❝ 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳 𝘪 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 ❞ 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥'𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 Stella Davis and her family spend every summer with the Fishers and the Conklins. Even though she was the same age as Jeremiah and Isabel, she had always been best friends with the Fishers' older son, Conrad. But what happens when she starts to fall for her other best friend, or in other words, her 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱'𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. first published: june 17, 2022 finished: n/a #1 in isabelconklin #27 in jeremiahfisher #3 in stevenconklin #9 in thesummeriturnedpretty #2 in conradfisher #4 in tsitp

"Jaan, stop running - please," Vikram calls out, his voice lost in the rain. "I'm broken, sir," she whispers. "I'm not the woman you want raising your children." He places her trembling hand on his chest, his heartbeat racing. "Let's be broken together," he says. "We heal together. We love together. F*ck, we'll even die together... but don't leave me." Aliana Rathore, a 19-year-old student at the University of Mumbai, is known as the kind-hearted, quiet girl. Shy, soft-spoken, and always respectful - loved by everyone, even the professors. But life isn't as sweet as it seems. At home, she's just a girl - belittled, degraded, and ignored. A drunk father, a mother who only lives for her husband and son, and a brother who's both a drug dealer and addict. Her only escape? University. Until him. Vikram Mehta, 42, a former U.S. Marine turned professor. Cold, no-nonsense, and terrifying in class - yet every girl on campus is drawn to him. Including Aliana. But Vikram doesn't notice just anyone. And when he does notice Aliana... he can't stop. What happens when a broken girl meets a man who's never known love? What if their pain becomes the thing that heals them both? And what if this is more than lust - something deeper, something that scares them?