2026 Watty Awards Shortlist Finalist! Helena Pierce has it all. A company built from nothing, wealth, a best friend who knows her better than she knows herself, and a brother who would move mountains for her. On paper, her life is flawless. But perfection doesn't fill the emptiness. Helena is lonely and love has never come easily, and when it did, her need for control always pushed it away. She rules every part of her life with iron precision, and that same power keeps her from letting anyone in. Helena doesn't know how to surrender - and maybe, deep down, she fears what would happen if she did. ❁ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ˋˏ༻❁༺ˎˊ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ❁ June Holloway refuses to back down. Words are power, and behind a screen, she wields them all. Declared deaf at six, though she had struggled to hear long before, she controls her world from home, safe from the noise and chaos she can't fully navigate... but safety has a price. She has her work, a best friend who never leaves her side, and a brother who would give his life for her. Yet love has always been complicated. Speaking, hearing, connecting - it should be simple, but for June, it's a battle she fights again and again, never easily won. Even so, she keeps trying. Even so, she refuses to be silenced. ❁ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ˋˏ༻❁༺ˎˊ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ❁ Since June starts working for Helena, things begin to unfold and feelings grow quietly, almost unnoticed. Both hide behind screens, careful and measured, yet there is a pull between them they can't ignore. Every word, every message lingers a little longer, makes them think a little more. Neither is ready to admit how much they want it to go further. Helena doesn't know June is deaf, and could that secret change everything between them? #1 under #lesbian 1/9/26 #1 under #wlw 1/11/26 #1 under #sapphic 1/12/26 #1 under #girls 3/15/26

"𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢'𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠"

Jasmine (Jae) Alexxis McCoy is A 21 year old Freshman in college with her whole future planned out. What happens when she stumbles upon a distraction, making her plans steer left?

Narin Chantarat thought earning a scholarship to Bangkok's most prestigious university would change her life. It did. Surrounded by wealthy classmates and a glamorous lifestyle she could never afford, Narin begins spending money she doesn't have just to fit in. Before long, she's drowning in debt with no way out. Her world falls apart when the friends she trusted try to sell her to an elderly businessman to settle what she owes. That's when Ariya Rattanakul steps in. Beautiful, powerful, and one of Thailand's youngest billionaire CEOs, Ariya pays off Narin's debt with one condition... Become her sugar baby. No romance. No love. Just accompany her to business events, family gatherings, and high-society parties while pretending to belong in her luxurious world. It was supposed to be a simple arrangement. But somewhere between fake smiles, late-night conversations, and stolen glances, the line between business and love begins to disappear. In a city where everything has a price... What is the price of loving you?

Eight years ago, Rae Mitchell left Glencoe, Georgia without a goodbye. No note, no explanation, just a suitcase full of ambition and a heart too full to stay. She was supposed to outrun the memories. The whispers. And especially Khalil Reed, the boy who once made her believe in forever. But now she's back. Her grandmother's unexpected fall pulls her home, and with no job, no apartment, and a scandal she's still trying to forget, Rae has nowhere else to go. Glencoe hasn't changed, but Rae has. And so has Khalil. Once her first love, now the man she ghosted, Khalil isn't interested in forgiveness or small talk. He's running a business, raising his teenage sister, and trying not to care that Rae's name still hits him like it used to. In a town where everyone remembers who you used to be, Rae must confront what she left behind-family, friendship, and the one person who never stopped waiting for her to come home. But some wounds don't stay buried. Some love never really leaves. And some promises are made to be broken... until they aren't.

