Amber Halloran has spent years teaching herself how to survive without softness. Once hopeful and open-hearted, she now moves through life cautiously-always bracing for disappointment, always waiting for love to turn into something sharp. The holidays, once her favorite season, have become a quiet reminder of everything she's lost. But just a few weeks before Christmas, everything changes. When Amber moves to the small winter town of Pinebrook, she expects nothing more than a place to disappear and heal. Instead, she meets Charles-a warm, patient, quietly charming man who seems to notice every emotion she tries to hide. He doesn't push. He doesn't pry. He simply shows up with kindness, steadiness, and the kind of genuine care she's forgotten how to trust. Slowly, Amber finds herself drawn into the town's holiday traditions: lantern lightings, cookie chaos, Christmas markets, and the overwhelming warmth of Charles's makeshift family. And when a sudden snowstorm forces her to rely on him for the first time, Amber begins to see that not every December is destined to break her. As their gentle friendship shifts into something deeper, Amber must confront the ghosts of her past-the fears that still whisper she's unlovable, the memories that warn her not to risk her heart again. But under soft snowfall, tangled lights, and a sprig of mistletoe that changes everything, Amber learns that healing doesn't have to be lonely. Sometimes love arrives slowly, quietly... And sometimes it feels like coming home. A tender, heartfelt Christmas romance about healing, hope, and the courage to love again. Perfect for fans of cozy small towns, slow-burn chemistry, emotional depth, and winter magic.

Long before I understood what marriage meant, I was promised to him- an arrangement made to bind our families together-and with it, my future to Ronin Byrne. I was the girl from Ireland-wide-eyed, raised to believe marriage was a sacred vow kept for life. He was the heir to Boston's Irish mob-his father's crown waiting to pass to him the moment we said "I do." I thought we were already partners. I thought he chose me. But Ronin set me straight the night I became his bride. In front of his men, in front of God and everyone who mattered, he showed me exactly what the promises he made to me were worth-nothing. He broke me with a smile as he walked away with another woman, leaving me standing in the wreckage of my own faith. He made his choice, and I made mine. I disappeared, covered my tracks, and buried the girl he broke-so deeply I hoped she would never resurface again. But the past has a way of finding you-no matter how well you bury it. And when the man who once ruled my heart-my husband-tracks me down to remind me that wives don't get to vanish, that I belong to him, he won't find the woman who loved him without question. The girl who gave him her whole heart no longer exists. If he wants me again, he'll have to decide how much he's willing to bleed to earn back what he destroyed. I'm Alannah O'Connell... and this is my heartbreak. Content & Historical Context Notice Faithless Vows is a dark, emotionally intense romance set in the 1950s, and reflects the social attitudes, power dynamics, and criminal realities of the era. This book includes on and off-page cheating/infidelity, sexual content, coercive dynamics, emotional manipulation, public humiliation, threats and intimidation, historical organized crime elements, and situations that may be triggering for some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Copyright © 2025 by Bookish Dae After a year of enduring her husband Silas's constant, subtle comparisons to his impeccably ambitious and model-esque coworker, Dalia Jackson reaches her breaking point when he dismisses her homemaking as laziness and her voluptuous body as a lack of discipline.

I used to love those movies where the guy's ex, The One That Got Away, comes back to town, and he's unable to resist her even though he's taken. I was even dumb enough to cheer for the star-crossed lovers. Now that I've lived that particular scenario, I'm about to find out what happens to the abandoned girlfriend after the two love birds get together. Coming soon!

