I stayed when I shouldn't have. I stayed through half-listened conversations and promises that disappeared the moment someone else needed him more. I told myself I was overthinking. That things would change eventually. So I learned how to swallow my discomfort. My loneliness. My doubts. Until everything fell apart. Now I can't stop wondering why it took almost losing my life to finally understand what I already knew all along: I should've left him long ago. ............. Warning: This story uses mature language and scenes. © IcecreamSundae5. All rights reserved.

Ten years ago, Iris Desmond was pushed out of his life--by the very people who claimed to love him the most. She was the wrong girl. The outsider. And when threats turned into ultimatums, she made the impossible choice to leave the only boy she ever loved. Levi Astor. Now, a decade later, he's standing in front of her again--wealthier, sharper, harder--and demanding answers she was forced to bury. Levi Astor built a life that finally makes sense. He has the business, the legacy, and a partner who fits into the Astor empire. The woman isn't just perfect in his world--but in his family's world as well. Celestine by his side is everything he thought he needed. But when the past resurfaces, Levi is forced to confront the price of silence. Forced to realize that he might have made mistakes. And now, he isn't sure if they're his to mend. Celestine Wentworth was told to love him--and somehow, it was effortless. She checks all the boxes for the Astor family. But even perfect boxes have edges. And when the ghost of Levi's first love threatens to unravel everything they've built, she can't help but wonder: she is the right choice for his family. The right choice for his business--the safer choice for his reputation. But still only one of the choices. So is she the right one for his heart?

Before Marlowe Ackerman goes away to Brown University, she does the bravest thing she's ever done. She confesses to her best friend, Oliver Abbott, that she is in love with him. And Oliver breaks her heart gently. To him, Marlowe is his safe place. His best friend. The one person who has always been there for him. His feelings for her have never changed, and he is certain they never will. At eighteen, Oliver is desperate for a fresh start after years of being the awkward, gangly dork. Parties, girls, fraternity life, reinvention-he wants everything he thinks college is supposed to give him. But once he gets there, nothing feels right without Marlowe. While she thrives at Brown, Oliver falls apart. He fails classes, wakes up hungover, surrounds himself with the wrong people, and slowly realizes the reason his feelings for Marlowe never changed is because he has loved her all along. But he's too late. When he goes to tell her, he finds her in bed with her boyfriend, Sam. Jealousy and heartbreak make him spit ugly, cruel words he will regret for the rest of his life. Marlowe ends their friendship for good. Ten years later, Oliver has changed. He is a history teacher at their old high school, a wrestling coach, and a man who has spent a decade learning from the worst mistake of his life. When he hears that Marlowe Ackerman is coming back to town for their high school reunion, Oliver knows better than to think he deserves a second chance. But he wants one. Not just to tell Marlowe he still loves her. To show her he has become someone worthy of loving her the way she deserves. He was her almost. Maybe now, he can be her always.

"Love doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints." - Leslie Odom Jr. Alpha Easton Hosea committed an unforgivable sin when he met his mate Leigh Ann Remington. Placing a sinister bet to take her virginity, he wins but at a heartbreaking cost especially when the video of their intimate moment together that he took surfaces leaving nothing to the imagination. Ruined and pregnant, Leigh Ann, the daughter of the perfect Alpha Remington, the strongest Alpha ever to grace their world with the largest pack is forced to mate with Easton. She is no one's first choice, being overweight and ignored. The mating process must be completed or her father wages war. Easton is forced to live with her and is intent on making her suffer while Leigh Ann has to find way to navigate the monster she'd let in. But as walls break, they might find out they were a perfect fit after all? But can forgiveness fix a shattered bond and all the devastating hurt he caused?

She caught him cheating, and now he's about to lose everything. Alana Black's perfect life shatters in ten seconds - caught on video and shared with the world. Her husband kisses her sister. The video goes viral. Everyone's watching. But Alana doesn't cry. She plots. With a no-cheating prenup and a lawyer on speed dial, she files for divorce and sets her sights on revenge. Enter Killian Black. Her husband's older brother. The one man she was never supposed to want. Loyal. Dangerous. And very, very done watching her suffer. When Killian offers his heart - and his resources - to help her burn it all down, Alana doesn't hesitate.

Molly had a great job, a serious boyfriend, and a quiet life in San Francisco. Then Bruce's stepsister thought it would be hilarious to fill out the internal transfer form on Molly's work laptop while Bruce watched. By the time Molly saw the confirmation email, the visa was already processing. The contract was signed. There was no undoing it. She was moving to London. When she demanded Bruce fix what his sister broke? He asked her to apologize. To Crystal. For being upset. So Molly left a note on his kitchen counter - Good Joke! - and got on the plane.

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.

Elena's maid of honor is her ride-or-die best friend since childhood. Lucas and Chloe have always had "harmless" chemistry and inside jokes. During the chaotic wedding planning, the stress pushes Lucas into Chloe's bed. The affair continues right up to the wedding day. Elena finds out on her wedding morning when she overhears them in a quiet hallway , Lucas whispering that he "can't go through with marrying her" but Chloe convinces him to "just do it for now." The wedding happens anyway. The gut-punch: watching Chloe stand beside her in the white dress moment, knowing she's the reason the marriage is already broken.

Josie thought the hardest part of falling in love with Nate was overcoming all the reasons why she shouldn't- would she, could she survive the trauma of another betrayal? Her fears were valid. The invisible scars her ex boyfriend left were deep, ragged and still bleeding. Josie swore she'd never open her heart to another cop again. But Nate was patient, steady, and impossible to ignore. Little by little, he quieted her fears and became the one exception she never meant to make. Until a forgotten morning alarm forced Josie to realize Nate may not be the man he promised to be. As old wounds begin to bleed again, she must decide if the ghosts of trauma past still hold power and whether trusting her heart to Nate cost her everything she fought so hard to walk away from. Josie will have to decide if the man who once asked her to dance beneath the stars deserved a second chance to heal her shattered heart.

Lady Eleanora, the dutiful eldest daughter of a duke, accepts a marriage of alliance to Crown Prince Anthony without protest. Graceful and admired, she is everything a future queen should be. But Anthony falls for her younger sister-the one who wants no crown, no court, no throne. Bound by an uneasy agreement, Duty and Desire bind them together while pulling them apart. When Duty and Desire collide, Eleanora must face whether her devotion will cost her the one thing she was never meant to want-love.