Ava, a formidable Mafia boss, grapples with accepting her true self and the brutal reality of her existence. Her unwavering source of inspiration and strength lies in her steadfast companion, Diana. As Ava's heart opens to love, she becomes enamored with Adrianna and endeavors to shield her lover from the perils of her tumultuous lifestyle, demonstrating her profound devotion and protecting her from the hazards that threaten her well-being. "Her princess" is a book you will not regret. I finally did it with the help of my role model😘😘

Introduction. Some people don't cry for help. They just... stop asking. Eraya was one of them. She existed in corners, in the last bench of a lecture hall, in the shadow of her own hoodie, in silences that felt too heavy for someone her age. No one questioned it. No one looked twice. Except Zivah. Zivah, who carried light like it belonged to her. Zivah, who laughed too easily, loved too deeply, and never realized that the softest hearts are the ones that break the hardest. She wasn't searching for a love story. She already had a life full of warmth, of people, of everything Eraya wasn't. But something about that silence, something about the way Eraya flinched at nothing, felt wrong. And Zivah couldn't look away. Because sometimes, love doesn't begin with attraction. Sometimes it begins with noticing what everyone else ignores. What she didn't know was this, some silences are not chosen. Some homes are not safe. And some girls are not waiting to be loved... they are waiting to be saved. And when the moment came, when the world decided Eraya was nothing more than a burden to be traded away, Zivah made a choice. Not a loud one. Not a heroic one. Just a quiet, trembling decision that changed everything. "If no one wants her... I do." This is not a story of perfect love. It is a story of staying. Of unlearning fear. Of holding someone so gently... they forget what it felt like to be hurt. Because sometimes, the softest rescues are the ones that save you the most.

"Can you come over?" "Can you stay?" "I just want to be around you." 𝘡𝘖𝘙𝘐 𝘈𝘔𝘈𝘙𝘐𝘈 𝘞𝘏𝘐𝘛𝘔𝘖𝘙𝘌 is Charlotte's golden girl. With wealthy parents, a picture perfect reputation, and a thriving side hustle doing flawless wig installs, she has the kind of life everyone envies. But behind the polished image and warm smile, Zori is secretly saving every dollar because she knows the love in her house comes with conditions. 𝘑𝘈𝘐𝘋𝘈 𝘕𝘖𝘌𝘓𝘓𝘌 𝘙𝘐𝘝𝘌𝘙𝘚 has learned the hard way not to depend on anyone. Growing up in the foster care system, her survival guide is simple: don't get comfortable, and don't expect people to stay. She keeps her circle small, her words careful, and her guard up while working her shifts at Foot Locker and counting down the days until graduation. They live in completely different worlds, but senior year has a way of blurring the lines. Between late night food runs, R&B playing through car speakers, and the chaotic energy of their friend groups merging, Zori and Jaida find themselves pulled into each other's orbit. Zori talks. Jaida listens. Zori makes Jaida feel chosen. Jaida makes Zori feel accepted. But when senior year ends and the safety nets fall away, the real world hits harder than either of them expected. When Zori's perfect life shatters after coming out, and Jaida officially ages out of the system, they're left with nothing but each other and the keys to a small apartment. Together, they have to learn that love isn't something you should have to earn and that home was never a place. It was a person. -lifewindia©️

(*Completed*) Diana Shade was just a strong, smart girl living with her foster parents and brother. She didn't know that soon she was going to be taken into a mafia because of who her parents were. And being in love with the future leader of the enemy mafia, didn't help. ▴▿▴▿▴▿▴▿▴▿▴ -NEEDS MAJOR EDITING- #720 in teenfiction #2 in assassin #8 in gangs #1 in womanpower #1 in Mafia Queen #1 in vixen #88 in youngadult #2 in weapons

One moment I was just me... and the next I was in a world that shouldn't exist. Velmora. A place where blood runs like currency, rogues hunt in the dark, and a vampire princess keeps saving my life like I matter. She says I don't belong here. She says I'm human. A mistake. An anomaly that shouldn't exist. But the way she looks at me says something else entirely. I should run. I should hate her. I should never trust her. Because now I'm being chased, hunted, and protected by forces I don't understand... all while standing too close to a princess who looks at me like I'm either a problem... or a secret she refuses to name. She says I should fear her world. But I think her world should fear me... because I'm not supposed to exist here. And neither is what's happening between us. But in a kingdom where humans shouldn't exist... I might just be the one thing she can't let go of. This story is intended for mature readers (18+). It includes explicit intimate content and graphic violence. Please read with discretion. P.S. If you enjoy it, feel free to share your thoughts as you go-I genuinely appreciate your feedback 🧡