Metanoia (n.) the journey of changing one's mind, heart, self or way of life. Part one Darcy Russo a nine year old girl living in a run down orphanage on the outskirts of Athens, Greece has had to fend for herself for the majority of her life. Being abandoned as a child and having to endure cruelty and abuse from those who were supposed to look after her has caused her to become untrusting and wary of others. Instead she seeks solace in nature, spending any and all free time exploring the wilderness and the ocean with her dog Bear. Although Darcy has accepted that she can only depend on herself, what happens when she finds out that she wasn't abandoned she was taken and her eight older brothers will stop at nothing to get her back. Part two After being kidnapped by the Russian mafia and tortured for years for information she doesn't have, Darcy Russo becomes cold and calculated. When the leader of the Russian mafia Ivan Volkov offers her a deal, train and work for him as an assassin or die, she can't exactly refuse. Being nicknamed 'Sin' by the underworld, she changes her identity and becomes a ruthless, efficient killer. But what happens when she is sent on a mission to destroy the family she once loved. Will she let the resentment she has for them for being the reason she was tortured take over or will she spare their lives? And what happens when she catches the attention of her brother's best friend.

Arcadian (adj.) idyllically innocent; simple and untroubled by fear or worry. Harper Flores is the human embodiment of a ray of sunshine. She's kind, understanding and always willing to put other's needs in front of her own. To the outside world Harper is seen as naive and innocent, without a care in the world but she's hiding a secret. The girl that loves everyone unconditionally hates herself. Her mother, not wanting to deal with Harper's declining mental health ships her across the country to a secluded boarding school in the small village of Cartmel, England. Due to her late arrival half way through the school year, Harper is forced to stay in the boy's dorm and share a room with six roommates. Keeping a low profile is almost impossible, especially when she catches the eye of all six boys. Lucian Cruz, an arrogant, rude fuckboy who feels no remorse for the girls he's used and ignored. After being sent to Willow Hall Academy with his twin brother Emilio two years ago by his parents who were trying to protect them from the dangerous realities of being involved in the mafia, Lucian's behaviour takes a rapid downfall. Ignoring school work to party and smoke, Lucian really has no care in the world. That is until a bubbly ball of sunshine moves into his room, disrupting his peace.

From the outside Juliet Kingston seems to have the perfect life. She has popularity, beauty and a famous dad who seemingly spoils her rotten. But nobody is aware of what happens behind closed doors. After spending years at the mercy of her abusive father Juliet sees her chance to escape by attending her dream university across the country but after being told that she doesn't qualify for student aid she faces a problem. Her dad refuses to pay her tuition and in an attempt to control Juliet and to keep her always at arms reach, he makes her a deal. He'll pay her tuition for a smaller, local university as long as she agrees to continue living at home and miss out on the full uni experience. She agrees and starts her first semester soon after but she becomes more and more depressed living with a father who constantly tells her how worthless she is. Her days start to become repetitive and she no longer finds joy in anything, becoming an empty shell of who she used to be . Seeing no point in living, she gives herself a deadline. If something in her life doesn't change by her nineteenth birthday approaching in two months she plans to end her life. But what happens when the quiet drug dealer is the only one to notice her downward spiralling.

Sloan. 17 years old. Billionaire. Mafia Queen. At the age of 2 Sloan was kidnapped from her family by her father's second in command and taken to Spain. He was psychotic and was obsessed with Sloan from birth. Till the age of 10 she experienced constant physical and verbal abuse. Sloan knew he was never her father, she never believed him even when he punished her for saying so. He died a slow death, killed by his enemies, leaving Sloan in foster care. Where she is immediately adopted by a man and woman, who have no real good intentions. They thought they could be push overs to the 10-year-old, but after 8 years of abuse she has had enough. She learns to fight, meeting people that become her first ever family, building her empire from the ground up. Becoming a name that people are afraid to mention. The D'Aboville's, left shattered after their daughter and sister is kidnapped from their home by a trusted mafia member. They've looked for years always coming up empty handed, until they get an anonymous call saying that the said trusted member was killed, but they heard nothing about their daughter. Thinking she died with him or long before, they call off their search. Only to get a call 7 years later saying that their long lost daughter was in fact very much alive. NOT EDITED and in dire need of it. DISCLAIMER: Strong language, sexual content and violence.

