He stepped closer, and I retreated until my back pressed against a tree trunk. His eyes held mine, and for a moment, I glimpsed something darker beneath the warmth. "Clara," Owen murmured, his lips brushing my ear. I closed my eyes. "Have I ever been mean to you? Hurt you...? No. Maverick is trying to get rid of me. He's jealous." Snow fell softly, covering the ground like a white veil. And as Owen's lips brushed mine, I didn't move, I didn't fight, and I was transported back into that small dark room at the orphanage. This is my job. I let Owen press me into the tree and kiss me. ▪︎●▪︎ Clara's past has left her with scars that run deep, making her hesitant to trust anyone. When she finds herself caught in a love triangle between Maverick, a police officer with a strong, protective presence, and Owen, who is kind and caring, she begins to question whom she can rely on. As Clara navigates this complex landscape, she must confront her past traumas and her present struggles in order to find a way forward. But with her heart and mind in turmoil, Clara is at risk of being led down a dangerous path - one that she may not be able to escape from. Will Clara find the strength to break free from the past and create a new future for herself, or will she be trapped in a cycle of heartache and betrayal?

"What did he - Where did he touch you?" His voice had hardened, mad. I swallowed and looked down. "You son of a-" He walked off the porch, angrily running his hands through his hair. "What did he look like? I'm swear I'm gonna kill him. Tell me what he looked like? Are there cameras?" I shook my head. I didn't want to look him in the eyes. "I swear. That son of- Violet, tell me what he looked like." He came closer. Tears filled my eyes, "... I can't," I said, my voice started to shake. "I... I don't, I can't." I swallowed, biting down on the inside of my cheek, trying not to cry. He stood there quietly for a moment, before he leaned down, his voice was softer, "Violet, I'm sorry. I just... I'm so mad right now. I'll kill him." ▪︎●▪︎ Violet, who endured a harrowing childhood, struggles to heal from her history. As she navigates the shadows of her past, Violet finds solace in an unexpected connection with Dominic, her best friend's older brother. Drawn to Violet's vulnerability, Dominic craves to understand the pain and the secrets she guards. However, Violet's fear and scars run deep, leaving her paralyzed with fear. Dominic displays a genuine kindness and care towards Violet that sets him apart from others. However, his contrasting behavior towards those around him raises questions about the depths of his character. Despite Violet's growing affection for Dominic, she remains haunted by the scars of her childhood, making it difficult for her to trust and share her painful secrets. As their bond deepens, Violet finds solace in Dominic's unwavering support and kindness, grappling with the decision to confide in him, knowing that revealing her past could either strengthen their connection or shatter it completely. Will Violet find the courage to open up to Dominic, allowing him to understand the depths of her pain? Or will her fear of reliving the horrors she endured keep her locked in silence, forever guarding her heart? #1 Trauma

{CURRENTLY UNPUBLISHED} 10/2/25 Edit: this book has been removed from Wattpad, but the characters live on in a published series titled The Wildflower Series, which can be found on Amazon and in bookstores. Alive at Night, Awake at Dawn, Attached at Heart are available now. Already at Risk, which follows Collins' brother Cameron, is coming on October 16th. Thank you so much! When a college freshman with a learning disability and a reputation collides with a straight-A, straight-laced girl in the dorm kitchen one night, he sees the darkest parts of himself reflected in her. But the two of them resist acknowledging their hidden truths, and their forbidden connection, until ignoring it all becomes too perilous. *** Bren meets Madie during his first week at college, and he's certain he should have nothing to do with her. First of all, Madie has a boyfriend. And second of all, Madie's boyfriend radiates a toxicity that Bren only just escaped from growing up. But knowing what he should do doesn't help him at all. Madie might be completely entwined with her abusive boyfriend, but Bren quickly becomes determined to unravel her. But can Bren open Madie's eyes to the truth before it's too late? *** "Don't go back to being treated like you're not real." Madie's lips parted, and I couldn't read the expression on her face. But we were so close now. "You're real, Madie. Feel it." "I feel it," came her breathy reply. When it came to her, I was weak. My legs couldn't hold me anymore, and I slid down. Landing on my knees, I kneeled back against the bottom of the cold door, letting it cool my hot skin. "Good girl." The words were more of a pant; I could barely catch a breath with the way my heart was racing. But I had to tell her, talk to her. "Now, never forget it. Never forget the way you feel right now, Madie." **MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY** This story contains sensitive topics such as abuse, violence, and explicit sexual content.

