I was never a woman who believed in promises. They always felt like wishes, soft things people made when they didn't know how else to hold on. Judas Mercer made them anyway. And somehow, he kept every single one. He waited for me when the world didn't. Built a life while I was still learning how to belong to one. Loved me in a way that I could finally trust. What I didn't realize was how much of our life already existed beyond me. How some bonds didn't begin with us but were already settled and familiar. She was a presence that had always been there. The woman from our past and our present woven into the spaces I thought were ours alone, standing there with us all along. Because Judas kept his promises. He just kept his secrets too. ~S~S~R~A~Y~N~E 🦋Perceived cheating 🦋Possessive MMC 🦋Dark romance themes 🦋high spice content

Cheating romance - please beware, new H. When Stella discovers her fiancé is cheating just weeks before their wedding, she doesn't fall apart, she rises. With her closest friends by her side, she swaps heartbreak for strategy and turns betrayal into the perfect revenge. TROPES: Cheating Revenge - new life with new H Grovel

I will come back and update this description as the story unfolds but this is a story you should go in blind and without spoilers but for now. Some love stories don't begin with a choice. They begin with timing.

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

Rosie has loved Wesley for years - quietly, carefully, and never enough to risk their friendship or losing him. Since college, he's been her constant: Late night talks, inside jokes, the one person who feels like home. When Wesley starts to fall in love with someone else, Rosie is forced to confront the truth she's hidden, and loving him means watching him choose another life. When Distance and restraint turn affection into longing and silence becomes heavier than honesty, Rosie has to decide if the bond she's protected for so worth the risk, or if some loves are just destined to remain unspoken.

"Everything's fine, honey." That's what Steven has been telling her for months. But tonight, at their wedding anniversary party, Shirley can't shake the feeling that something's off. Her husband, once so present, now seems distant. His evasive glances, his forced smiles... and that text message he tried so hard to hide. "We can't keep going like this. You need to tell her the truth." The message flashes on his phone screen, and Shirley feels her world tilt. Seven years of marriage, a picture-perfect life: a flawless home, an adorable daughter, a loving husband... or so she thought. But behind the closed doors of their home, lies are piling up. And Shirley, the former NYU prodigy who sacrificed everything for her family, is about to confront a truth that could shatter it all. Betrayals, buried secrets, and impossible choices-Shirley is thrust into a maze of deception where every revelation brings her closer to a heart-wrenching decision: stay and forgive... or risk everything to reclaim herself. "Sometimes, the truth doesn't set you free. It tears you apart."

Robyn and Nate were supposed to be endgame. She thought they were rowing in the same direction; he thought their foundation was solid. Then, there was a kiss---revealing cracks they'd both overlooked. Now they're circling each other with all the sharp edges of people who loved deeply and broke badly. Nate is left wondering if he can rebuild a relationship that fully collapsed, while Robyn questions whether anything short of science fiction could bring back the trust she lost. CW: Physical affair (a kiss) and Emotional affair Rankings: #1 OWDrama 12/20/25 #2 Cheating 12/21/25

At 40 and with three kids, the last thing I needed was my husband suddenly working every day with a gorgeous, talented, much younger French prima ballerina. But life didn't care. Late nights. Missed dinners. A shift in his voice when he said her name. And just like that, the marriage I thought was unshakable began to crack. Now I'm forced to face the truth: Every pas de deux has a breaking point. And ours... might be reaching its final step. ‧₊˚♪𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪𝄞₊˚⊹ ‧₊˚♪𝄞₊˚⊹ 🩰 A marriage cracking after 16 years 🩰 Emotional cheating 🩰 Mild OW drama 🩰 Holiday angst 🩰 Mischief, fluff & cute moments 🩰 Maybe not enough grovel... and small doses of pettiness 🎄 Yes, there's an HEA. It is Christmas, after all... ✨

*PREVIEW ONLY* AVAILABLE ON AMAZON, KU, AND PAPERBACK US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GJFKTCGK UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GJFKTCGK CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0GJFKTCGK AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0GJFKTCGK cor·ner·stone /ˈkôrnərˌstōn/ noun an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based. Wendy has loved her husband, Atlas, since she was twelve years old. He was her first kiss. Her first love. Her forever. Together, they built what everyone else called a perfect life. They married young, raised two beautiful boys, and were still deeply in love. Until Atlas pulled away. Wendy does everything she can to save their marriage, carrying the weight of the house, the kids, and all the invisible labor no one ever sees. But when Atlas doesn't show up to their final resort, marriage counseling, Wendy makes a choice that breaks her heart. She stops waiting for him. As Wendy rebuilds her life and rediscovers the woman she was before she became a wife and mother, Atlas begins to unravel. Watching his sons look at him like a stranger, and the woman he's loved his entire life slip through his fingers, forces him to confront the truth he's been running from. But to heal their fractured marriage, Atlas will have to face the real reason he pulled away. And what does it have to do with his brother's late wife, Carrie? A deeply emotional, marriage-in-trouble second chance romance about the damage silence can do, mental health, forgiveness, and finding your way back to the person who has always been home.

"Don't contact me if you're dying." When Keith Ingram utters those cruel words to his new wife, he doesn't know how much he'll come to regret them. For years, Ella Bryce has loved Keith from afar. When a contract marriage gives her one chance at happiness, she vows to make him see her-even though the scars of her past make her efforts fraught with pain. But just as her devotion begins breaking through his guarded heart, devastating lies shatter their fragile bond. Broken and discarded, Ella rebuilds her life from the ashes, determined to live on her own terms. She is no longer the unseen girl he left behind. Years later, Keith storms back into her life-colder, harder, and more ruthless than ever. He thinks he knows the truth about their past. He is wrong. Now, Keith must face the reality of what he destroyed. Fate has given him a second chance to see the woman he was blind to, but the road to redemption is paved with secrets. Will he make the same mistake twice... or can he win back the wife he so carelessly threw away? ----------------------------------------- THE MENDED HEARTS SERIES Book 1: The Unseen Bride (Keith & Ella) ← You are here Book 2: The Debts We Don't See (Marcus & Celeste) Each book is a complete standalone with guaranteed HEA. Read in any order, but connect for the full family saga. Trigger warning: This story contains emotional abuse, gaslighting, and family abuse.