Bar Series #6 For as long as Avey Hermoza could remember, River Eustaquio simply wasn't into her. He had always made it clear that he would never love her; friendship was the only thing he could offer. Fully aware that a man like River would never break his rules, Avey tried to pretend he meant nothing to her. She even asked him to introduce her to his friends, hoping it would help her forget him. She never succeeded-at least, not until she married Gael Toledo. Her marriage was supposed to be perfect. She loved Gael, and he loved her. However, everything shattered when Gael discovered Avey's betrayal. Desperate to save her marriage, Avey instead found herself drawn into a complicated, tangled rendezvous with River that eventually led to bloodshed. Now, River has finally realized that he cannot lose Avey a second time. With the gun in his hand, a choice must be made: will it save Avey's life, or will it seal their tragic love until the end of time?

"When I tell you that he hates me, you'll probably assume it's because he's a jerk...but you'd be wrong. He's not a jerk. I am." --- Several years ago tragedy struck Emma's home, leaving her broken... like a cup with cracks spiraling and slithering around the edges. Slowly, bitterness crept in like tar, hardening between each fracture to resemble a deceitful wholeness. She became a monster, and targeted her venom on the sweetest person she could find: Trinity Nixon. Too bad the boy Emma longed for was Trinity's brother. Now, as Emma fights to win the heart of the boy who despises her, she's forced to hide her demons. She paints her fragile cup in pinks, yellows, and oranges - all the colors of the sun. She paints on a smile, and an unusual sense of humor, so that the world will view her as bright and cheerful, when in reality she's breaking. But she's completely unprepared for the acidic truth that melts away the tar, demolishing her shell, and awakening the Emma White buried deep inside. --- Book 1 in The Dismantled Pride series *Story was previously titled "Faking It"