Copyright © 2012 by Harlequin Books S.A. Three weeks. That's all the time Penelope Hart has left as the White House Social Secretary. And all the time she has left to convince her boss, First Lady Ramsey, to write her a glowing recommendation letter. Which means she has to stay in the first lady's good graces-and stay far away from the first son, Kellan Ramsey. Only Kellan has no intention of staying away. He's waited years for the chance to be with Penelope again and he's not going to waste a second, let alone three weeks. He's convinced this is their time...but will Kellan's executive pursuit cost Penelope her dreams?

When billionaire bad boy Eros meets shy, nerdy Jade, he doesn't recognize her from his past. Will they be able to look past their secrets and fall in love again? ****** When Jade Collins goes to work for billionaire bad boy Eros Petrakis, all she thinks she'll be doing is making his coffee...but when sparks fly, the shy Jade (who wears a disguise to mask her beauty and the secrets of her past) and the fiery, cocky Eros (who is solely focused on business and doesn't believe in the distractions of love) begin to grow closer and closer. Will Eros be able to see past her disguise to the beauty within? And will Jade be able to tame his heart -- and her own -- once the man of her dreams finally notices her? ****** Officially now a series! Watch it for free on MediaCorp's Youtube Channel- MediaCorp Drama. [[Word Count: 150,000 - 200,000]] The Girl He Never Noticed (Book 1 + 2) by Neilani Alejandrino (Sweetdreamer33) Copyright © 2015. All Rights Reserved.

It started on Wattpad but now is EVERYWHERE! with a published book, a captivating Webcomic on WEBTOON, a published graphic novel, and an upcoming film adaptation by Wattpad WEBTOON studios in Partnership with Stampede. Read, scroll, or watch - Enjoy this romance in any way you like. Stay tuned for film release updates! Basketball star Caleb Lockhart had it all - until a chance encounter with a mysterious woman in red changed everything. For the first time in his life, Caleb wanted something; something he could never have. ***** College heartthrob Caleb Lockhart is the last person a girl like Veronica Strafford should be involved with. Intelligent and ambitious, with good reason to be cynical of the world, Veronica refuses to be the campus player's next conquest, even after a chance encounter sparks an undeniable attraction between them. But with nowhere to stay, and running from recent tragedy, Veronica finds herself leaning on someone else for the first time. Caleb has never wanted something like this before and he's determined to pursue her, even as the secrets of their pasts threaten to break them apart. Book 1 in the Red series

Romance and adventure…a trip to where an American tradition began… Libby Edwards, a gifted horsewoman, unwittingly wishes herself back in time to Louisville, Kentucky just before Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby become a reality. During Libby’s journey in the past, she stumbles upon her destiny. Unfortunately, he’s in the wrong century. In 1874, there’s no electricity, no internet, no modern medicine, no antibiotics—no Starbucks! And even worse than that, women have no rights. Libby has no desire to stay. Widower, Colin Thorpe, a renaissance man of his time, has big dreams. He is a horse breeder who names his thoroughbreds after Mythological Gods because he has a reverence for past cultures and an appreciation for the unexplainable. Libby and Colin can’t resist falling in love with each other. After all, Colin accepts Libby for who she is and she understands Colin’s dreams better than his deceased wife ever did. Yet he grasps early on that Libby doesn’t belong in 1874. And because his wife never adapted to the move from Virginia to Kentucky, becoming bitter and unhappy in the process, he won’t take the chance of the same thing happening to Libby. Can these two lovers find a way to be together despite their obstacles?

