CHLOE & JAKE * Dual POV * Chloe has built her life around control, control of her business, her boundaries, her heart. Jake is the one mistake she never meant to make. What started as unexpected comfort became something real: something that felt safe, like home. Jake was patient. Chloe was guarded. Until the lie. Until the betrayal that shattered everything. Chloe learns that sometimes the worst kind of heartbreak isn't caused by an enemy It's caused by the person who swore they'd never hurt you TW: Childhood emotional abuse Perceived cheating

When Layla discovers a message meant for someone else - a confession wrapped in perfume and betrayal - her world shatters. The man she loved gave his heart to another. As the lies unravel, so does the version of love she thought was real. A story of secrets, heartbreak, and the painful question that lingers: Was I not enough?

James & Sophie *DUAL POV* For years, I kept my feelings locked away. He unlocked them with one kiss. He said he wanted me. He said it was only us. He also said we had to keep it a secret. I thought love was worth the silence, until I overheard him talking about how he really felt about me. Now I have a choice: stay shattered, or rebuild myself without him. And this time, I won't break. TW: Mental Health, Bullying

One lesson I learned very early in life was to be cheerful, to be agreeable, to do as I was told and ask for nothing, and to never ever complain. Smile Maddie. Be happy Maddie. Don't make trouble and maybe they'll love you. I grew into an adult who took care of others and never expected that those I loved would take care of me in return. I gave and never asked, never expected, never demanded. Smile Maddie. Be happy Maddie. Don't make trouble and you'll find someone that will love you. And then one day, a Dragon walked into my workplace and turned my world upside down with a single wink. Having grown up watching his father treat his men like they were disposable, just meat bags to be fed into the grinder, Dragon was determined to be different when he became president of the Dragon's Inferno MC. He cares about his people. He takes care of them. He was upfront with me, taking care of his MC and those he considered to be his would always be his priority. And I agreed to that, I joined him in that mission, throwing myself into becoming the perfect old lady of the prez. Smile Maddie. Act happy Maddie. Take care of them and maybe they'll love you. Smile Maddie. Be happy Maddie. Don't complain and maybe he'll love you. I told myself I was independent. I was strong. And I didn't need my Dragon to take care of me. And I almost believed it. Almost. But now I'm watching him with her. I'm watching him comfort her. I'm watching him listen to her, support her, reassure her. I'm watching him take time from his day to check in with her. I'm watching him worry about her. I'm watching them become closer right in front of my eyes. I'm seeing every thoughtful gesture he does for her. And me? I'm not happy. I'm not smiling. I'm done being agreeable. Fuck not causing trouble. I'm about to set my Dragon's world on fire. And then I'm walking away. She can have him. For the first time in my life, I'm choosing myself.

A Marriage in trouble story. They were the "couple goals" from the moment they met in high school. The ones everyone believed would make it. Ten years later, their once-solid marriage begins to fracture under the weight of vicious gossip, half-truths, and misplaced trust. As outsiders worm their way into their private world, Paige and Trevor are forced to confront what's real, what's been lost, and where their loyalties truly lie.

April I fight fires for a living-but I've never felt more burned than I did that night. As a forest ranger, I live on the edge of danger and calm. My body is strong, my will even stronger, but that doesn't mean I'm unbreakable. I thought love-real love-would see through the scars I keep hidden beneath my uniform. I thought Ellis saw me. Understood me. But all it took was one careless sentence. One drunken confession echoing through a baby monitor, turning a celebration into a battlefield. He humiliated me in front of everyone-my friends, my chosen sisters, myself. And now I'm standing in the ashes of something I thought would last forever, wondering if I've been lying to myself about what love really looks like. Ellis I was drunk. Stupid. Thoughtless. It was just a conversation. Boys being boys, joking around in a room where I thought no one could hear. But they did. She did. And I said things I can't take back. I don't even recognize the man who said them-because that man humiliated the strongest, most loyal, most incredible woman he's ever known. April is the kind of woman who runs toward danger. Who holds broken branches like they're bones and brings people back from the edge. And I crushed her with words. Now I'd do anything-everything-to take it back. But the damage is done. And I'm not sure I deserve to be the one who tries to fix it.

She was his coworker. She was his close friend. She was his cousin. These were all things I knew. There were just a few crucial components to their connection of which I had been unaware. She had been his crush. And now he was hers.