SEQUEL TO "Under the Olive Tree" After losing all he had lived for at the hands of a merciless Occupation, Riyad joins the Resistance fighters to persist against the Armed Forces and liberate his country. Known for his obedience and ghost-like combat, he thrives on his recklessness and a nonexistent fear of death. But when one girl enters his life with torn and dirtied clothes, a silent voice, and a look in her eyes carrying a depth and mystery unlike any he'd seen before--Riyad's world crumbles. She, without uttering a single word, took hold of his soul and watered within it what he had not felt since his tragic youth: love.

Every morning at five am, two strangers move through the same space - separate, disciplined, unseen. Until one morning, a small act of kindness begins to blur the line between routine and something more. A story of quiet connection and respect. The first three chapters are told from his perspective. The last three chapters are told from her perspective.

Wendell Chestna is the complete package; he's a beautiful prince with riches and has not a fault inside of him. A made-up fantasy because of his royal position, but he is only human. A high title doesn't just produce false assumptions. It's also quite difficult to determine the sincerity of people's kindness. His father's recent death after a long war leaves Wendell in a stressful predicament. Their law dictates the eldest son must claim the throne upon reaching seventeen years of age, which he will turn in the next three months. Making matters even worse, his mother sets an arranged marriage with some nobleman's daughter. This union would grant them an ally in this nation, all at the cost of her hand, but she is not the girl Wendell plans to wed. Instead, he hopes to make a sweet peasant - one who dwells in the poorest village - his lifelong companion, Kana Littleton. Queen Althelia proposes a simple deal. If the lovestruck boy can get a favorable answer before the set time limit, he is free to espouse her over Blanche. These conditions are generous enough; however, will Kana accept him for the right reasons? Is her love a pure, honest emotion from within or only swayed by his status and wealth? Under a foreign boy persona, Wendell will discover if they're truly meant to marry. But as lies start piling up to conceal his double life, whose heart is really being put to the test? Meanwhile, another war thought to have ended is slowly approaching... Cover by: mahiramateen13 Banners by: lantea- Achievements~ 🏅Round three Ambys 2025 qualifier 🏅Featured in Fake And Arranged Relations reading list by @romance 🏅 Featured in DiverseLit Humor reading list by @humor 🏅Featured in Diverse Fiction reading list by @Ambassadors 🏅 Featured in Humor Spotlight reading list by @humor 🎖️Ranking #2 animeinspired 09/29/26 🎖️Ranking #1 middlegrade 09/29/26

Maren Juliette Holt has spent years convincing herself she's okay on her own. Between teaching preschool, late-night romance novels, and quiet routines shared with her cat, she's built a life that's safe. Predictable. Manageable. But safe isn't the same as happy. After too many relationships that left her feeling unwanted, forgettable, or simply too much, Maren has stopped believing in the kind of love she reads about in books. Then she meets Beckham Wilder Tate. Charming bookstore manager. Professional over-planner. Owner of the kind of smile that makes her forget how to breathe for a second. The more time she spends with him, the harder it becomes to keep her distance. Because Beckham doesn't just notice her - he sees her. The messy parts. The anxious parts. The parts she's spent years trying to make smaller. And worst of all? He stays. But learning how to be loved might be even scarier than being alone. 💛 Slow burn romance 📚 Bookstore vibes ✨ Found family 🫶 Mental health & neurodivergent rep 🔥 He falls first ❤️ Happily Ever After

History remembers the women who endure. Siya intends to be remembered for choosing herself. At seventeen, the world taught Siya how quickly a rumour turned a girl into a cautionary tale. Years later, she's rebuilt her life into an assistant professor of particle physics that she always aspired to be, with facts not love. Until the career she's spent a lifetime chasing demands the one thing she never expected: Marriage To Atharv The man she once trusted her future with. To everyone else, they're friends turned newlyweds. To themselves, they're strangers sharing a campus apartment, pretending a signature can erase years of heartbreak. But somewhere between late-night research, shared memories, and a home that begins to feel dangerously real, the lines between obligation and love start to blur. Once, Siya let the world decide who she was. This time, she'll decide whether love deserves to be part of the story she writes next. Updates every Friday!