They were supposed to take on the world together. Bailey Brooks and Luke Carter grew up with the same dream , guitars in their hands, music in their bones, and a future that always included each other. Small-town kids with big voices and nowhere else to go, they left everything behind for Nashville believing love and music would carry them through whatever came next. But dreams don't always grow at the same pace. And sometimes the person who believes in you the most is also the one you push away. Years later, success has come at a cost neither of them expected. The life they once imagined together has splintered into silence, distance, and choices that can't be undone. When Bailey disappears from the spotlight without explanation, the world fills the quiet with rumors. Luke knows better than anyone that the truth is far more complicated. And far more painful. Because some songs never really end. They just wait for the moment when you're brave enough to sing them again. The Song We Lost is an emotionally driven second-chance love story about ambition, pride, grief, and the people who remain part of your story long after the music stops. Content Note This story explores emotionally heavy themes including: • grief and loss of a loved one • substance use and drug abuse • complicated relationships and marriage struggles • emotionally difficult life events Reader discretion is advised. For readers who prefer to review a more detailed list of content considerations, a fuller spoiler-aware guide will eventually be available on my website, once the book is complete.

"So you didn't give me one. Don't you want to befriend me?" Oliver teased, with absolutely no expression on his face. If it weren't for his tone, I never would have guessed. "But you're my husband... my fake husband." My face scrunches in confusion, and he very slowly takes a step closer to me, and I immediately take one back I'm backed up and pinned between the wall and his very huge body. His left hand lands right above me on the wall, and his right one slowly snakes around my waist, and I shiver as a result. My eyes flutter closed, my breathing thickens as he bends until he's right in front of me. My heartbeat is going a thousand miles an hour as I feel his lips brush against my right earlobe. "Listen, and listen carefully, sweetheart," he whispers, his deep voice seeping trouble, and that nickname-I swear to God. "I am your fake nothing," he says, stressing the 'nothing,' his hot air fanning my neck. "Our marriage might've been a contract, but under no circumstances is what we have fake. You are my wife and will be until you have my fucking signature on the divorce papers. Got it?" With a shaky breath, I look up at him as I feel him pull his face away. __________ She was raised to follow the rules. He was born to break them. Sienna Martinez is the golden girl. Soft-spoken, smart, and graceful. She runs her family's business, keeps her reputation spotless, and avoids trouble until trouble walks in wearing a tailored suit and a devil's smirk. Oliver Salvatore is royalty, the next CEO of The Salvatore Group. Ruthless when needed, dangerously charming when he wants. Marriage was never in his plans until his brother and her sister ran away. But one year, one marriage, and one rule-don't fall in love-prove easier said than done. Especially when the girl he's been searching for fourteen years is the one standing right in front of him, and somewhere between the lies and the longing, they've already crossed the line.

"Now since we are done with the introductions I have a question. Are you sure about this marriage?" I nodded "I am." He scoffed and leaned against the wall behind with hands in his pants pockets "Why? Because I have money?" What? "Are you impressed by this mansion?" I can be scared of Dad but he is no one to address me as a gold digger and say bullshit. "I don't care if you take me as a gold digger. You are no one who I am bound to explain anything to." I turned back to leave but he held my hand pulling me with a sudden force making our chest crashed against each other. He held my waist pulling me closer, suddenly again that feeling of nervousness filled me. "I am correcting you at this point, you are bound to tell me each and everything about yourself... you know why, because baby I will be your future. Soon you'll be so close to me that you'll be in the same bed as mine." ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Alessandro D'Angelo, CEO of 'ADA Enterprises' and a mafia leader, hidden from the world. Ariana Lincoln, an internet news reporter, who is interested in knowing the secrets of this oh-so-saint billionaire. What happens when Alessandro knows about this girl who is desperately after him?

Melody and Micah Whitley have built a life together in the small town of Valley Falls. They fell in love in college, where Micah was a star baseball pitcher-until a shoulder injury ended his dreams of the major leagues. Melody is used to standing beside the people she loves, adjusting when plans change. She and her sister grew up in foster care, and when Dana passed away, Melody stepped into motherhood when they adopted her niece, Daisy. When Micah agrees to help his childhood friend's sister, Audra, and her young son, Ben, he sees it as an opportunity to pay back an old debt. Micah invests deeply in Ben's life, but as his attention shifts, Melody and Daisy are pushed aside, and the marriage begins to strain under the weight of unspoken grief, unmet needs, and blurred boundaries. Note: There are mentions of infertility, adoption, foster care, grief, addiction/self-harm and death of a non-main character. There is no physical cheating, but there is some OW drama and emotional betrayal/infidelity. Christian and faith themes woven throughout.

(BOOK 1 Of the QUEENS OF CHAOS SERIES) Isa Valen doesn't believe in restraint. Two weeks ago, she did champagne, a sinfully accented stranger, and a night so consuming she ran before sunrise. She doesn't remember his face. She doesn't remember his name. But her body remembers the way he made it burn. When her sister runs to New York, Isa follows without hesitation. New city. New job. New distractions. Then she meets her boss. Erik Orlov. Billionaire. Bratva Don. A devastatingly gorgeous tattooed man built from control and violence wrapped in tailored suits. The first time he looks at her, something tightens in her chest. The first time he steps close, her pulse betrays her. She doesn't recognize him. He recognizes the curve of her mouth. The sound she made when he touched her. The way she ran. The night she can't remember is the one he hasn't stopped replaying. Now she works beneath him - in his office, in his space, in his world. Every glance lasts too long. Every accidental touch feels deliberate. Every breath between them feels charged. And Erik Orlov does not chase. He claims. Enemies circle his empire. Loyalty fractures. Power shifts. But none of it unsettles him like the woman sitting across his desk, pretending she doesn't feel it too. Until two pink lines appear. Because the only thing more dangerous than their chemistry... Is the secret growing between them. And this time, he won't let her run.