Emerald Sawyer has always been my home. She was the one who saw something in me when everyone else saw a hockey goon who couldn't even read properly. When the world called me stupid, she called me capable. When I had nothing, she sacrificed to give me everything. Now, I'm Hayden "Haymaker" Sawyer-the league's most feared enforcer. My violence goes viral. My fists pay the bills. Every fight, every brutal hit, every autograph, every picture, every deal-I do it all for her. But somewhere along the way, I lost sight of her. I missed the warning signs-the threats, the harassment, the shaming, the strangers who hate her simply for being mine. When she showed me, I told her it didn't matter. It was jealousy. It was nothing. I told her that she was safe. I was wrong. The losses started piling up. The fans raged. My anger grew. My fights became more reckless. My temper snapped, and I said careless words that pushed away my entire world. While I'm smiling for the cameras, my wife was brutally attacked by a fan. While I'm protecting my career, my Emerald was fighting for her life. Every moment I'd ignored her, every time I'd put hockey before her, every careless word I'd ever said-all of it hit me at once. Now I see everything. She's alive, but terrified. She doesn't trust me. She doesn't feel safe with me. She flinches when she sees my jersey. I will never forgive myself. But I cannot give up. I will prove to the only person who ever saw me-the only person who ever loved the real me-that I am still worthy of her. That I can put her first, that I can make things right, that I will fight with everything I am to keep her safe, to bring her back to me. I demand vengeance for my wife, against everyone who ever harmed her-and that includes me. Because Emerald Sawyer is my home, my heart, and my everything. This fight-for her-is the most important fight of my life. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ykD1DIiMtJwouI2choaIJ?si=c70ab896ac4446b8

When I started posting my stories online, I didn't expect much traction. It was a fun outlet for the ideas I had swirling around my head. My husband supported my crazy storylines and listened to me narrate out loud the silly plots I planned to write. When a publisher contacted me to see if I would be interested in releasing one of my stories, I thought I was dreaming. I soon discovered it was all a prank and my favourite hobby turned my world into a real life storyline of betrayal and heartbreak. TW: - Online abuse/bullying - Betrayal by H (no cheating)

I had the perfect husband. Ten years of marriage. A beautiful three year old daughter. A life other women whispered about with envy. Until I found the second wedding certificate. My husband was married again. To my mother. And she is carrying his child. While they planned a celebration of love, I planned something else. Revenge. In a room filled with family, friends, and flashing cameras, I will stand in white and expose the truth they buried. Some betrayals deserve tears. This one deserves war.

They call my husband the embodiment of cruelty. Demetri Ferraro was forged for control, vengeance, and bloodshed without conscience. Strangers murmur cautions about what he might do, forgetting I sleep inches from him nightly. If only they could witness what I have. There's a terrifying authenticity to our marriage. With me, he's attentive to the point of reverence. I wear his fingerprints like brands. His vigilance wraps around me, reflexive as breathing. I trusted him completely because betrayal seemed impossible. That was my undoing The merger of our families cost me things I didn't know I was losing. I salvaged only the skating rink-solitary hours on pristine ice before dawn or after midnight. The architecture of my future was more elaborate than I comprehended. The truth doesn't announce itself with confession. It arrives without remorse, manifesting as inevitability, as though questioning his constructed reality was never an option. I don't doubt that my husband loves me. For the true terror of Demetri Ferraro isn't found in shadows or violence. It's in how he determined I belonged to him, by systematically eliminating any alternative path.

Rory Hayes was born a gang princess - raised to be protected, promised to a future that was never really hers. After her best friend's death, danger begins circling closer, and the last thing she wants is protection. Especially not from Alexander Cross, the man who appears out of nowhere with a dangerous smile and an interest in her she can't quite resist. He makes her feel safe. Seen. Wanted. Until she discovers everything between them was built on a lie. Now someone is hunting her, the truth about the past refuses to stay buried, and the only man she can't trust might be the only one who can keep her alive. But in a world built on loyalty and blood, betrayal always comes at a price. And this time, it might cost her everything. __________________________ My submission for ONC 2026 using the Prompt #78 - You begin to realise everything is not what it seems. This will be uploaded irregularly but as its a submission for ONC it will be completed by the end of April for judging.

A gold medalist, newly married, is revealed as a cheater in his post-gold medal win press conference.