❝ Things are only as beautiful as you make them, Charlie. Including murder. ❞ It's the opening night of Burton Abbey's production of Romeo and Juliet and all is going smoothly - that is until the climactic death scene. Romeo takes a big gulp of the poison to be with his lover, except it really is poison and Elijah, who plays Romeo, is now dead. Charlie Monet, in charge of props, is the first suspect but soon the suspicion around her turns to worry as it seems she's the next target. Khaleel Rahim, an aspiring writer, is dying for a mystery to solve at his new school. When he sees Charlie sneaking around at night he thinks he's finally found something worth writing about. After discovering Charlie's ability to see visions of the past, Khaleel decides that they're the perfect pair to solve the mystery. With threatening notes, a quiet library and poison disguised as props; somebody in the school is blurring the lines between theatre and reality and the fast friends are about to discover that there's more to boarding school than just silly rumours. [2022 Watty's Shortlist]

❝ the ending is where it all began ❞ Mizpah is a tale of Varsha and Vidhyut but it is tangled with many others who have gotten caught in the web of mysteries, revelation and so much more. It might be the end but the end is where it all began. Vrishti is seeking to solve some of these mysteries as there might be a possibility of it related to her mother's death. Therefore here she is centuries later but something unexpected happens when her paths cross with Vidhyut? Read to find out more Love isn't easy but so isn't death. What happens when Vidhyut gets another chance to make his love happen? What does he choose? [extended synopsis inside]

After a year spent healing at St. Francis Mental Hospital, Neillah must piece together the life she was forced to leave behind without getting caught. ⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆ When Neillah Thomas is released back into society she expects her family and friends to have moved on--not believe she's dead. Convinced it was for the best, her mother assures her temporary grief was better than long drawn hardship that could only end in pain, keeping her wellbeing a secret from everyone, but also single-handedly cutting off Neillah's entire support system. Sworn to secrecy, she attends college at her dream school only to find her former friend group in shambles. Between the cold stares, scathing retorts, and literal evasion, Neillah is shocked to find her first crush is a loner and that hot-headed best friend of hers? He seems to be staring in her direction a little too long. Clinging to her promise to remain out of sight, Neillah stubbornly fights for the closure they all deserve and answers she never got, no matter the cost. | An Open Novella Contest Longlister | | Cover by the Amazing @Caralogues |

A short story Bound by the sacred bond of an arranged marriage, their union began not with passion but with tradition. For her, it was love at first sight-an unexpected and overwhelming connection she felt the moment they met. He, on the other hand, hadn't been searching for a wife, nor did he expect love to bloom in the quiet moments they shared. Yet, over time, her warmth and presence wove their way into his heart, and against his own reservations, he fell deeply in love with her. They built a world together, filled with shared dreams and quiet happiness. But just as their love reached its peak, their time together was cut short, and their fleeting happiness became a bittersweet memory.

A soldier's final call to his estranged wife becomes a heart-wrenching goodbye neither of them realizes will be their last.

She's panting, flushed and breathless like something from another century. It hurts to look at her, so stunningly alive in a way he isn't. Almost smiling, too. She has the kind of lips that need undiluted devotion. "You've always looked at me," she breathes. Yes, and he finds himself thinking about ruin. The right kind, like his knuckles against her jaw to shake her apart. Freedom. Maybe in another life, he brushes the hair off her shoulder and whispers, 'Eyes on me.' Maybe in another life, they have time. 𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒕? 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆. She isn't his to protect. He's a cop, she's taken, and rules are rules. But Faro Wyatt has mapped every freckle on her nose and dreamt of the oceans in her eyes. His resolve is weakening. So when the radio crackles with a single call, he's breaking every rule from here on out. C O N T A I N S : ❤︎ mature content ❤︎ morally dark-grey mmc ❤︎ violence/abuse ❤︎ men yearning No cheating Copyright © 2025-present Laurel Montaze (immoralLaurel). This body of work (story, characters, ideas) is available exclusively on Wattpad. If you're viewing it on a different website/platform or under a different username, it has been illegally stolen. Please notify the original author. © All Rights Reserved Updates: at least once every 2 weeks (hopefully more)

''Tell me how it feels,'' he says. "Good," I gasp, my entire body trembling. Deeper. Harder. Perfect. Like we've been doing this for years. His hand finds my jaw, fingers firm as he tilts my head up, making me look at him. And that's it. Waves of heat zip to my toes as my nails scrape down his back. I don't think about what comes next -- him pulling his shirt on and leaving. I don't feel heartbroken when I imagine myself alone in here. It's casual, our intimacy. And it's too late to renegotiate. ***** When Fox hooks up with his new roommate at a masked club, he has no idea their fling is just the beginning. The woman he's living with is the same girl who shared candy with him under a playground slide. 𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 STANDALONE NOVEL *ANGSTY EMOTIONAL SLOW BURN *MEN YEARNING Copyright © 2024-present Laurel Montaze (immoralLaurel). This body of work (story, characters, ideas) is available exclusively on Wattpad. If you're viewing it on a different website/platform or under a different username, it has been illegally stolen. Please notify the original author. © All Rights Reserved

{WATTY'S 2020 WINNER & EDITOR'S PICK.} Hopeless romantic and aspiring writer Mare Atwood has fallen madly in love with her childhood correspondent. There's only one catch-she doesn't know who he is. When the beaus of Star's Crossing return from boarding school to begin the courting season, Mare is determined to uncover the identity of her writer, flout her family's intentions of orchestrating an advantageous marriage, and procure the life of writing and romance she's always sought. But as in the tales she so adores, it won't be easy. Galas, masquerades, picnics, and hunts-alongside an old friend, a former teacher, and an unlikely ally, Mare delves into an investigation that leaves her torn between three clever, deceptive, and wealthy young bachelors. If Mare can confirm which is her writer and claim his hand before the courting season ends, she'll have her wish: the love of her life, a valuable marriage, and a future of writing romance. But with the eyes of Star's Crossing upon her, a business plot forcing invisible hands, and the unwillingness of her writer to come forward-Mare's future may not end in triumph, but tragedy. Set against the gilded Victorian backdrop of coastal Connecticut and lush with pre-war luxury, fans of Jane Austen, Margaret Mitchell, and Louisa May Alcott are sure to enjoy this lighthearted, lyrical novel of young love, independence, and identity. #1 Literary #1 YA Romance #1 Victorian #1 Lyrical #8 General Fiction

[ a desi story] in which an assassin visits a particular ice cream truck after every kill to help soothe the bitter aftertaste in his heart.

Three years ago, they shared a single evening that never quite left them- a conversation too easy, laughter too familiar, a pull too strong for strangers. But the timing was wrong, the circumstances messier than either could admit. No second date. No promises. Now, out of the blue, his name lights up her screen, like a ghost who never really died. She answers. What follows isn't dramatic-just two voices, unexpectedly familiar, threading their way through old silences. Do they still mean something to each other... or is this just emotional static stirred by nostalgia? They don't know. Maybe it's fate catching a glitch. Or maybe, some stories aren't meant to be rewritten- just reread once before putting them down for good.