I've known them my whole life. I grew up with them. I trusted them more than I trusted myself. But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine him- the sweet, quiet, lonely Aarav I protected since childhood- would be the one to shatter me. One move. One lie. One betrayal. And suddenly, everything I believed in collapsed. Now I'm walking away. From him. From our memories. From the girl who was too easy to break. This time, I'm chasing my dreams... not his shadows. And Aarav? He'll learn what it feels like to lose the one person who never gave up on him.

Just one night, just one time. * * * * * Elena I always believed Adrian was the one for me. Even when life kept us busy, we were happy. He showed his love in his own quiet ways, and I trusted that. I believed in us. Or maybe... I believed in the version of us I had built in my head. Until one night, a folder filled with secret messages shattered everything I once trusted. Adrian I thought I had everything. A woman I loved. A thriving career. A child we were about to welcome into the world. But one temptation from my past nearly destroyed everything I had built. Two years later, our marriage still stands. But forgiveness doesn't erase betrayal. And time doesn't always heal. Yet... could we ever truly come back?

I used to think we were the definition of couple goals. You know-the annoying kind that finish each other's sentences, post mushy anniversary captions, and make single people gag. Yeah, that was us. My husband, the love of my life. My partner. My soulmate. My... lying, cheating bastard. I walked in one night, still humming the song he sent me that morning, and found him busy. And by busy, I mean balls-deep in someone who clearly didn't know her right foundation shade. I broke. Cried till I couldn't breathe. Because that was my man, my home, my whole damn world falling apart on our Egyptian cotton sheets. But then I wiped my tears, looked at him-pathetic, naked, stammering-and realized something beautiful: heartbreak makes you dangerous. He begged. Oh, he sobbed. Promised me the world, said it meant nothing, said I was everything. So I smiled and said, prove it. And he did. Bought me cars, jewelry, houses-signed every last property in my name. My name, not ours. I let him grovel, let him believe forgiveness was for sale, and every time he kissed my feet, I made him dig his grave a little deeper. Love made me soft. Betrayal made me rich. And when I finally walked out, I didn't even slam the door. I just left him there-kneeling in the ruins of everything he thought he owned.

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... ✨

ZOSIA I fell in love with Konstantin Krasnov. On the night I thought he was going to propose, I found another woman in his bed. I ran. I rebuilt. Life went on. Until one day, I'm attacked, and my savior is none other than the man who shattered me. Now there's a target on my back, and the man who cheated on me is the only one who can keep me alive. And I find out I never knew that man at all. Because Konstantin Krasnov is a monster, a butcher, a killer. KONSTANTIN Zosia Russell is the love of my life. My soul. My everything. But I made a choice, a mistake, that I'll regret for the rest of my life. Now she's in danger because of me, and I'll burn this entire world to ash before I let anyone harm her. She hates me, but I'll spend every day for the rest of my life earning back her love and trust. I'll wait forever for my Zosia.

Eliana had dedicated her life to her family. To her spunky twin daughters who brought her both endless grief and honest joy; and to her husband Jesse, her high school sweetheart and the love of her life. She'd happily sacrificed her dreams for what she'd thought was a better future. Until suddenly... it wasn't. When late nights and unexplainable purchases and guilty excuses became their new normal, Eliana began to take note. To document. To investigate. Her husband may think otherwise, but this housewife was no fool. And this time - when the truth came to light, as it always does - Eliana would be the one pulling the strings. ---- HEA; dual-POV Content Warning: Cheating spouse, language

Nora never wanted much. Just a steady home. Simple days. A life that held its shape. She didn't crave excitement or change. She only needed predictability. Her routines, her quiet, her small world. It was enough. She believed that if she kept everything perfectly still, the life she had built would hold. And for a long time, it did. But when the ground finally shifted under her feet, Nora didn't move with it. She froze in place, the way people do when they have no other direction to turn. Because where does a person go when they have nowhere to go? Warning: This story uses mature language and scenes. © IcecreamSundae5. All rights reserved.

I never believed in marriage. Not after growing up watching it tear my family apart. Wanting someone was easy. Loving someone was dangerous. But promising forever? That felt impossible. And then came Dean Ashford. He never asked for much; just me, just us, just a future he swore he'd protect with everything he had. And when he asked for that future-when he held out a ring with hands that were shaking-I did the one thing I never wanted to do. I walked away. He broke. I broke. And the next morning, when I finally found the courage to choose him-really choose him-I had no idea he'd spent the night destroying everything we ever were. I had no idea what I was walking into. I had no idea what he'd done. I thought the worst thing I'd ever feel was the fear of losing him. I was wrong. Because nothing prepares you for the moment the person you love looks at you with eyes full of secrets... Nothing prepares you for the truth that the one night you walked away was the one night he didn't. And now I have to decide if the love I built my world around can survive the one mistake that broke both of us.

Dane always said love was like a puzzle: you start with the edges, build a frame, and trust the rest will fall into place. For years, he and Callidora fit perfectly, until his loyalty to his late friend's little sister became the missing piece that didn't belong. What began as compassion twisted into late-night calls, quiet rescues, and promises he had no right to make. When Calli reaches her limits, his apologies are desperate, his love real, but the picture they'd built together had already been pulled apart. Can Dane convince Calli that the picture they once started is still worth finishing, or has their puzzle already fallen apart for good?

Grovel Guys Book #3 What could be the worse way to fuck up your marriage? Keeping the divorce papers hidden and ready, just in case things didn't work out. And what could be worse than that? Your wife finds out, signs it and disappears just because of your one crack in commitment.