Amalia Romano is a selective mute. After years of enduring abuse from her step father, who has ridiculed and hurt her mercilessly, she doesn't want to talk, for fear of what might happen if someone doesn't like what she says. But then her step father--who's care she has been in for two years, ever since her mum died--passes away, and her father, who she was taken away from when she was three, agrees to take her in. But she isn't the smiley little girl she used to be. And the Romano men have secrets of their own, ones they want to keep their twelve year old princess away from. 1M VIEWS: Sunday, 12th March 2023 COVER BY: @sugarhighstoned

{𝘉𝘖𝘖𝘒 𝘖𝘕𝘌 𝘖𝘍 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘓𝘖𝘝𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘚𝘚 𝘛𝘙𝘐𝘓𝘖𝘎𝘠} Ria Romano knew hurt like the back of her hand. She was dealt her fair share of bad cards, more than anyone so young should have to face. A cynical girl riddled with the remnants of her past, a shattered sort of soul. She concealed like it was second nature; her instinct being to suppress. She'd offer you a cigarette with a shrug while you were crying because she never was too great with affection. She didn't smile so often but when she did and it was directed at you, you'd never feel such satisfaction. I was told Aria preferred to be alone, isolated; clouding her mind with inhales of her cigarette and drowning it in alcohol. Until she was dealt her good card, out of the pack of bad. They had a love beautiful enough to last a lifetime, the type directors desire to capture and authors aspire to write. Two souls, shattered by the cruelty of the world time and time again with flames that rekindled each others. They were each other's oxygen. They breathed life back into each other, those two insomniacs. <3

The Lombardi family is the most notorious group in the crime world. They rule both the American and Italian mafias and have many others bowing at their feet. Lombardis show no mercy to anyone who gets in their way. Alina is just shy of 4 years old, but her short life has been a living nightmare, full of pain and suffering. She is the unwanted daughter of the Russian Bratva, the Ivanovs. Alina was sent to the States shortly after birth to be "raised" by her older brothers. But she's nothing more than a burden to them, right? Though seemingly impossible, one day, Alina escapes and unknowingly falls right into the hands of her enemy, the Lombardi family. Little did they know who exactly had just changed their lives forever. For the better? Or for the worse... ---- "Brothers," I point to the boys. "Mommy," I grab her hand. "Daddy," I reach for his, but I'm lifted off the ground instead and pulled into his warm embrace. "And our little Allie." This is my family. ---- [WARNING] Contains - mature content, bad language, abuse, and other violent behaviors ---- Recommended 15+

Over the past years Alexandra Harper has been faced with unfairness from her parents. She's been put to the side by her own blood. That's when she returns back to school from her very own online school and is met with the same guy from years ago. Greyson Evergreen. A childhood friend she remembers vaguely. When she comes back it's almost as if he makes it his job to annoy her but the time he takes out of his day to do just that has its perks. This time, the tension in-between them is undeniable.

A girl that gets used for bets. So gullible, naive. She doesn't believe in anyone anymore. She felt like everyone around her was lying. He wanted to be the one that changed that. He wanted her. ....::::**•°✾°•**::::.... 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐍 :: Her past haunts her everyday. She thinks everyone around her is liars. She doesn't believe anyone. She doesn't trust anyone. If she could run away, she would. Well, she had two people keeping her going. Their names are Marcello and Christopher. 𝐂𝐇𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐌 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐎 :: He would do anything for her. In his eyes, she had no flaw. He wanted to calm down the storm she had inside her. He wanted to be her everything. Though there's someone in his way.