"Katy Regnery is a fresh new voice. I eagerly await every Katy book and I tell everyone I know to read them!" --Carly Phillips, NY Times Bestselling Author Breaking Up with Barrett is the first of six books about the Philadelphia-based, wildly-handsome English brothers who are all on the look-out for love. (Except Alex. He's a womanizing manwhore. And maybe Stratton, because he's wicked hot, but super awkward around girls.) Barrett English, aka "the Shark," is the fair-haired, first-born of the English brothers, and the CEO of the oldest, most prestigious investment banking firm in Philadelphia. He rules the boardroom with an iron fist, refusing to take no for an answer and always getting his way. Emily Edwards, a first-year doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania, grew up in the gatehouse on the outskirts of Barrett's childhood estate. The daughter of his family's gardener and housekeeper, she was always looking through the window of privilege, but forced to remember her place at the very periphery of the kingdom. When business partners suggest that a fiancee might soften Barrett's image over business dinners, he approaches Emily for the "job" of fiancee. And while love wasn't necessarily on Barrett's radar, he begins to realize that Emily always has been. But will his take-no-prisoners boardroom tactics work on the heart of the woman he loves? _________ THE BLUEBERRY LANE SERIES: THE ENGLISH BROTHERS (Blueberry Lane Books #1-6 & 11) Breaking Up With Barrett Falling for Fitz Anyone but Alex Seduced by Stratton Wild about Weston Kiss Me Kate Marrying Mr. English - coming December 2015

He needs a place to live, she needs a baby daddy. Pietro Santangelo and Marguerite White are students at prestigious Columbia University in New York City. She is a fun-loving, free spirit who finds herself in a bit of a familial bind, he is an exchange student with a chronic case of poverty. They concoct a plan that they think will work, not realizing how much changes with two simple words... Pete merely looked at her and opened a box of books. He took some out and began placing them on the shelves, bending and stretching at his task. He had a nice back, broad shoulders and muscles that could be seen clearly under his light blue T-shirt. Daisy watched for a minute, fascinated. "Like what you see?" he asked without turning around. She jumped at the sound of his voice. "Well, you're the only thing in the room that's moving, you know?" she said by way of explanation. He turned around to look at her, books in either hand, a small grin on his face. "Of course, what was I thinking?" he asked rhetorically. "And look. We're both adults here, hm?" He looked carefully at her. "The couch we just brought up here cost fifty dollars at the second-hand store, and has to be at least thirty years old. I don't want to sleep on it, and I don't think you're going to want to sleep on it, either." She shook her head. "So the bed is nice and big," he continued. "I think we can manage, don't you? We can share the bed." He watched her for her reaction. "I give you my word this is not going to be a problem for me. At all. Is this going to be a problem for you?" She looked at him. "Really? At all?" She recovered from the unintentional meaning of his words quickly. "No, it won't be a problem for me, either," she said firmly. "We can share the bed." Content warning: This story contains mature sexual content, and themes of premarital sex and sexual assault.

***The wrong girl is sometimes The Right One.*** Charlotte Samuels thought she'd be stuck waiting tables at Marlow's until all her debts are paid off-in about ten thousand years or so. She definitely didn't expect a marriage proposal from the arrogant Brandon Maxfield who was blackmailed by his father to make her his wife if he didn't want his least favorite cousin to run Maxfield Industries. Charlotte's instinct was to say HELL NO! but she's stumped by a few obstacles: 1.) His old man Martin Maxfield is dear to her heart and has been recently deteriorating in health. 2.) She gets a million dollars if she stays married to Brandon for a year. 3.) She would rather like the opportunity to teach the attractive but awfully rude man a few lessons he didn't think he needed from a 'teenage gold-digger' which was his term of endearment for her on their first date-er, business meeting. So what's a girl got to do, right? Sure, she's young and a little rough around the edges but there's something her would-be husband didn't know about her yet-she's nothing like he ever expected. Thrust into the glitzy world a standard-issue Mrs. Maxfield would fit perfectly and rule with impeccable social grace, Charlotte will either have to force herself into the mold or break free of it, risking what little she has left for everything that she can gain. *** Copyright © 2014 by Nina Tippett. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Nina Tippett. This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Images, music and videos used in the cover art and any of the multimedia content posted in this story are the sole property of their respective owners.