Sophie believed love was simple, predictable, and safe - until Lucas, her fiancé - the man she had trusted with her heart, started drifting away. Between glittering galas, family pressures, and the return of an old flame, Sophie found herself sidelined from her own life - and even her own wedding. Lucas thought love could survive on desire and loyalty alone. But when Sophie disappears, leaving behind a silence that shatters his world, he realizes the truth: love must be earned every day, with honesty and presence. In the months that follow, both are tested, changed, and haunted by what they lost - until a single, impossible moment offers a chance at redemption. Can love survive the fractures of betrayal and reclaim the hearts it almost lost?

Six years ago, Blanchard Collins packed her bags, boarded a bus to Houston, and never looked back. She left behind her abusive father, the town that never forgave her for speaking her mind, and Rueben Bailey, the boy who broke her heart the night before they were supposed to run away together. Now twenty-four, Blanchard returns home with her five-year-old daughter, Willow, and a dying mother who's asked for one final thing-her presence. But coming home means facing the ghosts she thought she'd buried, including the man she's never truly stopped loving. Rueben "Benny" Bailey did what his family expected. Stayed, took over the farm, and proposed to the girl everyone said was right for him. But when Blanchard walks back into church with a little girl who looks just like him, everything he's built starts to fall apart.

The man I married broke me. Not because he didn't love me- but because he couldn't stay when grief moved in. Three pregnancies. Three losses. One marriage that shattered under the weight of everything we couldn't fix. And somewhere in the silence, in the distance I didn't know how to cross, he made a choice that broke what little I had left. If only I had known how fragile love could be. This is a story about loss that doesn't heal cleanly. About love tested in the quiet. About betrayal that doesn't come from hate-but from weakness. Sometimes heartbreak doesn't arrive all at once. Sometimes it happens slowly, while you're still trying to hold everything together.

She was never meant to be his bride. Yet fate exchanged her heart for his fury. When Elara Cross is forced to marry Adrian Vale, the man once promised to her late sister, she becomes nothing more than an exchange bride-a substitute pawn in a business deal sealed with tragedy. To Adrian, she is a ghost wearing the face of the woman he loved. To her family, she is disposable, an illegitimate daughter raised in cruelty and handed over like property. But Elara's quiet endurance unsettles Adrian more than defiance ever could. Behind her hollow eyes and malnourished frame lies a survivor who has known only pain, and Adrian's vow to make her life hell begins to fracture under the weight of her scars. As the secrets of their pasts unravel-and as the ghost of Adrian's lost love lingers between them-hatred twists into obsession, cruelty into protection, and an unwanted marriage into something neither of them expected: a story written not by fate, but by choice.

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.

Everyone knows the number one rule of friendship; siblings are off limits to best friends. Megan is the number one person who is off limits too Lando. It has been years since Lando and Megan crossed paths. Lando had always been the older brothers hot best friend to Megan, she had always had a crush on him. When they meet again, she is a completely different and this causes a spark to light in Lando's eyes. Will this spark cause a fire?

Zach Westbrook was my best friend-and the boy I'd secretly loved since forever. Until he said the one thing I was never supposed to hear. So I did what any heartbroken, humiliated girl would do. I ghosted him. Ditched the university we both planned to attend. And left without looking back. Our friendship ended the day I left town. Or so I thought. Three years later, I'm back. Not because I want to be, but because family comes first-and unfortunately, that means transferring to Ridgewater University. The same school Zach owns like a second skin. Still hot. Still cocky. Still the campus golden boy with a hockey stick. And still the last person I want to deal with. But I'm not the shy, awkward girl he used to know. I've changed. I've moved on. I'm no longer the girl who used to follow him around like a lost puppy. This time, I'm not the one getting benched.

Kaia has been dating Beast, an Enforcer from the Dogz of Hell MC, for about a year. One night, Kaia is "initiated" by the women of the MC Club. However, the initiation is not what it was supposed to be. When Kaia gives Beast the opportunity to back her up, he gives his loyalty to his club. Kaia calls in her protection, 4 brothers who will do whatever it takes to protect their little sister. And after losing what he had wanted most, Beast begins to question loyalty of his MC and brothers.

The complete book is only available on Kindle and can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FS181BKW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2C1BY8TCDSU9G&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UYq_PSgfmkivAIc6YRMNNQ.bASV0Mjw-veYDv83E4xEEOQOz5ORQXBkqztBnt-J9BM&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+gathered+fragments+of+us&qid=1758560347&s=books&sprefix=the+gathered+fragments+of+us%2Cbooks%2C46&sr=1-1 I will keep some of the early chapters here live, but the conclusion, changes to story line, and additions will only be available to read through Kindle once published. Until then, happy reading! 🥰 Felicity Barrett thought she had everything: a marriage to a man she loved and a beautiful future. But when years of neglect and unspoken grief collide with her husband's devastating mistake, everything begins to crumble. Caden Barrett has always been the fixer-at work, at home, and in his marriage. But some things can't be solved with late-night apologies or expensive gifts. To win back Felicity's trust, he'll have to face his failures, fight for their future, and learn what it truly means to not only love his wife, but to show that love. Together, they must navigate family turmoil, betrayal, and the painful echoes of the past. Through chaos, heartbreak, and unexpected joys, Felicity and Caden discover that love isn't about perfection-it's about persistence, forgiveness, and choosing each other again and again. This is a story of brokenness and healing, of second chances and the quiet work of love. It is a novel that explores modern marriage, blended families, and courage while asking: when everything shatters, can love be rebuilt stronger than before?

After a decade-long marriage ends in betrayal, New York chef Jilly Moore is left with two sons, a rising restaurant, and a heart she refuses to let break twice. As she learns to co-parent with the man who hurt her, she finds herself rebuilding more than a business - she's rebuilding her family, her future, and the parts of herself she forgot. Across split weekends, baseball games, school plays, late-night recipes, and unexpected laughter, the Moore family discovers that love doesn't vanish... it changes shape. And sometimes, healing shows up in places you never expect. She built a life around love. He broke it. Now she's learning how to live for herself - and discovering that love might not be gone... just different.