Nine-year-old Nelly has spent her life being shuffled from one foster home to the next, her fragile heart and quiet spirit crushed under the weight of neglect and abuse. Small for her age and often overlooked, she's learned to survive by keeping her head down and her words even fewer. But when the police storm her foster home and take her into custody, Nelly's world is turned upside down. At the station, she learns something she never expected-she has a family. A father and five older brothers, none of whom she's ever met. Whisked into a world of wealth and mystery, Nelly is thrust into a life she doesn't understand. Her father, Damian, is cold and commanding, her brothers a whirlwind of personalities, from kind and caring to distant and brash. But underneath the surface, this family holds secrets of their own-secrets about their dangerous world and how far they'll go to protect the little sister they never knew they had. Nelly's quiet resilience might be the only thing that can bridge the gap between her broken past and a future she's too scared to believe in.

She was always there... too bright, too loud, too in love. He never looked twice. Until he told his friends: "She's always there, I wish she'd disappear." So she simply did. Days later, she returned... unrecognizable. Cold. Confident. Distant. Not the girl who stared at him with heart shaped eyes. Now, she's his rival. His competition. The girl he can't stop noticing. It started with heartbreak. Became a slow-burn war. And it might just end in love. ----------- You got a notification. A message request from a random fan page. @SheWasAlwaysThere_Fans: "WE LOVE YOU TWO!! SHIPPPED SINCE CHAPTER 1 😭💘✨💍 #PowerCouple #PublishingEnemiesToLovers #LayGoToo" You laughed. Alex peeked over your shoulder. Alex: "You're famous." You (grinning): "So are you, loverboy."

Borrowing him was supposed to be harmless. Falling for him? Not part of the deal. Everly Allen doesn't do love stories anymore. Not after watching one destroy everything she believed in. With her brother's wedding days away, a family obsessed with her relationship status, and a past she can't outrun, she makes a reckless decision. She borrows a man. A fake boyfriend. A distraction. Easton Hayes, tattooed, brooding, infuriatingly smug, is the last person she should've chosen. He's the CEO of Chrome Customs, her best friend's fiancé, and the man she once wanted so badly it nearly broke her. But Hailey insisted. She planned it. She pushed them together. Because Hailey always had a plan. What Everly doesn't know, what she's never supposed to find out, is that this isn't a harmless favor. It's a lie. One so carefully constructed it blurs the line between loyalty and betrayal. And the night before her brother's wedding, the truth starts to crack. Every look from Easton feels like a confession. Every touch feels like something borrowed. And every secret Hailey kept begins to unravel, one piece at a time. Because this fake relationship isn't fake at all. It's a slow burning fuse tied to a secret that could destroy them all. Some love stories start with a kiss. This one starts with a lie. And theirs might end with the one thing Everly never saw coming, goodbye. Because some love stories aren't just complicated, they're impossible. And the truth waiting at the end of theirs? It might be the most heartbreaking twist of all. Sometimes love begins with a lie. And ends with a goodbye. A slow burn, angsty fake dating romance about forbidden longing, buried truths, and the kind of betrayal that makes you question everything you thought was love.

(completed) She trusted her with everything-her secrets, her heart, and even her marriage. Delilah never thought betrayal could wear a familiar face. She and Elena have been best friends since they were seven. They've been through everything-school dances, breakups, heartbreak, college, adulthood. Elena was always there. Her constant. Her comfort. Her family. So when Destiny got married, there was no question who would stand by her side. Elena was her maid of honor, holding her bouquet with shaking hands and tearful eyes. What Delilah didn't know was that Elena had already slept with the groom. And she never stopped. For two years, Elena's been sharing her husband. And Delilah, completely unaware, confides in her like always-crying to her about how distant he's become, how cold his touch feels, how something just doesn't feel right. Elena listens patiently, holds her while she cries, and then goes back to the man Delilah calls hers. Every fear Delilah shares is another secret Elena carries straight into his arms. And to twist the knife even deeper, Elena spins her own fantasy. She gushes about a secret lover-a man who spoils her, buys her expensive gifts, and makes her feel like she's finally found the love she's always wanted. Delilah cheers her on. Laughs with her. Supports her. She never suspects the truth. She never thinks to look that close. Because who would ever suspect their best friend? This isn't just infidelity. This is heartbreak in disguise. And by the time Delilah learns the truth.. There may be nothing left of the life she built. "She calls it devotion, he calls it mistake, her friend calls it nothing but all three take. If the crime is shared and the truth is gone, who is the villain when everyone is wrong?"

Loving him was the cruelest kind of torment-a love that lived in the shadows, one that could never bask in the warmth of the sun. I was nothing more than a stolen moment, a whispered name in the dark, a secret he tucked away between the life he had built and the one he wished he could have. I knew, deep down, that I was a fracture in his story, a fleeting escape from the weight of his reality. And yet, I still clung to him, to the illusion that for a few precious hours, he was mine. But the truth was relentless-it came in the form of unanswered texts, in the way he dressed hurriedly after loving me, in the way he said her name with the same tenderness he once gave me. I had given him my heart, knowing he would never be able to keep it, and yet, I loved him still. Loved him as I watched him walk away, loved him as he returned to the arms of the woman he truly belonged to, loved him as I drowned in the loneliness he left behind. Because no matter how much I wished it to be different, I was not his home-I was just a place he visited before going back to where his heart truly lived.