THANK YOU, Wattpad, for the HQ Love Watty Award! Concept: A mysterious young woman flees from her troubled past only to discover it is impossible to escape THE SECRET that haunts her. *PLEASE NOTE: This story was originally inspired by the movie "Sleeping With the Enemy". * * * * * "I would never, Steven," she promised, turning away from him in an attempt to protect herself. "I know you wouldn't," he screamed. Cupping her chin in his hand, he forced her to look at him. "Because I would kill you." His words hung heavy in the air. Sarah's heart sank into her stomach. No matter how many times she'd heard the menacing phrase, she could never get used to it. It had the same affect on her as the first time he'd thrown the ugly words in her face. The familiar sting of bile rose in her throat, and she knew she would deplete the contents of her stomach once she was locked in the safety of their master bath. 'If I make it through this time,' she agonized. Her biggest fear was that one day he would really lose his temper with her. Who knew what would happen then? *This story is an unedited first draft. Top Ranks: Action #1, Mystery and Thriller #1 *This story contains scenes of abuse and may be disturbing to some readers. While the characters are fictional, domestic violence is a serious issue that many people across the world face. If you or someone you know is the victim of abuse, please seek help immediately. Notice: This document is not authorized for upload or use with artificial intelligence systems or platforms. Any attempt to upload, analyze, or process this content using AI technology is strictly prohibited.

The Freeze-Dried Groom is one of the nine stories in Margaret Atwood's fantastic new collection Stone Mattress. A collection of highly imaginative short pieces that speak to our times with deadly accuracy. Vintage Atwood creativity, intelligence, and humor: think Alias Grace. Margaret Atwood turns to short fiction for the first time since her 2006 collection, Moral Disorder, with nine tales of acute psychological insight and turbulent relationships bringing to mind her award-winning 1996 novel, Alias Grace. A recently widowed fantasy writer is guided through a stormy winter evening by the voice of her late husband in "Alphinland," the first of three loosely linked stories about the romantic geometries of a group of writers and artists. In "The Freeze-Dried Groom," a man who bids on an auctioned storage space has a surprise. In "Lusus Naturae," a woman born with a genetic abnormality is mistaken for a vampire. In "Torching the Dusties," an elderly lady with Charles Bonnet syndrome comes to terms with the little people she keeps seeing, while a newly formed populist group gathers to burn down her retirement residence. And in "Stone Mattress," a long-ago crime is avenged in the Arctic via a 1.9 billion-year-old stromatolite. In these nine tales, Margaret Atwood is at the top of her darkly humorous and seriously playful game.

They Said It Was An Accident... Sawyer Dodd is a star athlete, a straight-A student, and the envy of every other girl who wants to date Kevin Anderson. When Kevin dies in a tragic car crash, Sawyer is stunned. Then she opens her locker to find a note: You're welcome. Someone saw what he did to her. Someone knows that Sawyer and Kevin weren't the perfect couple they seemed to be. And that someone—a killer—is now shadowing Sawyer's every move... "What a ride! Full of twists and turns—including an ending you won't see coming!"—April Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die I will be posting new chapters of Truly Madly Deadly every WEDNESDAY as a run-up to the release of my brand new thriller See Jane Run (JAN 2014). Enjoy!

The crash of a Dallas-bound jet wasn't just a tragedy to TV reporter Avery Daniels; it was an act of fate that handed her a golden opportunity to further her career. Mistaken for a glamorous, selfish woman named Carole Rutledge, the badly injured Avery would find that plastic surgery had given her Carole's face, the famous senatorial candidate Tate Rutledge for a husband, and a powerful Texas dynasty for in-laws. And as she lay helpless in the hospital, she would make a shattering discovery: Someone close to Tate planned to assassinate him. Now, to save Tate's life, Avery must live another woman's life -- and risk her own...

Jesabel is a liar. When her only friend mysteriously disappears, she does what comes naturally. She keeps her truth from the world. Without warning, she is thrown into a web of lies far more dangerous and lethal than anything she could imagine. With an annoyingly charming boy by her side, can she unravel what she refuses to tell - the truth? WHITE LIES HAS BEEN REVISED, EDITED AND REWORKED! Happy late new year, friends! I'd like to take this opportunity to announce that White Lies, a story that has been up and running on Wattpad since 2011, has been re-written and revised for the coming decade. What does this mean? This entails the same characters you know and love, with better flow, better writing, more nuanced character development, more mature content, and entirely different plot lines. Jesabel's character has changed drastically since I last introduced her to the world (nearly NINE years ago! yikes!), and I wanted to make this story a more nuanced and modern take. When I had written White Lies, I had been just 14 years old. And I've done a ton of growing, learning, and unlearning over the years. This means that my characters have grown and developed with me. If you are an old friend and re-reader - welcome, and please enjoy the same old story you love with a brand new take! If you have started along this White Lies journey beginning in December and all throughout January, you might have read a half-edited and half-original version of the story. So please feel free to re-read at your leisure! I won't bite, I promise.