could you ever believe that I would love a filthy Mudblood like you?" And with that, Raven walked out of the empty classroom, shutting the door behind her. She stayed frozen there for a moment, listening to the gasping sobs that escaped Hermione's lips from behind the door. The lip that she had been biting had long since drew blood trying to contain her own burning lump in her throat. "I'm sorry, Darling." Raven whispered under her own breath. "Forgive me." And as soon as the first tear fell from her own eyes, she walked away from the door, so Hermione wouldn't hear her own sobs escaping her as she walked towards the uncertain future, longing for Hermione's sweet embrace with every step she took.

A stranger to her own existence, Kayla moves to a small town with the hope of finding comfort in a fresh start. But as she steps inside the unfamiliar classroom on the first day, standing in front of the class is a mysteriously familiar face, one that rouses memories of a time she believed had gone by. With past baggage catching up in the most intrusive ways, she stumbles upon unexpected comfort of friendship, unconditional love of found family, and a beautiful yet complicated bond between two hesitant souls. "This book was like a warm hug, and I might believe in love again." "I would give everything, especially my soul, to have the opportunity to read this book for the first time again." ────── CW: Substance abuse, harsh language, sexual content, mention of self-harm and suicide. ────── Started in January 2018. Re-published in November 2022. First draft (this version) finished in April 2023. ────── Copyright 2018 © Renee Steinberg All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced, copied, translated, or republished in any form without the author's permission, except for brief quotations or reviews with proper credit.

Katherine Baldwin-Crawford has always been confident. On the soccer field, she's a force. In the halls, she's effortlessly charming. But when it comes to love? That's the one game she can't seem to win. For years, she's been hopelessly in love with her best friend, Sophie. No one knows she's intersex, except for her family and Sophie. Valerie Winters has never had time for high school drama. As head cheerleader and student body, she's always been composed, polished, and in control. But with her parents pressuring her into a relationship she has no interest in, she needs a way out. A deal is struck. Katherine to distract herself from sophie, Valerie to get her parents off her back. It's perfect. Simple. No strings attached. What if the perfect play was never the one she planned? Book was at 1 million reads but got deleted by wattpad

A double life is an art of deception-and Daisy Lockwood has mastered it. By day, she's a brilliant prosecutor's assistant in Canyon Springs, a rising star in the legal world. By night, she's the reluctant heiress to Theodore Vanderbilt's corrupt empire, a man who owns the city-and her future. Her father forced her into his world, trading her dreams of botany and quiet solitude for power, lies, and bloodstained loyalty. But everything changes when Ash Hollow appears-her father's enigmatic young lover. In him, Daisy sees a reflection of her own trapped soul. Now, she faces an impossible choice: play the perfect daughter, upholding the family's legacy of crime? Or burn it all down, even if it means destroying herself in the process? And what happens when the line between manipulation and desire begins to blur?