Nothing has ever broken sixteen year old Cara. Even when her wealthy, fractured family fell apart, she pushed through. However, her resilience is tested when family obligations force her to move in with Zack, the brother who abandoned them four years ago and seems to hate her for reasons she does not understand. At her new school, she becomes a target of cruel bullying by a group of boys who takes her resilience as a challenge. However, Cara refuses to back down or be compliant. She pushes back at home. She pushes back at school. But the harder she fights, the more pressure builds, and the more dangerous it becomes for the girl who won't give up. "And I bet you believe that too, don't you? That nothing will break you- that you can push through this?" Blake didn't stop. His smile grew wider as he cruelly raised my face to meet his. "Well this is a promise to you, Cara. I can and will break you. I won't stop until I fully ruin you and you lose every part of yourself." I didn't let myself believe him. I would find a way out. This wouldn't last forever. "Go fuck yourself." [ IMPORTANT ] This book contains graphic depictions of bullying inspired by real-life cases and media portrayals, particularly within Korea. These themes may be disturbing to some readers. Please check all trigger warnings before reading. [ TRIGGER WARNING ] bullying, sexual harassment, suicide, mental health, depression, anxiety, self-harm, sextortion "What frightens them even more is retaliation from their bully. The revenge that they'll seek on them and how they'll make their lives worse than it is already. This is why victims of bully fight their own battles, let the storm pass on their own." #1 trauma #1 bullied #1 victim #1 sexual harassment #3 abuse #4 depression

𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐑𝐀 𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐖𝐘𝐍 wears pain like a second skin. It's all she's ever known, etched into her bones, buried beneath forced smiles and hollow laughter. A walking contradiction: all sin and sorrow, smoke and shadows. Once passionate, once burning bright, now nothing but ash and ruin. She pretends well, too well, but behind the sharp tongue and unbothered eyes lies a girl screaming to be seen, yet terrified someone actually might. 𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐍 was born into a world already at war with him. Pain wasn't just a chapter in his life, it was the whole book. Raised in shadows, fed by poison, his lungs filled with smoke and silence. He never asked for love. He never believed he deserved it. Drugs kept the demons quiet. Cigarettes kept his hands busy. Until her. The only good card he's ever been dealt, fragile, feral, and just as broken as him. Together, Liora and Ares are destruction wrapped in desire. A love not meant to be touched, yet impossible to resist. It's messy. Chaotic. Addictive. The kind of love that tastes like sin and feels like home. It's the kind of love that leaves scars, and still, they keep reaching for each other, again and again. What happens when two shattered souls try to build something whole out of ruin?