When Arianna marries billionaire Zach Price to save her family, she doesn't expect to fall in love with a man who'd always consider her a second choice. An unexpected turn of events brings the couple closer together, but can a marriage based on lies and deceit ever survive? ***** When Arianna's older sister, Olivia, decides to run away on the day of her wedding, Arianna is forced to take her place to save her family from ruin. But her new husband is angry, heartbroken, and seems to hate her guts. The cold, elusive billionaire Zach Price has never quite struck Arianna as the kind of man she'd want to spend her entire life with. She was more than content with her sweet, thoughtful boyfriend Noah, but when circumstances force them together, Zach and Arianna's hearts get entangled in a way she never saw coming. As the couple grows closer, they must battle the demons of their past and of the lives they left behind - especially when Olivia returns and decides she wants Zach all for herself. Content/Trigger Warning: This story contains scenes of violence and sexual abuse, and mentions abortion and miscarriage. [[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]] Cover designed by Ren Tachibana

I just close my eyes. Feeling him. Smelling him. Just existing close to him. My fingers clutch at his shirt, like it's the only thing keeping me from doing something reckless. Something completely, irrevocably stupid. Like kissing my son's best friend. And it feels so wrong. Oh God. So damn wrong. But then- His thumb shifts against my skin. A slow, lazy stroke. And suddenly, it feels so right. SO DAMN RIGHT. I breathe in too sharply. Mistake. He notices. Of course, he notices. His grip on my hips tightens. "You always this tense?" I force out a breath. "You always this annoying?" Leo laughs under his breath. "Only when I'm right." I tilt my head, and his eyes are already waiting for me-dark, unreadable, impossibly close. His fingers brush just above my waist. Barely there, but enough. Enough to make me hyper-aware of how easy it'd be to- "You wear this every night, don't you?" It takes me half a second to register what he means. The hoodie. His hoodie. *** 💔 She never expected to fall for him. 🔥 He never stopped waiting for her. 🏡 But some love stories don't follow the rules. Jenny Thompson moved to start fresh. A new neighborhood, a new home, a new beginning. What she didn't expect? Leo Mitchell. Her son's best friend. Fifteen years younger. And looking at her like she's something he's never stopped wanting. She tells herself it's nothing. She tells herself it can't happen. But then- 💬 "I don't know how to stop wanting this." 🔥 "Then don't." 📖 A slow-burn, emotional age-gap romance about love, healing, and the risk of wanting more. ** Taboo. Age gap. Off-limits tension. A love that shouldn't exist-but try stopping it.**