After turning twenty-one, Maya sets out to find the birth mother who might explain everything. A violent encounter with a mysterious man plunges her into a darker world. He is as haunted as she is-fierce, damaged, terrifyingly tender. Their chemistry is immediate and volatile: refuge that threatens control. As Maya digs into the past, buried secrets fracture her identity and force impossible choices. Trauma refuses neat endings. Love becomes both lifeline and liability-can redemption survive, or will the darkness destroy them both? What will Maya uncover about herself and his past as she tumbles down this dark path? Is he her safe place to land? Chapter 21 Peek: "Another one?" My eyes shot to Miles, who stood in the doorway, his silhouette framed by the faint light. I licked my lips, dry and cracked from anxiety, glancing at Grayson, who was still out cold, oblivious to the storm raging inside me. 'Denial. Deny, deny, deny.' The mantra echoed in my head, a feeble shield against the truth. "What are you talking about?" "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, Maya. Trey is taunting you. He texted you when we arrived- I SAW the message. Don't try to hide it-it's completely obvious." Miles stepped closer, his voice low but insistent, his eyes searching mine with a mix of concern and frustration.

Avery's senior year is turned upside down when a kiss with her older brothers' best friend ignites a forbidden relationship tangled in danger, heartbreak, and family secrets that could destroy everything. *** "Aiden..." I shake my head, eyes fixed anywhere but the gorgeous man next to me. His hand grips my chin tightly, just enough to make me avert my eyes to his. "You know you want this as much as I fucking do. I want you to be mine. I want to be the one to hold you and kiss you the one you go to whenever you're happy or fucking sad. But let it be me, let me fucking show you that it should be me." He glares, jaw tensing. ...... ©hessaherophinelove

Feared in boardrooms and hated in silence, 26-year-old CEO Evelyn Vireaux built an empire with an iron will and a cruel tongue. But no amount of power or wealth could stop the truth-she was dying. Terminal illness claimed her body, but not her soul. When Evelyn opens her eyes again, it's not in a hospital bed-but in a different world, inside the body of Selene Astera, the frail and neglected daughter of Duke Astera. Mocked by servants, scorned by her siblings, and invisible to society, Selene was as powerless as Evelyn had once been ruthless. Now reborn in a world of nobility and magic, the soul of a cold-blooded CEO simmers beneath Selene's soft smile. They wanted a weak girl to ignore. They'll get a villainess they'll never forget.